Atienza tells Speaker to reconsider proposal to easily dissolve marriage

Buhay partylist Representative Lito Atienza. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza on Tuesday cried foul over a proposal by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to file a bill allowing unhappy couples to jointly petition before the court for the dissolution of their marriage, saying the Speaker should reconsider his suggestion.

In a statement, Atienza said Alvarez’s planned bill allowing couples to jointly petition their dissolution of marriage “effectively destroys the institution of marriage in the country.”

Atienza pleaded Alvarez to reconsider this proposal, which the Speaker first mentioned in an interview with ABS-CBN.

“I hope and pray that Speaker Alvarez doesn’t pursue this line of thinking. This would not strengthen marriage, this would destroy marriage.  For Catholics, this is a contract of union before man and before God under the Sacrament of Marriage.  I still hope that he was only joking when he said his ideas,” Atienza said.

Atienza said no other country has adopted such a proposal allowing couples to easily dissolve their marriage through a joint petition in court.

“This destroys the sanctity, respect and value of the family. I don’t know of any other country in the world that has adopted this kind of law which makes it easy to dissolve a marriage upon agreement,” Atienza said.

Atienza said the proposal defeats the purpose of marriage, which is symbolically a signed contract before the eyes of God.

“Kapag ayaw na ng mag-asawa sa isa’t isa, pwede na maghiwalay agad (When a couple no longer want to be with each other, they can easily separate). The genuine essence of marriage is totally removed from the intention of his bill with the idea to make it easy for a couple to separate. Para bang mag-usap na lang kayo, pag ayaw na, hiwalay na. Papaano naman yung kontratang pinirmahan na ang testigo ay ang Panginoong Hesukristo? (It’s just like talking among themselves and deciding to separate just like that. So, what happens now to the contract they have signed that witnessed by our Lord Jesus Christ?)” Atienza said.

“Handa tayong tutulan ito sa Kongreso. Sana ay maghinay-hinay si Speaker sa panukalang ito.  Umaasa pa din tayo na nagbibiro lamang siya nung sinabi nya ito,” he added.

(We are prepared to oppose this [proposal] in Congress. I hope the Speaker takes it slow with this proposal. We are expecting that he is just kidding when he said these things)

In an interview with ABS-CBN, Alvarez said he would prioritize the filing of a bill to allow easy dissolution of marriage, to get away with the more tedious process of annulment. JPV