Group Name:

Almonte, Mariafe
Bague, Bhincent,
Belarmino, Princess Heart
Villaruel, Carmina
Zulueta, Rickie Mhae

Yr. & Section: 2nd year AB Political Science

Due Date: Tuesday (Oct. 16, 2022) , (9:00AM) submit your work in hard copy

GROUP ACTIVITY
Part I. Information recall - access the knowledge you've gained regarding
Argumentation.

1. Think of a topic for a Debate.

DIVORCE

2. Develop your chosen topic to make it a CLAIM.

THE DIVORCE IN THE PHILIPPINES SHOULD BE LEGALIZED

3. Identify what type of CLAIM did you make. (claim of fact, value, policy)
POLICY
 The Divorce in the Philippines Should be Legalized

I. INTRODUCTION

“Till death do us Part” this one of the typically used in wedding vows because marriage is
designed to last forever. Most of us held these remarks to be true. Given that marriage is seen
as a sacred relationship between a man and a woman, it must be loved and appreciated and
also build their families. But what if a couple’s once-unique love begins to fade? What if as
time goes on the love weakens and becomes unstable? What would happen if everything
changed and someone started leading a miserable life? In a reality and in a present
situations , there are a lot of unhappy and unsuccessful marriages all around the country.
Marriage is rarely as happy as people imagine. But The Philippines is the only country in the
world, aside from the Vatican City, where divorce is not legal (Emery 2013).
Divorce would be one of the alternatives for resolving these issues. Because if you know
that you are locked in a broken marriage. Better choose to separate because you will only get
hurt more if it will take several years. We know that for a very long time the Christian
Religion has not allowed this method. But we also know that every person has a rights here
in our country and it is contained in the Bill of Rights or the 1987 Philippine Constitution
especially if you are being violence in your relationship. This is also better, especially since
we are in a Democratic country, the greatest course of action for starting again and locating
the spouse who will make them happy in every aspect of their lives is to allow couples to
legally divorce. Because if you know that you are locked in a broken marriage. “Don’t settle
for a less marriage”.

II. BODY 1
Nowadays I agree that divorce is usually legalized because some of a wife or husband are
cannot understand each other in different situations and different reasons when it comes to
financial, lack of communication and lack of patience and violence. Whether, when the times
they have a trouble they automatically being selfish at the same time because they have not
concern to the feelings of their child.
The author Elpidio Que Vigan(2022)shows how the Philippines should be legalized, it
stated in the article :
It is a fact that countless marriages have turned sour, to the point of having violent
consequence. Pretending to be “happily married” is the name of the game for many of them.
Allowing them to divorce would be positive for them, so they could go their separate ways to
find their real soul mates. Not allowing them would be cruelty of the highest order. Unlike
divorce, marriage annulment is a long, tedious and costly process.

Robert Young Jr., San Juan (2002) shows how the Philippines should be legalized, it stated
in the article:
If divorce is legalized, one thing for sure, the happiness index among unhappy married
couples will zoom. As to how the Philippine government will benefit will depend on how
much they are going to charge couples for the filing fee.
Primarily, the author uses the evidence to prove that divorce is totally a good idea for
unhappy marriage and divorce is generally help with the marriage that will usually full of
assault or violence. This is not happy marriage right?. Thereby, if you will not ready in stage
to being married don’t push yourself to doing this because sometimes it will already have
impact in your children. So, choose wisely and be responsible.

III. BODY 2
Divorce must be legalized in the Philippines because opposing this policy is similar to
normalizing domestic violence and denying women, men, and children protection. The
reason would be that, as a Filipino government who believes that they are protecting the
sanctity of marriage, they are allowing the normalization of abuse and lack of protection to
the people who are victims of being trapped in a relationship that’s been broken, because in
the first place, the reason why divorce will be a choice in life is because there is something
wrong in the marriage. Divorce wouldn’t be a choice if there were no problems in a
relationship.

