Villanueva warns of ‘drive-thru’ marriage repeal via divorce bill

Senator Joel Villanueva, a devout Christian and proud son of an evangelist, warns of the possible emergence of a “drive-thru” or express dissolution of marriage in the Philippines via the proposed divorce law. INQUIRER.net stock photo

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Joel Villanueva, a devout Christian and proud son of an evangelist, warned of the possible emergence of a “drive-thru” or express dissolution of marriage in the Philippines.

He raised the alarm as congressional debates and decisions on the Absolute Divorce Bill loom.

“How can this affect our Filipino families? Baka ho magkaroon ng drive-thru. Lahat ng kanto dito sa Pilipinas.  At ‘pag ang mag-asawa ay nagaway — ayaw lang ng bangs, ayaw lang ng shampoo, ayaw lang ng niluto ni misis — magaaway at maghihiwalay. Eh baka ho hindi tayo ready doon,” Villanueva told reporters in an ambush interview on Tuesday.

(How can this affect our Filipino families? Maybe there will be a drive-thru. In every street in the Philippines. And whenever a married couple argues — just because of undesirable bangs, shampoo, or meals cooked by the wife — a fight will happen and then they’ll divorce. Maybe we are not ready for that.)

READ: How House members voted on divorce bill

The House of Representatives, before adjourning its second regular session on May 22, approved the contentious divorce bill.

The lower chamber initially reported that 126 lawmakers voted in favor of the proposed divorce law and that 109 House members voted against while 20 members abstained from voting.

“Ginagalang namin ang posisyon ng House despite the fact na napaka-questionable ng nangyaring botohan. But it’s on their turf at hindi namin pakikialaman po ‘yun,” Villanueva said.

(We respect the position of the House despite the fact that the voting that happened is very questionable. But it’s on their turf and we won’t interfere with that.)

Instead, the senator asked their counterparts in the lower chamber to respect the Senate’s time to study the proposed divorce law.

READ: Estrada’s survey shows tight tally on divorce bill at Senate

Still, Villanueva stressed he could not see how the divorce bill would help poor Filipinos.

“Parang sinasabi pa rin na kagaya ng annulment, ito ay para sa mayayaman pa rin,” he said.

(It’s like saying that similar to annulment, it’s still for the rich.)

“Kami po sa Senado ay willing i-scrutinize at pag-aralang mabuti kung ano ang magiging epekto nito, ano ang magiging epekto sa Family Code, anong magiging epekto nito sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino — na tayo majority ay Kristiyano,” he emphasized.

(We in the Senate are willing to scrutinize and study carefully what will be the effect of this, what will be the effect on the Family Code, what will be the effect on every Filipino family — that we are mostly Christians.)

To support his argument, Villanueva said majority of Filipinos believe in the holy sacrament of marriage. He even quoted the Book of Malachi in the Bible, pointing out that God made a categorical statement against divorce.

“So, kung ang Diyos mo sinasabi na: ‘I hate divorce,’ ‘yung Diyos mo na author ng Word of God na sinasabi ng Constitution doon sa preamble — “that we the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of almighty God,” – who is this God that we are referring to? Is this the same God who said I hate divorce and now we are passing a measure that would promote divorce?,” he asked.

(So if your God is saying: ‘I hate divorce,’ the very same God who is the author of the Word of God who is also being quoted in the Constitution’s preamble — “that we, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of almighty God” — who is this God that we are referring to? Is this the same God who said I hate divorce? And now we are passing a measure that would promote divorce?)