House approves divorce bill on final reading

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MANILA, Philippines — The divorce billwas approved by the  House of Representatives on third and final reading on Wednesday.

During the plenary session on Wednesday — the last day for the 19th Congress’ second regular session — House Bill No. 9349 or. the Absolute Divorce Act was approved with 126 lawmakers voting in the affirmative, 109 in the negative, and 20 abstentions.

The bill was approved on third reading two months after it was referred to the plenary by the House committee on population and family relations, and a week after lawmakers voted to pass it on second reading.

Under the Absolute Divorce Act, the following are considered grounds for absolute divorce:

• Physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner
• Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation
• Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement
• Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six (6) years, even if pardoned
• Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism or chronic gambling of the respondent
• Homosexuality of the respondent
• Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippines or abroad
• Marital infidelity or perversion or having a child with another person other than one’s spouse during the marriage, except when upon the mutual agreement of the spouses, a child is born to them through in vitro fertilization or a similar procedure or when the wife bears a child after being a victim of rape
• Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner, a common child or a child of the petitioner
• Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one (1) year
• When the spouses are legally separated by judicial decree for more than two (2) years, either spouse can petition the proper Family Court for an absolute divorce based on said judicial decree of legal separation