DIVORCE

“A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together. It is when an imperfect
couple learns to enjoy their differences.”
—DAVE MEURER

WHAT IS DIVORCE
 According to Oxford Dictionaries, divorce is “the legal dissolution of marriage by a
court or other competent body”. 

 Divorce (or the dissolution of marriage) is the termination of a marital union, the
canceling and/or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage,
thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of
law of the particular country and/or state.

TYPES OF DIVORCE

CONTESTED DIVORCE
mean that one of several issues are required to be heard by a judge at trial level, this is
more expensive, and the parties will have to pay for a lawyer's time and preparation.

CONTESTED DIVORCE
occurs when there are no disagreements between you and your spouse over any financial
or divorce-related issues child custody and support, division of marital property or spousal
support and your spouse either agrees to the divorce, or fails to appear in the divorce
action.

AT FAULT DIVORCE
this was termed "grounds" for divorce popularly called "fault" and was the only way to
terminate a marriage. Most jurisdictions around the world still require such proof of fault.

NO FAULT DIVORCE
is a divorce in which the dissolution of a marriage does not require a showing of
wrongdoing by either party.

SUMMARY DIVORCE
A summary or simple divorce, available in some jurisdictions, is used when spouses meet
certain eligibility requirements, or can agree on key issues beforehand.
.
Key Factors
o Short marriage (less than 5 years)
o No children (or, in some states, when the spouses have resolved custody and
set child support payments for children of the marriage)
o Minimal or no real property (no mortgage)
o Marital property is under a threshold (around 35,000 not including vehicles)
o Each spouse's personal property is under a threshold
COLLABORATATIVE DIVORCE
is a method for divorcing couples to come to agreement on divorce issues.

MEDIATED DIVORCE
is an alternative to traditional divorce litigation
When spouses hire a mediator or neutral third party to assist them in making decisions.

HISTORY OF DIVORCE

Pre-Spanish Colonial Period (Prior to 1521)

It is a curiosity that pre-colonial Filipinos were more liberal than today’s Filipinos
when it came to terminating a marriage or divorce.
It has been chronicled among the Tagbanwans of Palawan, the Gadangs of Nueva
Viscaya, the Sagadans and Igorots of the Cordilleras, and the Manobos, B’laans, and
Muslims of the Visayas and Mindanao islands (House of Representatives, Republic of the
Philippines 2010).
In fact, this  liberal attitude towards divorce was considered one of the obstacles of
introducing Catholicism in the islands. A form of legal retribution was imposed on the part
of the party at fault resulting for instance in the return of the wife’s dowry if she committed
adultery and caused the divorce.

Spanish Rule (1521 to 1898)

Absolute divorce was prohibited under the Spanish Civil Code and only relative
divorce or what is similar in today’s Family Code as legal separation was allowed.

“La Siete Partidas”

2 grounds:
• Adultery on the part of the wife, and
• Concubinage by the husband.

American Colonial Rule (1898 to 1941)

When the Philippines was ceded by Spain to the United States via the Treaty of Paris
(1898), a wave of cultural and religious pragmatism premised on the principles of
Separation of Church and State and religious freedom enveloped the islands. The matter of
marriage was not to be spared by these new Western philosophies from the new colonial
rulers. The restrictive intrusions of the Catholic church into marriage was seen as
impermissible religious interference in a very personal decision which only the State
should be able to regulate.

American Colonial Rule (1898 to 1941)

Act No. 2710 was passed by the Philippine Legislature on March 11, 1917 which
allowed for absolute divorce on the ground of criminal conviction for adultery on the part
of the wife or concubinage on the part of the husband. Because of the limited grounds and
the requirement of criminal conviction, the difficulty of obtaining a divorce under the new
law quickly became clear and several attempts were made to further liberalize the process
of divorce in the Philippines. 300 years of colonial Spain and the Roman Catholic church
could not be undone that easily.

The Japanese Occupation (1941 to 1946)

It took World War II and an Asian neighbor to finally allow for an honest to
goodness divorce law in the Philippines. The Chairman of the Philippine Executive
Commission pursuant to the authority granted by the Commander in Chief of the Japanese
Imperial Forces in the Philippines, issued Executive Order No. 141 on March 25, 1943
which expressly repealed Act No. 2710 and allowed divorce under the following grounds:

• Adultery on the part of the wife and concubinage on the part of the husband
committed under any of the forms described in the Revised Penal Code;
• Attempt of one spouse against the life of the other;
• A second or subsequent marriage contracted by either spouse before the former
marriage has been legally dis. solved;
• Loathsome contagious diseases contracted either spouse;
• Incurable insanity which has reached such a stage that the intellectual community
between the spouses has ceased
• Impotency on the part of either spouse
• Criminal conviction of either spouse of a crime in which the minimum penalty
imposed is not less than six (6) years imprisonment;
• Repeated bodily violence by one against the other to such an extent that the spouses
cannot continue living together without endangering the lives of both or of either of
them;
• Intentional or unjustified desertion continuously for at least oneyear prior to the
filing of the action;
• Unexplained absence from the last conjugal abode continuously for three
consecutive years prior to the filing of the action;
• Slander by deed or gross insult by one spouse against the other to such an extent as
to make further living together impracticable.

