Senate President Vicente Sotto III was recently asked for his stance on the refiled divorce bill waiting to be read in Senate. On the question of what he thought the chances of such a bill were to be passed he replied: “There is a problem on the word divorce.”
(Senator Hontiveros Refiles Bill Legalizing Divorce In The Philippines)
Sotto said he spoke on behalf of the Senators he had been able to converse with regarding the bill. The collective opinion is that there is uncertainty about allowing a bill which enables divorce as a means of ending a marriage. For him, “Karamihan sa amin, mas madali kung ang pag uusapan natin eh dissolution of marriage. In other words, it is an upgraded annulment law. Kumbaga sa ano, may negative na dating.” [Many of us would prefer to refer to discuss the dissolution of marriage. In other words, it is an upgraded annulment law… Divorce has a negative connotation.]
Apparently, support for the bill would be stronger “as long as the word divorce would not be used.” Sotto explains: “There is more probability or possibility of support if it is not called divorce or we’re not talking of divorce but we’re talking of dissolution of marriage.”
(What If Divorce Were Legal in the Philippines?)
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri pushes for annulment to be made more accessible to the people in place of divorce. “We already have annulment in the Philippines. It is making it more efficient annulment process. I think that one is more acceptable to the majority of the members,” he said.
The Divorce Act of 2019 was recently refiled by Senator Risa Hontiveros. Under the bill, grounds for divorce include “psychological incapacity of either house, irreconcilable marital differences, marital rape or being separated for at least 5 years.”
Do you support divorce in the Philippines? Let us know why or why not!
