COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE

Courtship – “ all forms of behavior by which one seeks to win the consent of another for
marriage”. ( burgess).
Courtship – is the stage preparatory to marriage. It includes a body of folkways and mores
through which a man and a woman can come to some point of mutual understanding from which,
a permanent union my emerge. [ Panopio, MacDonald and Raymundo; 1994].
Courtship – is a process of trial and error undertaken by individuals to find out who best fulfill
their love requirements; a complex process of offering and seeking satisfaction, generally with a
calculation of gain as compared with risk and with a concealment of real motives.[ Kirkpatrick,
1975].
Stages of Courtship

1. Dating – A man and a woman are provided the opportunity for friendly relations.
2. Going Steady – refers to the practice of dating one person exclusively, although it does
not necessary imply the prospect of marriage.
3. Private understanding - this takes place usually the period of going steady where a man
openly declares his love and affection for the woman and his desire to have her for a
wife.
4. Engagement – the process of falling in love develops first in private understanding and
later, culminates in public announcement.

MARRIAGE
-defined as formal and durable sexual union of man and woman, which is conducted
within a set of designated rights and duties. [ Lanz and Snyder, 1969;]

- Means the acquisition of a whole new set of duties and responsibilities, as well as few
rights. These duties are: work roles, sexual roles, and parenting roles.

The NEW Family Code of 1988 defines marriage as a special contract of permanent
union between a man and woman entered into, in accordance with law for the
establishment of conjugal and family life.

Requisites For Marriage

1. Legal capacity of the contracting parties – parties must be male and female or
different sexes.
 2. Consent of contracting parties – presence of an authorized solemnizing officer,
not a parental consent.
3. Valid marriage license – minimum age requirement is 18 years both male anf
female.
Above 21 but below 25, parental advice is required. At 25 and above , individual
is free to marry.

Dissolution of Marriage

Marriage can be dissolved through annulment, divorce and separation.

1. Annulment – the process by which marriage is considered null and void due to defective
marriage that has existed on or before the marriage. In annulment , the marriage is set
aside and the parties can marry again.
2. Divorce – it is complete dissolution of marriage wherein both parties can marry again.
3. Legal separation – it is only separation from bed and that both parties remain married to
each other.

Problems of the Filipino Family

1. Immaturity- inadequate preparation for family life and personality incompatibility.

2. Economic instability – average family earns income, which is below the poverty line.
3. Movements of the Filipino family to the city – due to poor income and lack of job
opportunities .
4. The “querida” system – maintaining a mistress is now common among the Filipinos.
5. Increase in the number of working mothers – due to insufficient income , the women is
forced to work.
6. Inadequacy of leisure time activities –
7. Unhealthy and unsanitary living condition – has to satisfy first the economic needs of his
family, hence , the situation.
8. Large number of children - means more mouth to feed.

Activity 1.
1.In your opinion , what is the futute of the Filipino family? Explain your answer.
2. are you in favor of divorce in the Philippines? Justify your answer.