Liberation and Independence (1946 to 1971)

Barely 3 years hence, with the end of World War II and the grant of Philippine
independence by the Americans who gladly turned over a war-ravaged colony back to its
political class, the Japanese version of divorce in the Philippines was abrogated. The legal
environment prior to the Japanese occupation was revived and with it the restrictive
divorce law under the Americans. This prevailed until the advent of the Civil Code of the
Philippines which was passed in 1950 which repealed any absolute divorce legislation in
the Philippines and practically restored Spanish colonial rules and Catholic mores in the
realm of marriage and family. There is a recognition, however, of the practice of divorce
among the Muslim or the then Moro populations of the Philippines.

The Martial Law Years (1972 to 1986)

Barely 15 years after the passage of the Civil Code of the Philippines, Ferdinand
Marcos rose to power, and declared martial law throughout the Philippines in 1972
auspiciously just before his rule would have ended the following year. Eager to ingratiate
himself to the Muslim population of southern Philippines, the dictator issued Presidential
Decree 1083, A DECREE TO ORDAIN AND PROMULGATE A CODE RECOGNIZING THE
SYSTEM OF FILIPINO MUSLIM LAWS, CODIFYING MUSLIM PERSONAL LAWS, AND
PROVIDING FOR ITS ADMINISTRATION AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. The law provided for
the creation of Shariah courts in the Philippines and allowed for divorce among Muslims ,
or when the husband is Muslim, and the marriage was celebrated under Muslim rites. This
law is the only effective divorce law in the Philippines and remains in full force and effect.

The Family Code of the Philippines (1988 to Present)

Fourteen (14) years of martial law tested the political will of the Filipino people to
its breaking point culminating in the People Power Revolution of February 1986 led by
Corazon Aquino who set up a revolutionary government upon coming to power. Among the
first revolutionary laws passed under executive fiat was Executive Order No. 109,
otherwise known as the Family Code of the Philippines on July 6, 1987 and became
effective on August 3, 1988. It allowed for the filing of a petition for Declaration of Nullity
on the ground of psychological incapacity, which has been argued by some as a form of
divorce since the ground must have existed upon the celebration of the marriage although
it may have manifested itself after the marriage. (Article 36, Family Code of the
Philippines). A declaration of nullity renders the marriage void ab initio or from the very
beginning, but produces legal effects as to status of children and treatment of property of
the spouses.

ARGUMENTS SUPPORTINGDIVORCE

Divorce is very beneficial to one of the spouses if someone is abusive or has committed
adultery.

Trying to change the spouse most likely won’t work for them because his/her abusive
habits will still remain.

If both of you were not happy and working anymore, its better to give up marriage than
repairing it as a cycle.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST DIVORCE

Divorce puts great stress, anxiety and depression on families.

Protect and defend the sanctity of marriage.

Divorce doesn’t solve problems, it destroys families.

LEGALITY OF DIVORCE
 • The Philippines' lower house of Congress has passed a divorce bill on the third
reading, moving the country closer to legalization.
• The bill passed despite opposition from President Rodrigo Duterte, who had his own
marriage legally annulled.
• However, for divorce to become legal the Senate also has to pass a bill in favor, and
even then Mr Duterte could still use his veto to strike it down.
• Worldwide, divorce is only illegal in the Philippines and Vatican City.
• Over 80% of people in the Philippines describe themselves as Catholic, and the
church has a powerful influence in the country.
• Congresswoman Emmi de Jesus said the bill was filed because of a "clamour of
women trapped in abusive relationships", who need the government to give them a
means out of "irreparable marriages".
• There have been numerous attempts by the Philippine Congress to legalize divorce,
calling it “pro-poor”—that is less costly for unfortunate couples who were fooled to
believe that their marriage was a bed of roses

TRENDING NEWS RELATED TO THE ISSUE

Singapore- a woman, who found out that her husband wanted a divorce, caused a fire in
their matrimonial home on the 13th floor a Bedok North block of flats, resulting in more
than $17,000 in damage
The fire, which started from a lit cigarette, also caused residents of 20 units between 10 th
and 14th floors of the block to evacuate. No one was injured in the blaze. Malisah
Mohammad aid, 31, was sentenced on Thursday (Aug 6) to five months jail after admitting
to a mischief charge.

STATISTICAL FIGURES
 MORAL JUDGEMENT

We are against Divorce, and one biggest factor as to why we are against divorce is our
religion. As a Roman catholic, marriage is one of the Seven Sacraments that we catholic
celebrate and hold dear. And Marriage according to Catholic church is a public sign that one
gives oneself totally to another person It is especially sacred to Catholics because having a
church wedding means a person is not only making a promise to his/her future spouse but
also to God. And Roughly 83 percent of Filipinos are Roman Catholics, that’s why the
church firmly says no. As a Roman Catholic we cannot lose the sanctity of marriage.

Thanks!