MANILA (Agencies): House Bill 9349 [An Act Reinstituting Absolute Divorce as an Alternative Mode for the Dissolution of Marriage] was passed on its third reading by the Philippine Senate on May 22, Rappler reported. the voting was divided with 131 affirmative votes, 109 against, and 20 abstentions.
“We are deeply saddened by the decision of 126 lawmakers in Congress to vote ‘yes’ to the Divorce Bill,” Bishop Alberto Uy of Tagbilaran, the central Philippines, said after the vote, CBCP News reported.
The bill will be presented to the Senate, the upper house, for its concurrence and will undergo the same legislative process.
The bishop called on the faithful to join in praying for the senators “that they may be guided to make the right decision and not pass the Divorce Bill in the upper house.”
“May they consider the well-being of families and society as a whole in their deliberations,” he added.
“Divorce weakens the fabric of society by eroding the foundation of the family unit. It leads to social fragmentation, increased poverty, and other societal ills. By promoting divorce, we are contributing to the breakdown of social cohesion and the erosion of moral values,” Bishop Uy said on May 16 after the divorce bill passed its second reading via voice vote on May 15, UCAN reported. The country is the only one without a divorce law since it was legalised in Malta in 2011.
The bill provides “limited grounds and well-defined judicial procedures for divorce and aims to save children from the pain, stress, and agony brought about by their parents’ marital clashes or irreconcilable differences.”
Under the bill, the ones who will be allowed to divorce are those who have a dysfunctional marriage and those families that are irreparably broken.
It also allows a divorcee to remarry.
A “society that values strong, stable families is a thriving society,” Bishop Uy said in a radio interview. He urged the members of Congress to reconsider the proposed divorce bill. The bishop also asked them to “focus on promoting policies and programmes that support marriage, strengthen families, and protect the well-being of all members of society.”
Divorce weakens the fabric of society by eroding the foundation of the family unit. It leads to social fragmentation, increased poverty, and other societal ills. By promoting divorce, we are contributing to the breakdown of social cohesion and the erosion of moral values
Bishop Uy
Father Jerome Secilliano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Permanent Committee on Public Affairs, added that a divorce law is unnecessary in the Philippines.
“It’s a betrayal of their [the House of Representatives] constitutional mandate to uphold marriage and the family,” said Father Secillano, said, pointing out, “The fact remains that divorce is not the ultimate solution to problematic unions.”
He noted that there are already remedies for those who can no longer stay in their marriage. “We already have existing legal remedies to couple separation, and yet Congress decided to add more,” Fatner Secillano said.
Explaining his negative vote, Leyte 4th District Representative, Richard Gomez, said that “laws must abide by the religious customs of the majority,” while General Santos City Representative, Loreto Acharon, said divorce was “anti-family, anti-children, anti-social, and anti-Christian faith.”
Lawmaker, Arlene Brosas, from Gabriela Women’s Party, was reported by UCAN as saying that the divorce bill would give women a second chance “to start a new life.”
She said, “And let’s give their children a chance to grow in a safe and loving environment.”
Once approved it will be sent to the president for signing.
“It’s time to give Filipino women, men, children, and families who need it, a second chance at love and life,” Risa Hontiveros said in a statement on May 16.
