Abante: Divorce bill ‘not a done deal’ amid alleged voting issues

MANILA, Philippines — Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. has cautioned his fellow lawmakers against making pronouncements that the divorce bill will certainly become law, as there are still issues surrounding the proposal’s voting tally in the House of Representatives.

In a statement on Tuesday, Abante said that House Bill (HB) No. 9349 is not a done deal despite it being approved in the House, as the chamber has deferred transmission of the bill to the Senate.

HB No. 9349 was approved on the third reading last May 22 with 126 votes in the affirmative, 109 in the negative, and 20 abstentions.  Controversy soon followed the bill after it was announced that there were actually 131 lawmakers who made a yes vote — sparking speculations that the tally was changed to get a majority vote.

“The House has deferred transmission of the Divorce Law to allow those like myself to raise our concerns regarding the vote taken on this measure, and I believe holding the bill is a prudent move given that there are legitimate issues here that must be resolved,” Abante, a staunch critic of divorce proposals, said.

Abante said he would raise the issue when the session resumes in July.

“When sessions resume in July, I will definitely raise this issue. This Divorce Law is not a done deal,” he added.

It was divorce bill sponsor and Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman who said last May 22, after the session adjourned, that the divorce bill will become law even before former Senate president Vicente Sotto III returns to office.

The claim was a jab at Sotto, who raised concerns about the voting results of HB No. 9349.  According to the former senator, the divorce bill should not have been approved because it only got 126 votes.

Sotto explained last May 22 that since the tally is 126-109-20 (affirmative-negative-abstentions), it means 255 House members were considered for the quorum, or participated in the voting process.

A majority vote, if 255 members are to be considered, should be 128, according to Sotto.

But Lagman insists that HB No. 9349 was approved properly because abstentions are not counted.

Lagman also confirmed to INQUIRER.net that the passage of the divorce bill was anchored on Section 117 of the 19th Congress’ House rules, part of which states that an “abstention shall not be counted as a vote. Unless otherwise provided by the Constitution or by these rules, a majority of those voting, there being a quorum, shall decide the issue.”

READ: Sotto says divorce bill lacked votes in House; Lagman says abstentions not counted

But after the voting tally was changed, Sotto believes it was adjusted because he raised concerns — as 131 affirmative votes is a majority vote to the new tally of 260 members participating in the quorum.

READ: Sotto insists divorce bill was approved incorrectly: That’s not legal

Abante said that aside from him, other lawmakers like Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and CIBAC party-list Rep. Eddie Villanueva believe the bill did not get the required number of votes to pass a third reading.

Last Thursday, Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez asked if the changes made to the divorce bill’s voting tally were just aimed at generating a majority vote.

READ: Rep. Gomez questions changes during voting tally on divorce bill

Meanwhile, Abante believes the bill is far from becoming law even if it was approved in the House, as it will be scrutinized in the Senate, citing Senate President Francis Escudero’s recent statements that he will neither push for nor against the proposed absolute divorce.

“Far from it, even assuming the measure hurdles the House, it must still be taken up in the Senate, and several senators have already indicated that they are not inclined to support the measure,” Abante said.