The Bill

The Divorce Bill

                The Divorce Bill has been passed on to the legislation in the Philippines. Considering that the Philippines is the only country that does not accept divorce as a part of their culture, the government thought that legalizing such bill will take away the Philippines from the “dark age”. This proposed bill was said to bring the Philippines into a new light, into a more modern take on civilization. As found in the explanatory note of the introduction of the Gabriela Party List 1799, the usual person to blame in a failed marriage is the woman. This bill will also protect a woman from discrimination. “The bill seeks to introduce divorce in Philippine law with a strong sense of confidence that it will be used responsibly by Filipino couples.” It is still pro choice, and it always will be. It is not something “required” for Filipinos, it is something that is left to their discretion. HB 1799, or also called Divorce Bill makes use of the positive approach towards Women’s rights and gives a positive light to the modern age for the Filipinos. In the Philippines, the sacrament of Matrimony is very much respected, but this time, Filipinos are headed towards a goal, and that goal is to make the country like the other countries in Asia and in the West, to make Divorce acceptable among Filipinos. Of course, the Church has a say about it, they are purely against it. “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.” According to this party, not all marriages work out. Some couple are stuck in a pretentious marriage, while some people are stuck in an abusive and unfaithful marriage. This is inevitable for they are also considering reality. The social construction of reality is applied through our current law of annulment and not divorce. The legislative aims to think that every marriage is perfect, and along with the Church, they believe that marriage is not supposed to be broken. The thing is, not all marriages are perfect, and this is what the divorce bill says, reality and practicality. Divorce is just there as an option, it is not required for Filipinos who are married to get into it.  Divorce is pro-choice; it doesn’t necessarily mean that if there is divorce, all married couples will get into it. It is not a general law like no littering; it is simply there to give married couples a choice whether or not they will do it. The recent Family Code does not allow remarriages; it only allows legal separation and legal settlement which is not enough for abusive relationship and or unfaithful relationships. This is not enough for those kinds of relationships where in it is not anymore tolerable. Only the Divorce Bill can make it possible for couples to live a new life, a new chapter of their lives considered as a clean slate. There is still the presence of regret, but everyone deserves a second chance.

Source: 

House of Representative, (2010). House bill no. 1799Retrieved from http://www.coolbuster.net/2011/05/divorce-bill-philippines-hb-1799.html