Edcel Lagman —House of Representatives FB PHOTO
After weeks of plenary debates, a bill allowing absolute divorce in the Philippines was approved on second reading at the House of Representatives on Wednesday night.
Sponsored by Albay Rep Edcel Lagman, House Bill No. 9349, or the draft Absolute Divorce Act, calls for a fourth mode of terminating what he described as “irreparably broken or dysfunctional” marriages in the country. The three other modes allowed under the Family Code are canonical dissolution, annulment and legal separation.
If enacted into law, the bill would actually “reinstate” divorce in the country, as it was legal during the American colonial era and then abolished during the Japanese occupation.
Defending the bill on the floor before the voice vote, Lagman said absolute divorce would allow estranged couples a second chance at marital bliss.
“There are circumstances that will lead to the demise of a marriage and we should be able to address couples who are in distress,” he added.
No Las Vegas-style splits
Lagman argued that while the Family Code states that a marriage is supposed to be a permanent union, “permanence here is not doctrinal. It is a standard or a norm because permanence accepts exceptions even under the Family Code.”
According to Lagman, HB 9349 would prohibit “no-fault divorces,” or cases where couples would collude to avail themselves of the remedy. It is also designed not to be exploited for “Las Vegas (style), notarial, email and drive-through” divorces, which are allowed in other countries, particularly in the United States, he said.
The draft measure would offer divorce as an alternative mode for the “dissolution of an irreparably broken or dysfunctional marriage under limited grounds and well-defined judicial procedures.”
‘Prowoman’ measure
It also aims to “save the children from the pain, stress and agony consequent to their parents’ marital clashes or irreconcilable differences and grant the divorced spouses the right to marry again for another chance to achieve marital bliss.”
Parts of the bill reads: “Absolute divorce shall be judicially decreed after the fact of an irremediably broken marriage. The State shall assure that the court proceedings for the grant of absolute divorce shall be affordable and expeditious.”
“The option of absolute divorce is a prowoman legislation because in most cases, it is the wife who is entitled to a divorce as a liberation from an abusive relationship and to help her regain dignity and self-esteem.”
The bill provides for a “60-day cooling-off period” after the filing of a divorce petition to leave the door open for “a final attempt at reconciliation” between the spouses.
The grounds for absolute divorce adopt those applied to legal separation and annulment and also include other forms of domestic abuse. The bill also sets a prescription period of 10 years from the discovery of the ground for divorce.
Senate support sought
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate committee on women, welcomed the development at the House.
“I do hope my colleagues can support this important measure,” Hontiveros said on Thursday. “It’s time to give a second chance at love and life to Filipino women, men, children and families who need it.”
In September last year, her committee released a report on Senate Bill No. 2443 which seeks to expand the grounds for the dissolution of marriage. The bill includes a provision [for] absolute divorce.
Nine senators signed the committee report, including the five authors of the bill—Hontiveros and Senators Raffy Tulfo, Robin Padilla, Pia Cayetano, and Imee Marcos.
The four other signatories were Senators JV Ejercito, Grace Poe, Aquilino Pimentel III and Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda.
A known objector, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, earlier declared that “divorce is a big ‘no’ for me” but said he favored “making annulment accessible to the poor.”
In a message to reporters on Thursday, Villanueva said: “We have been consulting with our colleagues on this subject, and just like with all other proposed legislation, the senators are thoroughly studying and analyzing the implications of this proposal.”