MANILA, Philippines — While recognizing that divorce could solve some problems of impossible marriages, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said such an option for couples would just create more problems than producing solutions.
Cayetano, who has previously expressed his opposition to divorce, said that he would rather study why the process of annulment is so hard in the country.
“My personal view na hindi ko naman ini-impose sa buong Kongreso is that once mag-divorce ka, ang pupuntahan na nun, no fault divorce. Ibig sabihin, ang kasalan parang magsyota lang, parang nagboyfriend o mag-girlfriend,” Cayetano told reporters.
(My personal view which I am not imposing on Congress is that once you get divorced, it will just go to no-fault divorce. This means marriages are only just being like in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.)
“So I would rather we study bakit ba napakahirap kumuha ng annulment (why it is so hard to get annulment) or any other kind of dissolution of marriage that will still protect marriages,” he added.
In October 2019, Cayetano said he does not believe that absolute divorce is the solution to dysfunctional marriages, but assured that he would not stop any committee from deliberating about it.
The controversial bill managed to get the approval of the House of Representatives in the 17th Congress but faced a dead end in the Senate.
“So will divorce answer problems of impossible marriage? Some. But will it create more problems? Yes. Lalo yung mga apat, lima, anim ang anak tapos yung isang asawa lang yung nagta-trabaho (especially for those with four, five, six children and only one of the parents is working),” Cayetano said.
“Walang problema yung naghiwalay lang e, pero yung inabanduna yung buong pamilya tapos may mekanismo sila na magpapakasal ulit, baka more problems than solutions,” the House Speaker added.
(There is no problem if it’s just separation but when abandonment of family is involved and there is a mechanism to allow them to marry again, maybe it creates more problems than solutions.)