House committee approves divorce

The Philippines is the only country in the world that sees divorce as illegal (Pexels photo)

A more affordable and faster way of dissolving the union of married couples was passed in the House of Representatives at a committee level on February 21.

The House Committee on Population and Family Relations led by Laguna Representative Sol Aragones approved the still unnumbered bill entitled “An Act Providing for Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage.”

The Philippines is the only country in the world that sees divorce as illegal – except for Filipino Muslims in the country because of Presidential Decree No. 1083 on the “Code of Muslim Personal Laws.” The only other place not allowing divorce apart from the Philippines is the Vatican which is a city.

But the said bill which is a consolidation of four bills is aimed to finally introduce this legal separation as an alternative to marriage annulment which requires more time and money.

According to its main author, also the author of the Reproductive Health Bill, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the bill also aims to address the woes of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) – taken from the visit of lawmakers to OFWs to hear their concerns.

Its co-author House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez mentioned that solons had to cross party-lines in a press conference on Wednesday as reported by SunStar.

“Ngayon, itong panukalang batas na ito, napaka–significant din ito dahil dito lang nagsama-sama ‘yung majority, ‘yung Makabayan bloc, ‘yung minority (Now, this is significant because the majority bloc, Makabayan bloc, and minority bloc united to support it),” Alvarez said in the press conference right after its approval in the House Committee.

“An Act Providing for Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage” also included proposals from Surigao Del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers and the Gabriela Party-List.

According to Barbers, five years of separation is a valid reason for a married couple to dissolve their union.

“Why are we making it hard for aggrieved partners to annul their marriages?

With the simple ground of a five-year separation as a valid reason, seeking an annulment of a marriage from court would be faster, simpler and less expensive,” he said earlier this month.