PNoy Shuns Divorce, Allows Remarriage for Legally Separated

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said that he does not favor the legalization of divorce here in the Philippines. This was in response to the refiling of a bill that seeks to legalize divorce in the country. Based on reports, President Aquino said that he could not support “something like they do in Las Vegas.”

“The stereotype is you get married in the morning [and] you get divorced in the afternoon," the president said. However, President Aquino recognized that there are relationships that despite interventions and counseling, cannot be 'saved'. Instead, he offered the more 'stringent' legal separation as a resolution but suggested that the law allowed legally separated couples to remarry.

Divorce, Pinoy-style
Last July 27, Gabriela Women's Party List Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan and Emerenciana De Jesus filed a bill that seeks to add divorce as another legal measure for couples in failed and irreparable marriages aside from legal separation, declaration of nullity of the marriage and annulment. Furthermore, the bill stated in the explanatory note that “divorce could actually provide protection to battered women and their children from further violence and abuse.”

The said bill provides five grounds for the filing of a petition for divorce. These include:

1. separation in fact: parties separated for five years wherein reconciliation is highly improbable
2. legal separation for at least two years wherein reconciliation is highly improbable
3. when the grounds for legal separation cause the irreparable breakdown of the marriage
4. psychological incapacity
5. when parties suffer from irreconcilable differences that cause the irreparable breakdown of the marriage
   

Congw. Ilagan said that they were disappointed over the response of President Aquino towards their bill, saying that House Bill No. 1799 (An Act Introducing Divorce in the Philippines) will not be a “Las Vegas-style” divorce. “HB 1799 was carefully crafted to take into consideration Philippine values and traditions that give utmost importance to the way Filipinos appreciate the family as an institution. HB 1799 is divorce, Pinoy-style,” Congw. Ilagan said.

On the other hand, Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines National Chairperson Beth Angsioco said that the statement of the president about legally separated couples to remarry is “tantamount to divorce.”

Sen. Pia Cayetano responded that the public “should not hastily jump to conclusions or second-guess President Aquino based on the brief statement.” Furthermore, she expressed support for President Aquino's idea, stressing that amendments could be made to the Family Code of the Philippines that would allow legally separated couples to remarry.

Based on the Family Code of the Philippines, legally separated couples are not allowed to remarry. Only annulled couples are allowed to do so.

Reactions
The refiling of the said bill was met with both opposition and support. Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said that Philippines would become like other countries where couples get married and not take it seriously. Parañaque Rep Roilo Golez said that ratifying the law would give married couples a weapon of mass destruction that they could use against each other even for petty, solvable marital problems. Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone and Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga also agreed that divorce would weaken the foundation of the family. Meanwhile, Marikina Rep. Romero Federico Quimbo opined that the bill would not prosper since many members of the Congress are for the preservation of the sanctity of the family. According to Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, having a divorce bill may do more harm than good. The strongest opposition came from Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, saying that divorce is against the teaching of the Catholic Church.

On the other hand, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo Jr. and Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello supported the bill filed by their colleague. Representative Bello said that existing laws are not enough to protect human rights. In addition, having a divorce law would pave the way for the attainment of the full human development and self-fulfillment of the estranged couple.

Divorce in the Philippines Legal Before?
Incidentally, divorce was allowed during the American occupation, pursuant to Divorce Law of 1917 (Act No. 2710) and during the Japanese occupation, pursuant to Executive Order No. 141, until 1950. The implementation of the Civil Code and Family Code of the Philippines in 1949 and 1987, respectively, disallowed divorce in the Philippines.

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Kasal.com thanks the following sources for this article:
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