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Bill seeks to make divorce impossible inPH

InterAksyon.comThe online news portal of TV5

MANILA, Philippines -- A bill designed to make the passage of a divorce law in the country impossiblehas been filed in the House of Representatives.

House Bill No. 37, or "An act providing for the protection of marriage as an inviolable social institutionand the family as the foundation of the nation and for other purposes," filed by Marikina RepresentativeMarcelino Teodoro "ensures that absolute divorce remains unacceptable in (the) Philippine legal system,and maintains that legal separation can be availed of by spouses in troubled marriage, as provided underthe Family Code, so they live independently of each other but without the right to remarry other persons."

The measure would also make a divorce obtained abroad by a Filipino citizen invalid in the Philippines.

Teodoro said the bill seeks to strengthen the family as the nation's foundation by making sure the bond ofmarriage remains intact "unless on grounds prescribed by existing law on the matter."

"There are initiatives from some groups as well as legislative proposals that support the introduction ofdivorce in the Philippines ... It still undermines the value of marriage by encouraging couples to put anend to their relationship instead of allowing them to reconcile immediately or fix the same over time," hesaid in his explanatory note.

However, party-list Representative Luz Ilagan of Gabriela vowed to counter Toedoros measure whenthey re-file the divorce bill.

"My take is how can one file an anti (-divorce bill) to a non-existent law? But Gabriela women's party willdefinitely re-file the divorce bill. We intend to time it with our anti-violence against women campaign," shesaid.

Ilagan said she will file the same bill they filed in the 15th Congress despite its unpopularity among somelawmakers."Essentially, there are no major changes. We will not even change the nomenclature to something moreacceptable to the oppositors. Divorce is divorce. Let's call a spade a spade. Its chances of being passedwill depend on many factors which will come out in the course of the deliberations," she said.

The divorce bill filed by Gabriela in the last Congress sought to allow couples in irreparable marriagesanother legal remedy that they can resort to in addition to the countrys existing laws on legal separationand annulment.

Ilagan said a divorce law could help put an end to the domestic violence that plagues many Filipinohomes.

The Philippines is the only country in the world (with the exclusion of the Vatican) that has still notlegalized divorce.

The bill filed by Gabriela proposed five grounds for the filing of a petition for divorce:

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1. Petitioner has been separated de facto (in fact) from his or her spouse for at least five years atthe time of the filing of the petition and reconciliation is highly improbable

2. Petitioner has been legally separated from his or her spouse for at least two years at the time ofthe filing of the petition and reconciliation is highly improbable

3. When the spouses suffer from irreconcilable differences that have caused the irreparablebreakdown of the marriage

4. When one or both spouses are psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential maritalobligations

5. Any of the grounds for legal separation that has caused the irreparable breakdown of themarriage

Bill barring passage of divorce law filedMANILA, Philippines - A senior administration lawmaker filed a bill that would make the passage of a

divorce law impossible in the country.

Marikina City Rep. Marcelino Teodoro filed House Bill No. 37 or An Act providing for the Protection of

Marriage as an Inviolable Social Institution and the Family as the Foundation of the Nation.

Teodoro said the passage of the measure will ensure that absolute divorce remains unacceptable in the

Philippine legal system, and maintains that legal separation can be availed of by spouses in a troubled

marriage, as provided under the Family Code, so they live independently of each other but without the

right to remarry other persons.

There are initiatives from some groups as well as legislative proposals that support the introduction of

divorce in the Philippines, Teodoro said.

It still undermines the value of marriage by encouraging couples to put an end to their relationship

instead of allowing them to reconcile immediately or fix the same over time, he said in his bill.

The lawmaker said the measure, if enacted into law, would strengthen the family as the foundation of the

nation by making sure the bond of marriage remains intact.

Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

He, however, stressed that existing laws on legal separation and annulment would be left intact.

Teodoro said his bill would also make a divorce obtained abroad by a Filipino citizen invalid in the

Philippines.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan vowed to re-file her pro-divorce bill that was junked in the 15th

Congress.

Ilagan said that she would re-file the measure alongside with the campaign against violence on women.

The Philippines is one of only two states in the world that has not legalized divorce, the other being the

Vatican.

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Legislative Update: House Bill 37 Anti-Divorce BillAn act providing for the protection of marriage as an inviolable social institution and the family as the

foundation of the nation and for other purposes.

(It) ensures that absolute divorce remains unacceptable in (the) Philippine legal system, and maintains

that legal separation can be availed of by spouses in troubled marriage, as provided under the Family

Code, so they live independently of each other but without the right to remarry other persons.

///

Solons still say no to divorce

THE incoming House leadership of the 16th Congress will reject any revived efforts to pass a

proposed law legalizing divorce in the country.

That is ungodly and a serious threat to the moral fiber of our society as it will ruin Filipino

families. Majority of our lawmakers would not support that. It is safe to say that the 16th

Congress will kill that measure (divorce) like what happened last Congress, Mandaluyong

City Rep. Neptali Boyet Gonzales II, who is assured of getting re-elected as House

Majority Leader again, stressed in an interview.

This developed as Marikina City Rep. Marcelino Teodoro filed House Bill (HB) No. 37 aimed

at protecting marriage against divorce and will attempt to nullify in the country the validity

of divorce obtained abroad.

Anact providing for the protection of marriage as an inviolable social institution and the

family as the foundation of the nation and for other purposes. (It) ensures that absolute

divorce remains unacceptable in (the) Philippine legal system, and maintains that legal

separation can be availed of by spouses in troubled marriage, as provided under the Family

Code, so they live independently of each other but without the right to remarry other

persons, Teodoros measure said.

During the recently-concluded Congress, Gabriela party-list Reps. Luzviminda Luz Ilaganand Emerenciana Emmi de Jesus filed House Bill (HB) No. 1799 or An Act Introducing

Divorce in the Philippines which died before the House committee on revision of

laws. Yesterday, Ilagan vowed to refile the measure without major changes from the

version that was submitted last Congress.

As we promised, this (divorce) will be refiled as part of our campaign to end the violence

against women, Ilagan said in a separate interview.

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Reacting to Teodoros bill, Ilagan said the measure is very premature because there is no

divorce in the country.

Ilagan called on her colleagues to help liberate couples who are in unhappy and

irreconcilable marriages. Let us give those in abusive marriages another option other than

those existing. I am referring to legal separation and annulment.

Under the divorce bill last Congress, the measure allows those who have been separated for

five years and those already legally separated for two years to apply for divorce.

The grounds for legal separation may also apply when these same grounds have already

caused the irreparable breakdown of the marriage.

As provided under Article 36 of the Family Code, psychological incapacity is one of the prime

grounds for legal separation or nullity of marriage.

Before the implementation of 1950 Civil Code, divorce was legal and was widely practicedamong ancestral tribes in Palawan, Nueva Vizcaya, the Cordilleras, the Manobos and

Moslems of the Visayas and Mindanao Islands.

Divorce was prohibited when the New Civil Code took effect on August 30, 1950 and

only legal separation was available.

The Office of the Solicitor General earlier disclosed that the number of annulment cases in

the Philippines increased by 40 percent from 4,520 cases in 2001 to 8,282 in 2010. It noted

that 61 percent of those who filed for annulment were women and the rest were men.

About 8,000 to 10,000 petitions for annulment are filed before the OSG, more than 90

percent of which have been granted by the courts.