Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman —official Fb web page of Edcel Lagman
MANILA, Philippines — The invoice permitting absolute divorce within the nation has been accredited on third and ultimate studying by the Home of Representatives on Wednesday in a 120-9 vote for 129 Representatives, who voted.
The invoice advancing this far “was a transparent and resounding victory and indicators the approaching liberation for Filipino wives who’re entombed in poisonous, abusive and long-dead marriages,” mentioned the writer of the invoice, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.
Home Invoice No. 9349 offers spouses a fourth mode of dissolving what Lagman referred to as a “irreparably damaged or dysfunctional marriage” based mostly on restricted grounds. The opposite three allowed beneath the Household Code are canonical dissolution, annulment and authorized separation.
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The final time a divorce invoice emanating from the Home hurdled ultimate studying was within the seventeenth Congress, throughout the first half of the Duterte administration, however it will definitely languished within the Senate.
The most recent Home invoice, which underwent 9 days of flooring debates, is prone to face an uphill battle within the Senate, apart from the anticipated all-out opposition from the Catholic Church.
‘Inequalities, violence’
The present Senate model of the divorce invoice, which was filed by Senators Risa Hontiveros, Raffy Tulfo, Robin Padilla, Pia Cayetano and Imee Marcos, was accredited on the committee stage final 12 months—a primary since 1986—however had but to maneuver ahead.
The Philippines and the Vatican are the final two states but to legalize divorce.
In a press release, Lagman on Wednesday assured critics of the measure {that a} divorce regulation wouldn’t destroy marriages as a result of “divorce doesn’t put asunder a wedding because the union has lengthy perished. What will likely be earlier than the Household Court docket is a cadaver of a wedding.”
“Divorce is just not the monster plaguing a wedding. It’s marital infidelity, abandonment, violence and cruelty, amongst others, that are the devils that destroy marriages,” he mentioned.
ACT Lecturers Rep. France Castro, one other opposition lawmaker applauding the invoice’s progress, mentioned “This measure will give a much-needed choice for ladies and households who’re caged in damaged marriages, particularly these the place violence is concerned.”
“This may not destroy the sanctity of marriage, however that is simply an acknowledgment that some marriages simply merely get to some extent the place it turns into irreparable.”
READ MORE: Filipinos demand proper to divorce: ‘We wish to break away’
Most vocal opponents
“It’s simple to color Filipino households as excellent, devoid of any type of battle and abuse. However in actuality, political, financial, and social realities pressure marital relationships. Many ladies face inequalities and violence that undermine the beliefs of marriage,” mentioned one other allied lawmaker, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas.
Through the vote on third studying, among the many most assertive of the 120 members who voted no had been Cagayan Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“We have gotten a liberal nation like America,” Abante mentioned. “I simply hope that this divorce invoice will likely be one thing that can’t be taken benefit of by some individuals. We don’t need this invoice to turn out to be a instrument (to destroy marriages).”
“We must always have realized that annulment and authorized separation exist to treatment problematic marriages with out rebeling towards God, insulting Him, and drawing the curses of disobeying Him,’’ Cibac Rep. Bro. Eddie Villanueva mentioned, explaining his opposition. “Could God have mercy on our nation!”
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