House passes divorce bill on final reading

Despite opposition of President Rodrigo Duterte, members of the House of Representatives on Monday, March 19, approved on third and final reading a measure allowing divorce in the country.  (Pixabay photo)

Despite the opposition of President Rodrigo Duterte, members of the House of Representatives on Monday, March 19, approved on third and final reading a measure allowing divorce in the country.

Voting 134-57-2, the lower chamber approved House Bill 7303, or the proposed Act Instituting Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage in the Philippines.

This measure seeks to provide cheaper court proceedings for the grant of absolute divorce and a faster option for couples who would want to end their marriage.

Once divorce becomes effective, the marriage bonds will be severed and ex-spouses will have the right to remarry either by a civil or religious ceremony.

It also provides the grounds on the granting of an absolute divorce which include the grounds for legal separation and annulment of marriage under the Family Code of the Philippines, separation in fact for at least five years, legal separation by judicial decree for at least two years, psychological incapacity, gender reassignment surgery, irreconcilable differences, and joint petition of spouses.

Under the latest version of the measure, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will also be given priority over other applicants as courts will give them “preference” in the scheduling of hearings.

A mandatory of a six-month cooling-off period will also be provided for petitioner spouses, during which the court will not start the trial for absolute divorce after one is filed to try to reunite and reconcile the concerned parties.

According to Albay first district Edcel Lagman, the proposed law is a “pro-woman legislation” which aims to liberate spouses from “an abusive relationship and helps her regain her dignity and self-respect.”

The President expressed his objection to this bill, believing that this should not be approved as it would make a negative impact on the children of the couple.

“Ang Presidente po ay tutol sa divorce. Ang sabi niya, kawawa ang mga anak (The President is against divorce. He said the children would be pitiful),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press conference in Camarines Sur on Monday.

The spokesman also noted that Duterte thinks that legalizing divorce in the Philippines will take away the right of the abandoned spouse to file charges against his or her partner.

“Kung magkakaroon ng divorce, mawawalan ng karapatan ng magsampa ng kaso yung mga asawa na pinabayan ng mga asawa nila matapos sila magdivorce. ‘Yan ang position niya (If there will be divorce, the abandoned spouses will lose their rights to file cases against their partners after divorce. That’s the President’s position),” he added.