Lawmakers lament House panel approval of ‘unnecessary’ divorce bill

MANILA, Philippines — Two lawmakers continued to reject a bill instituting divorce in the Philippines despite its approval at the House committee level.

CIBAC Party-list Rep. Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” Villanueva labelled the bill as “practically unnecessary”, saying that the instituting divorce in the country will not solve the real issues of those wishing to get out of their marriage.

“First, it does not address issues of high cost of litigation and slow-grinding disposition of cases, which are the real problems encountered by those seeking relief from troubled marriages, particularly poor petitioners,” Villanueva said in a statement.

“Secondly and more importantly, it is a clear defiance to God and to the Constitution because it will terribly degrade the sacrosanctness of marriage as an inviolable institution,” he added.

Villanueva argued that there are already laws in place to address the issue of broken marriage, making the bill on divorce “unnecessary.”

“Worse, it just makes marriage ‘cheap’ because the grounds it qualifies as bases for divorce are shallow and not in favor of the strengthening the families – which is what the Constitution and various jurisprudence of the court decree,” the lawmaker said.

Instead, Villanueva said that the government could improve the annulment process in the country and make it pro-poor.

“It may necessitate an executive action or a legislative one, but certainly not a divorce bill,” he said.

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader and Manila Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. said that the government should “find ways to keep families together, not tear them apart.”

Abante called on his colleagues to “reverse course on this disturbing path that threatens this sacred institution.”

“This proposed divorce law, unfortunately, only serves to erode the foundations of an institution that even the Constitution says we should value and protect,” Abante said in a statement.

Citing the Constitution, Abante underscored the responsibility of the government to “protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution.”

Abante added that if the House insisted on pushing for divorce, they should repeal the provisions that allow for annulment.

“We are just providing too many doors by which married couples can walk out of their marriages. While in extreme cases it is warranted, I believe one door is more than enough,” the lawmaker said.