The author Jon Reyes (2022) shows how the Philippines should legalize divorce, it stated
in the article that
“The lack of legal divorce in the Philippines exacerbates existing class and gender
inequalities. With the current system, only the upper class can afford the legal options to
inquire about the dissolution of unsuccessful marriages, not to mention the lengthy process
required for legal separation. This emphasis on protecting the sanctity of marriage over all
else also normalizes domestic violence, mostly suffered by women through verbal and sexual
harassment, and children through exposure to parents’ conflicts. Moreover, the absence of
divorce reflects lawmakers’ lack of protection to women suffering abuse with an inability to
escape from their horrible reality of marriage.
Divorce should be legalized because, without it, Filipino women and children are left in a
precarious and dangerous position. It should be legal in a country where women play a vital
role in society. Divorce does not dishonor the sanctity of marriage in the Philippines but
rather aims to give Filipino couples a more accessible choice if their marriage is
unsuccessful. Legalizing divorce would be beneficial for everyone regardless of gender, age,
and status.”
The author uses the evidence to show how the legalization of divorce will be beneficial for
everyone, regardless of gender, age, and status. And getting into a relationship or marriage is
accepting the responsibility that you must need to look after for your family, and one of those
responsibilities is the security of the family. So, why would you stay in a relationship if you
know that the problem in the family is being caused by the parents? It’s not that you want the
divorce for your own good, but it’s for the sake of your family.

IV. COUNTER CLAIM PARAGRAPH

 The opposite view is that, when it comes to family, marriage is sacred, involves
spiritual,emotional,and physical closeness, that it can’t be change or touch. Some people
think that divorce may lead to the destruction of the Filipino Family, some may say that
divorce is to break family relationship, but how about who suffers from abuse and
domestic violence like women?Our children experienced family toxic environment,
because of fighting and screaming of there parents. How can they be healed?

 According to the (2017) National Demographics and Health Survey Conducted by the
Philippine Static Authority,one in four Filipino women age 15-49 has experienced
physical, emotional or sexual violence by their husband or partner. It is indeed alarming
that despite efforts to address the concern, the Violence Against Women(VAW) persist.
How they can still together? If they broken already?

 There are many reasons why divorced should be legalized in the Philippines Published
by Statista Research Department, (Nov 23, 2021) The statistic shows the reasons why
respondents think divorce should be legalized in the Philippines in 2018. During the
period examined, 51 percent of the respondents stated that divorce can solve marital
problems, followed by 18 percent of the respondents who claimed that divorce gives
people a chance to remarry.

 Many studies have shown the health risks to staying in a Unhealthy

relationship( 2022)
Those who find themselves in toxic relationships face greater health risks. In a study that
followed more than 10,000 subjects for over 12 years, researches found that those in
negative relationship were at a greater risk for developing heart problems, including
fatal
cardiac events, than those who were not in a negative relationship. Might as well,give
the people another chance to heal and be with someone else, If you don’t want a divorce.
 Then don’t get a divorce, but I will be nice if we had a choice, for people who’s already
experiencing violence in their home.

V. CONCLUSION

Divorce is one of the hot topic nowadays because it can also be a protective tool
against domestic violence, which is the strongest reason why it should exist. In other
countries, they found a significant reduction of spousal conflict and extreme partner
violence once divorce was an accessible option. Divorce must be legalized in the
Philippines. Looking at the news and information regarding harassment and
abusement. Many people especially women experiencing this kind of inhuman
treatment due of having a bad relationship with a guy. If divorce is legalized, one
thing for sure, the happiness index among unhappy married couples will zoom. As to
how the Philippine government will benefit will depend on how much they are going
to charge couples for the filing fee.

VI. REFERENCES

https://www.mironline.ca/inaccessibility-domestic-violence-and-lack-of-protection-
should-the-philippines-legalize-divorce/

https://psa.gov.ph/content/one-four-women-have-ever-experienced-spousal-violence-
preliminary-results-2017-national

© Statista 2022
Source https//:www .statista.com