The Philippines took a step closer to reinstating absolute divorce as a consolidated substitute bill was approved by a technical working group (TWG) on March 2, 2023. The bill now awaits committee approval before it can be brought to the plenary for deliberation and voting.
The TWG, led by Albay First District Representative Edcel Lagman, has been tasked with crafting a bill that would legalize absolute divorce in the country. The consolidated substitute bill seeks to amend the Family Code of the Philippines, which currently only recognizes legal separation as a means to end a marriage.
The bill proposes that couples who have been separated for at least two years and are still unable to reconcile can file for absolute divorce. It also provides for the division of marital property and custody of children, as well as spousal support and child support.
Proponents of the bill argue that it is a necessary measure to address the growing number of failed marriages in the country. They believe that legalizing divorce would provide couples with an alternative to annulment, which is expensive and time-consuming, and legal separation, which does not allow either party to remarry.
However, opponents of the bill, including religious groups, argue that it undermines the sanctity of marriage and goes against the country’s Catholic values. They argue that the bill would lead to the breakdown of the family unit and the moral decay of society.
The passage of the bill would make the Philippines the last country in the world, aside from the Vatican, to legalize divorce. While there is no certainty that it will be passed into law, the approval of the consolidated substitute bill is a significant step forward for supporters of the measure.
The bill has been a controversial topic in the Philippines for years, with debates raging between those who believe it is necessary to modernize the country’s family laws and those who believe that it would do more harm than good. With committee approval looming, the fate of the bill hangs in the balance, and it remains to be seen whether it will be able to gain enough support to pass into law.
