The Nitty-Gritty

So what exactly are the contents of the proposed divorce bill for the Philippines? What are the contents that make one half of Filipinos support it, and the other half oppose it? Do Filipinos even know the nitty-gritty of the bill the Gabriela Women’s Party is proposing? Because from what I have observed, many Filipinos take sides based on just what they see on the surface—just like elections campaigns a.k.a. popularity contests. Which candidate has the more heart-wrenching story? Which candidate has the more popular and good-looking celebrity supporters?

So Filipinos, before you even advocate or disapprove of the bill, take the time to know what exactly the contents are. Thanks to the Internet, the bill is accessible in its entirety at Gabriela Women’s Party’s website.

Representatives Liza Largoza-Maza and Luzviminda C. Ilagan first passed House Bill No. 3461 on January 30, 2008. Since I do not want to rely heavily on the contents of the bill itself, I was able to gather five distinctions of the divorce bill that sets itself apart from the current Family Code of the Philippines containing laws on legal separation and annulment. Rep. Luzviminda Ilagana discussed that the grounds for the proporse divorce bill are as follows:

1. If the couple has been geographically separated for five years without possible form of contact
2. If the couple has been legally separated for two years
3. If there is apparent cause such as abandonment, abuse, infidelity, etc.
4. Psychological incapacity of one or both parties
5. Irreconcilable differences of the married couple

Although House Bill. No. 3461 is a draft law on divorce, part of its contents are grounds for legal separation as some aspects of the latter are applied to divorce, while some grounds are repealed to make way for new provisions in particular situations.

Unknown to many are the provisions of the divorce bill, but something far more unacknowledged is the fact that this is not the first time Philippines is encountering this issue. In fact, the nation was allowed legal divorce in the time of the American colonization and Japanese occupation.

Facts say that the late Vice President Arturo Tolentino was granted divorce during the Japanese Occupation on the 15th of September, 1943. He was legally granted divorce on the grounds of desertion and abandonment by his wife for at least 3 continuous years. Consequently, divorce was removed from Philippine law in 1950 when the Civil Code was implemented. Yet today, Filipinos in failed marriages are still given a choice of annulment or legal separation that could somehow improve and alleviate familial and financial issues.

At this time of pressure to take sides, (unless you are ignorant and apathetic to these social issues), it pays to educate oneself on hard facts rather than the news which clearly already has its own interpretations, biases and opinions. Take a look at the divorce bill downloadable here, and see for yourself. Are you for or against the divorce bill?

Sources:

http://www.gabrielawomensparty.net/legislation/hb-3461-divorce-bill

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/06/10/11/ph-had-divorce-during-us-japan-occupation

http://sheenahtan.net/2011/abs-cbn-harapan-on-divorce-bill/