Come and Go

Merriam-Webster Dictionary (online) defined divorce as the action or an instance of legally dissolving a marriage. Also, it is the separation or severance of the secular and the spiritual legalized by judgment in court. Other definitions say it is a complete or radical severance of closely connected things.

So probably that is why some people find the thought of divorce appalling--because it is a drastic change or separation of a strong union that is bonded by both spiritual sacraments and secular traditions practiced for several years. Also, it comes with a lot of sticky issues like alimony, child support and custody. Should the woman drop her surname and use her maiden name again? What happens if one or both parties want to remarry? We all know Filipinos aren’t the most diligent when it comes to solving solutions in time and we just tend to brush those problems under the rug. Just like the issue of divorce. It has come up in the congress and senate, and has been a recurrent talk around town but after a while people forget about it again and move on with their lives. Perhaps that is why the Philippines cannot let go of its third world status.

Today, in most countries divorce is already legal. The legalization of divorce in other countries even date back to the 1800’s. According to Molly Kalafut, divorce was first introduced in Babylonia in the Code of Hammurabi. It was an extensive collection of laws covering different aspects like family solidarity.

Although it is legal in many countries around the world today, all of them have differences and cover a lot of rules. Some do not even grant the totality of divorce, disallowing parties to marry while some laws allow it only after a period of 1-3 years of separation and the reasons are truly valid and called for to void the marriage.

As of today, only the Philippines has not legalized divorce. As of a Yahoo! News report on May 30, Malta—the other Asian country who does not allow divorce has voted for it because one said, “the will of the people has to be respected.” Even a pro-divorce leader said that it marked the birth of a New Malta. Once again, the Philippines has fallen short of a brave change.

But apparently, a congresswoman Luzviminda Ilagan took to her Twitter account that the congress will be revising the divorce bill on Wednesday, which she filed in 2010—right after Malta’s announcement. But just like the Reproductive Health Bill, its movement will also be hampered and delayed due to the opposition of the Catholic Church.

So what’s in it for the Philippines again? A mill of rallies and protests from the conservative Catholics? A slow-paced discussion and possible passing of the divorce bill? But despite all of these negative thoughts, I hope that the responsible leaders will listen to what the majority of Filipinos have to say about divorce more than the protests of the conservative Catholic church which has become the barrier to many steps that could allow for the Philippines’ development. After all, the Philippines is democratic right?

Sources:

http://www.answers.com/topic/code-of-hammurabi

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/maltese-vote-yes-divorce-ph-only-country-world-233700342.html

http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/divorce/history-of-divorce.html

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/05/30/11/philippine-congress-set-tackle-divorce-bill\

http://molly.kalafut.org/marriage/divorce.html