A panel in the Philippine Senate approved a consolidated bill that grants absolute divorce in the country.
On Tuesday, September 19, 2023, the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality gave its nod to Senate Bill 2443. The bill was sponsored by Senator Risa Hontiveros, and co-authored by senators Raffy Tulfo, Robin Padilla, Pia Cayetano, and Imee Marcos.
According to the bill, absolute divorce means "legal termination of a marriage by a court in a legal proceeding." A petition or complaint for divorce must be filed by one or both spouses. If granted by the court, both parties' civil status shall then return to single.
The bill provides for several grounds for divorce, including:
- Five years of separation
- Physical and domestic violence
- Sexual abuse
- Infidelity
- Divorce processed in a foreign country
- Annulment
- Irreconcilable differences
In April 2023, the said Senate Committee also conducted a hearing on the absolute dissolution of marriages in the Philippines.
During the hearing, Sen. Risa stated that it is about time to give domestically abused individuals a chance to have a second life completely outside the boundaries of their abusive marriage.
"Most of them cannot leave their marriages because of the prohibitive costs of filing for an annulment. [...] Once you've realized you've made a mistake, the way out shouldn't be traumatizing to the average married Filipino -- financially, psychologically, and socially. We all deserve a second chance at love and in life," Senator Risa remarked.
Senator Risa has been a staunch advocate for divorce in the country, and has long explained that divorce does not force the country to not believe in marriages anymore.
Instead, it is only a legal chance for battered spouses and their children to start anew. "It’s not divorce that breaks the marriage. It’s the abuse or the oppression the lovelessness that preceded it," she argued.
Moreover, the bill includes measures that are pro-family and pro-children, like considerations for child custody and support.
Before becoming a law, the bill must be approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate, and signed by the president.
If ratified, it will be a breakthrough for the Philippines. Currently, it is one of the only two countries in the world that doesn't allow divorce, the other being Vatican City.
