LIBRT the Divorce Bill should be implemented in the Philippines

Necessity

Nicolas was abandoned by his wife for more than 6 years. In 1985, he sought for the declaration of

nullity of their marriage on the ground of psychological incapacity. However, it was denied by the

Supreme Court. Now, he has been alone for more than 30 years.

Good afternoon, your honor/s.

That was the 2016 case of Matudan v. Republic where Justice Leonen pleaded the court to be more

open minded in his dissent:

To quote, “Parties should not be forced to stay in unhappy or otherwise broken marriages in the guise

of protecting the family. This avoids the reality that people fall out of love. There is always the

possibility that human love is not forever.”

When we speak of Divorce Bill, we refer to the House Bill 7303 in which absolute divorce is defined

as the separation between married couples that is total and final where the spouses return to their

status of being single with the right to remarry. This bill retains the existing remedies and only adds

divorce as one more remedy.

As the first speaker of the affirmative bench, it is my contention that Divorce Law is a necessity to

protect and strengthen marriage and family as a basic social institution mandated by the Constitution

because….

First, SOCIAL FORCES CONSTITUTE A VERITABLE ASSAULT ON THE FILIPINO FAMILY.

Official figures show that 14.4% of married women experience physical violence and 23% experience

emotional violence. Accdg. to the PNP, within the context of rising VAW incidence since 2004,

physical injuries account for 21%. The marital relations facilitate the commission of violence.

Also, economic crises tear families apart placing spouses in distant lands, thereby reducing the

quality time necessary to nourish family relationships and aggravating vulnerabilities to

extramarital indiscretions. Thus, accdg. to the DOJ, petitions for nullity and annulment have

significantly risen from 4,520 in 2001 to 10,528 in 2011.

Second, the EXISTING LEGAL REMEDIES ARE INADEQUATE TO RESPOND TO THE MYRIAD

CAUSES OF FAILED MARRIAGES.

Under the Family Code, the remedies of declaration of nullity and annulment do not cover the

problems that occur during the existence of marriage, for it presupposes that the marriage is

void/defective from the beginning. Legal separation, on the other hand, while covering problems

during marriage, like repeated physical violence and infidelity, among others, does not put an end to

marriage. The concept cannot certainly accommodate all cases.

Lastly, in irremediably broken marriages, there is nothing more to separate. The marriage ties have

been previously severed. Absolute divorce is granted after the fact of a marital breakdown. To

paraphrase the SC in Te v. Te, WHAT IS DONE IS GIVING A DECENT BURIAL TO A CADAVER

OF A MARRIAGE. The divorce law will be a rights-based option for majority of Filipinos based on the

recognition that the right to enter into a marriage contract has the corresponding spousal right

to end such contract when it has reached the point of irreparability. Thus, the bill provides,

among others, that a petition for divorce maybe filed when the petitioner has been de facto separated

from his/her spouse for at least 5 years and reconciliation is highly improbable; when the spouses

are legally separated by judicial decree, on the other hand, for more than 2 years, either or both

spouses can petition the court for an absolute divorce based on said judicial decree of legal

separation.

Philippines is the only remaining country in the world without a divorce law.

Ladies and gentlemen, SOCIAL FORCES CONSTITUTE A VERITABLE ASSAULT ON THE

FILIPINO FAMILY. However, EXISTING LEGAL REMEDIES FOR TROUBLED MARRIAGES ARE

INADEQUATE. But here comes now the DIVORCE BILL WHICH MAY GIVE A DECENT BURIAL

TO THE CADAVERS OF IRREMEDIABLY BROKEN MARRIAGES.

Therefore, this house strongly believes that Philippines is ready for the legalization of divorce.

Thank you & good afternoon!