Divorce should be an option in unhappy marriages — Gabriela solons

Divorce in Philippine history

The proponents of the divorce bill say that divorce had been part of the country’s legal system even before the arrival of the Spanish colonizers in the 16th century.

“Before the Spanish colonial rule, absolute divorce was widely practiced among ancestral tribes such as the Tagbanwas of Palawan, the Gadangs of Nueva Vizcaya, the Sagadans and Igorots of the Cordilleras, and the Manobos, B’laans and Moslems of the Visayas and Mindanao islands. Divorce was also available during the American period, starting from 1917 (under Act No. 2710 enacted by the Philippine Legislature), and during the Japanese occupation (under Executive Order No. 141) and after, until 1950,” said Rep. de Jesus.

It was only on August 30, 1950, when the New Civil Code took effect, that divorce was disallowed under Philippine law. Only legal separation was available. The same rule was adopted by the Family Code of 1988, which replaced the provisions of the New Civil Code on marriage and the family, although the Family Code introduced the concept of “psychological incapacity” as a basis for declaring the marriage void.
In recognition of the history of divorce in the Philippines, the framers of the 1987 Philippine Constitution left the wisdom of legalizing divorce to the Congress. Thus, the 1987 Constitution does not prohibit the legalization of divorce.

In the meantime, de Jesus said that the divorce proposal is respectful of and sensitive to differing religious beliefs in the Philippines. She said that it recognizes that the plurality of religious beliefs and cultural sensibilities in the Philippines demand that different remedies for failed marriages should be made available.

“It’s because of this that we retained the existing remedies of legal separation. Couples may choose from these remedies depending on their situation, religious beliefs, cultural sensibilities, needs and emotional state,” she said.

De Jesus also said that while divorce under their bill severs the bonds of marriage, divorce as a remedy is not necessary for the purpose of re-marriage.

“People can resort to it to achieve peace of mind and facilitate their pursuit of full human development,” she said.

She also explained that HB 1799 aims to make Philippine law consistent in the way it treats religious beliefs with respect to termination of marriage. Philippine law through the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 1083 [1977]) allows divorce among Filipino Muslims, in deference to the Islamic faith which recognizes divorce.

“Non-Muslim Filipinos should have the same option under Philippine law, in accordance with their religious beliefs,” she said.

Women already applying for divorce

Women activists from Gabriela Southern Tagalog have already thrown their support behind the divorce proposal and demanded that President Benigno Aquino III support the bill as well.

“This is yet another important issue that the president should take a stand on. If Aquino really had a solid grounding on the issues affecting the Filipino people and women in particular, then he should not hesitate to give this proposal his support,’ said Rona Jane B. Manalo, Gabriela-Southern Tagalog secretary-general.

Manalo said that there is an obvious need for a divorce bill in the country, and that in the communities their group help organize, there are already residents who want to apply for divorce if it would already passed into law.

“We have no intention of dissolving or destroying the Filipino family as an institution, but what we want are communities and a country where individuals have respect for one other and violence is not committed against women in faulty marriages. We have no need for unions or marriages where there is no respect, where the partners in it have no peace or happiness. Marriages that are no longer happy and those where the parties have resorted to hurting and abusing each other should be allowed to end,” she said.

In an interview with media, Ilagan said that some 800 cases for legal separation and annulment are filed before the Office of the Solicitor General each month. In the meantime, over 43,650 applications were recorded from 2001 to 2007. Women account for 61 percent of applicants, while 92 percent are Roman Catholic.