Divorce bill ‘will pass through the eye of a needle’ in Senate, says Estrada

INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The proposed divorce law in the Senate will pass through the eye of a needle, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said on Tuesday.

Citing own survey he conducted among senators, Estrada saw a neck-and-neck fight for and against the proposal.

“Mabigat. Talagang dadaan sa butas ng karayom,” he said at the Kapihan sa Senado.

(It’s tight. It will really go through the eye of a needle.)

Estrada disclosed last week the initial result of his poll, with six senators in favor of the bill, and five, including him, opposing it.

According to him, he is against divorce because he is a devout Catholic.

“I adhere to the teachings of our Catholic Church. Period. Yun lang yung sa akin,” he said.

Another reason why he is opposing divorce, he noted, is that because annulment is expensive.

But instead of passing a divorce law, Estrada said annulment should be made affordable and accessible to the poor.

He reiterated that the proposed divorce law is not a priority of the Senate.

“Yung divorce naman, kahit may divorce bill o walang divorce bill e hindi naman makakatulong sa kumakalam na tiyan yan,” he claimed.

(With or without divorce, that will not help fill a hungry stomach.)

It has been eight months now since the Senate committee on women headed by  Senator Risa Hontiveros approved the divorce bill in September last year.

The bill remains pending before the Senate committee on rules until now.

Incidentally, the new chairman of the rules committee and concurrent Majority Leader Francis Tolentino is against divorce, Estrada noted.

A counterpart measure, on the other hand, was approved in the House of Representatives before Congress went on break on May 22.