Sen. Loren Legarda during a public hearing of the committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Legarda said on May 30, 2024, that she is still keeping her options open, even after signing a Senate committee report on the controversial divorce bill. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Loren Legarda is still keeping her options open, even after signing a Senate committee report on the controversial divorce bill.
Nine senators, including Legarda, have affixed their signatures to the Senate committee on women’s report on Senate Bill No. 2443, which expands the grounds for dissolution of marriage in the country.
The bill, however, remains pending before the Senate committee on rules.
“Naglagda ako dun ng aking signature and that will imply that I wanted this cause because maaring napapanahon na at ating tingnan ang diskusyon kung papaano ito mapapaigting na ito’y makakasakop ng marami para mabawasan ang mga naapektuhan, naghihinagpis na mga naabusong kababaihan pati na rin kalalakihan,” she said in an interview with Senate reporters on Thursday.
(I signed it and that will imply that I wanted this cause because it might be timely and we need to discuss how to strengthen this effort to reach more people and reduce the number of affected and distressed abused women and men.)
READ: Estrada’s survey shows tight tally on divorce bill at Senate
“Pero titingnan natin ‘yung diskusyon sa floor kasi iba-iba ang versions, right?” she also said.
(However, we need to see the discussion on the floor because there are different versions, right?)
“So ang tanong: ito ba’y napapanahon? Anong version ba? Ano ba ‘yung grounds? Kasi dapat maging katanggap-tangap at accessible sa mga mahihirap na pamilya na hindi kaya ang mga mamahaling abogado,” the senator continued.
(So the question is: Is this timely? What version? What are the grounds? Because it should be acceptable and accessible to poor families who cannot afford expensive lawyers.)
READ: Forwarding of divorce bill to Senate on hold
The committee report was also signed by Senators Risa Hontiveros, Raffy Tulfo, Robin Padilla, Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Grace Poe, JV Ejercito, and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel.
Six of the nine signatories in the panel report have also affirmed their support for the bill based on the survey conducted by Senate President Pro Tempore Jingoy Estrada.
Estrada identified the six as Padilla, Poe, Hontiveos, Marcos, Cayetano, and Tulfo.
On the other hand, five senators said they are against divorce, namely: Estrada, Joel Villanueva, Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, and Senate President Francis Escudero.
In separate interviews, Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri and Cynthia Villar also expressed their opposition to the divorce bill.
“Alam naman ng lahat, I have a very happy family life so I’m not in favor of divorce,” Villar said in an interview on Wednesday, May 29.
The House of Representatives approved last week its own version of the divorce bill.