Women-sector solons refile divorce bill

TWO legislators representing the women sector have refiled the bill  seeking to legalize divorce in the country to give married couples in irreparable marriages another legal remedy to resort to in addition to the country’s existing laws on legal separation and annulment.

Party-list Reps. Luzviminda Ilagan and Emerenciana de Jesus of Gabriela said House Bill 1799, or “An Act Introducing Divorce in the Philippines,” lists down five grounds for the filing of a petition for divorce that include “separation in fact for five years” and legal separation for two years.

Other for legal separation may also apply when these same grounds have already caused the irreparable breakdown of the marriage.

“In addition, psychological incapacity, causing one’s failure to comply with essential marital obligations and irreconcilable differences causing the irreparable breakdown of the marriage are also recognized as grounds for divorce,” said Ilagan.

Ilagan underscored the need for a divorce law in the country because “we cannot ignore the fact that existing laws just do not suffice. Getting an annulment can be very expensive, while legal separation will not give estranged couples the right to remarry.”

In the explanatory note of the bill, the two female legislators said the measure also addresses the commission of violence in marital relations, citing the official reports of the National Police in 2009 that 19 women fall victims to marital violence every day. Among the forms of violence and abuse against women committed in 2009, wife battery ranked the highest at 6,783 or 72 percent.

“For women in abusive marital relationships, the need for a divorce law is real. It is high time that we give Filipino couples, especially the women, this option,” said de Jesus.

The militant legislators said even when couples start out well in their marriage, political, economic and social realities take their toll on their relationship.

“Some are not prepared to handle the intricacies of the married life. For a large number of women, the inequalities and violence in marriage negate its ideals as the embodiment of love, care and safety and erode the bases upon which a marriage is founded. The marital relations facilitate the commission of violence and perpetuate their oppression,” the bill said.

It said that in reality, there are many failed, unhappy marriages across all Filipino classes.

“Many couples especially from the marginalized sectors, who have no access to the courts, simply end up separating without the benefit of legal processes. The sheer number of petitions that have been filed since 1988 for the declaration of the nullity of the marriage under Article 36 of the Family Code [commonly known as “annulment”] shows that there are just too many couples who are desperate to get out of failed marriages,” the bill said.

The measure said couples must have the option to avail themselves of remedies that will pave the way for the attainment of their full human development and self-fulfillment and the protection of their human rights.

It said existing laws are not enough to guarantee and protect these rights.

The women’s party-list group first filed the divorce bill in the 13th Congress. The authors of the bill expressed hope that with more women in the House of Representatives, now totaling 59, the pro-women measure will gain more support and spark interesting debates on the floor. –Fernan Marasigan / Reporter, Businessmirror