The House of Representatives approved on the third and final reading a bill reinstituting absolute divorce in the country, with Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, author of the bill, saying that this signifies a significant shift in societal attitudes towards marriage and relationships as Filipinos now acknowledge the need to provide options for individuals trapped in “unhappy and irreparable marriages”.
House Bill (HB) 9349, or the “Absolute Divorce Act”, was approved by 131 politicians, with 109 voting against it, and 20 abstaining from the voting.
“As the only country in the world besides the Vatican where divorce is still illegal, this is a clear and resounding victory and signals the imminent liberation for Filipino wives who are entombed in toxic, abusive, and long-dead marriages,” said Lagman, who – seemingly to please overzealous religious people – clarified that the bill does not recognize “no-fault, quickie drive-thru, email or notarial divorces”.
As stated in the bill, grounds for absolute divorce include:
- psychological incapacity
- irreconcilable differences
- domestic or marital abuse
- when one of the spouses undergoes a sex reassignment surgery or transitions from one sex to another
- separation of the spouses for at least five years
Grounds for legal separation stated under the Family Code of the Philippines may also be considered grounds for absolute divorce, including:
- physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner
- physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation
- attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution
- final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years
- drug addiction, habitual alcoholism, or chronic gambling
- homosexuality
- Bigamous marriage
- marital infidelity or perversion or having a child with another person other than one’s spouse during the marriage
- attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner
- abandonment without justifiable cause for more than one year
The grounds for annulment of marriage also under the Family Code of the Philippines are similarly grounds for absolute divorce, including:
- lack of parental consent
- insanity
- fraud, force, intimidation or undue influence
- impotence
- sexually transmissible diseases
The bill could be anti-LGBTQIA, and discriminatory against people living with HIV, and yet these are not even raised in discourses.
If this is passed into law, a petition for absolute divorce will be filed with a family court within 10 years from the occurrence or discovery of the cause for divorce. Although the said court is expected to exercise all efforts to reunite and reconcile the concerned spouses during the mandatory 60-day cooling-off period after the filing of the petition, the court is expected to immediately commence trial and is mandated to decide the petition within a year.
In a statement, Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network (PINSAN) – a safe abortion advocacy network – stated that divorce is “intrinsically linked to women’s access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. When women have the autonomy to leave oppressive marriages, they also gain the power to make decisions about their own bodies, situations, and futures. The absence of divorce legislation perpetuates a cycle of dependency and vulnerability, undermining women’s health, well-being, and freedom.”
It, therefore, “calls on all sectors to join us in advocating for the immediate passage of this bill through the Senate and its subsequent approval by the executive branch. Let us continue to lobby relentlessly, ensuring that our calls and demands are integrated in its deliberation and implementation. The approval of this bill is not merely a legislative milestone but a testament to our collective commitment to gender equality, women’s health, and the protection of our fundamental rights.”
