Marriage is meant to last forever and vows usually include the phrase, “’til death do us

part”. These are the words that most of us believed. Marriage is regarded as a sacred union
between a man and a woman, thus, it must be cherished and valued with love. But what if the
love that a couple once shared together fades away? What if the love becomes weak and unstable
as time passes by? What if everything changes and a person started to live a life full of misery?
One of their options to solve these problems would be the divorce. Divorce should be
implemented in the Philippines. Divorce is never as devastating as people imagine, rather, it
gives people a fresh start to lead better lives. But as a Christian country, divorce is most likely
will not happen. In the context of the Philippines, there has been a growing number of Filipinos
who have had their marriage dissolved or are seeking or have sought to have their marriage
dissolved. The incidence physically and psychologically abusive relationships can be regarded as
one of the reasons as to why people have been seeking to legalize divorce. Divorce should also
be legalized as the general availability of it has allowed people seek greater happiness and
fulfilment with more compatible partners. This would mean that divorce promotes and enables
relief for victims of an already broken family by providing opportunities to form new and real
relationships.
Instituting divorce will create responses to gaps in legal remedies such as nullity,
annulment, and legal separation. In relating this to the incidence of abusive relationships, spousal
abuse and infidelity are not grounds for the annulment of marriage in the Philippines. The
Philippines follows the Family Code of the Philippines (Executive Order No. 209) which states
that divorce is not allowed, except for Filipinos who are married to foreigners and seek divorce
in another country of Filipino-Muslims who are governed by the Code of Muslims Personal Law
of the Philippines. Although the Family Code presents three legal means to terminate marriage
which include legal separation, annulment of marriage and declaration of nullity of marriage this
again is not a viable option for those who do not have the financial capacity to do so. Article 55
of the Family Code of the Philippines (1987) enumerates the different grounds for legal
separation that involve abuse such as Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct
directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner; Attempt of
respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to
engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement; Drug addiction or
habitual alcoholism of the respondent; Sexual infidelity or perversion; Attempt by the respondent
against the life of the petitioner; Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable
cause for more than one year. However, it is important to account that the marriage bonds shall
not be severed. Citizens should be given the right to dissolve marriages that are not physically
and physiologically healthy. This is specifically targeted in a no-fault type divorce. The high
respect the country has for the sanctity of marriage should not undermine the repercussions of
men and women not having the full capacity to terminate a marriage that is not founded on
principles that are intrinsically good and just. Ultimately, the proper implementation for divorce
can help uphold justice for those seeking to have a legal armor in an event of a failed marriage.
Abuse is the most common reason for divorce. Here in the Philippines, the most common
perpetrator of physical violence against Filipino women who were ever married is their current
or most recent husband or partner, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. The PSA's
2017 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) found that 14 percent of Filipino
women aged 15 to 49 have ever experienced physical violence since they were 15 years old.
Violence can take many forms such as physical, sexual, emotional, economic and psychological
abuse. Senator Risa Hontiveros who refiled “The Divorce Act of 2019” seeks to include violence
against women as a strong ground for dissolution of marriage. In the senator’s proposal, it
doesn’t have to be a repeated abuse. According to Hontiveros, the Philippine Statistics Authority
says that 1 in 4 women suffer long spousal abuse. “Women are more vulnerable to be trapped in
these abusive, even violent, unhealthy, loveless unions because of the lack of economic and legal
recourses.” Other grounds for the dissolution of marriage include irreconcilable differences,
psychological incapacity, and marital rape.
Over the years, public opinion shifted in favor of divorce. In 2005, only 43% of Filipinos
agreed to legalizing it, while 45% disagreed. In 2017, those who agreed rose to 53% while those
against it went down to 32%. Social Weather Stations describes +21 net agreement as
"moderately strong." Yet the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and
religious groups have strongly opposed the measure, saying evil is still evil even with popular
backing. CBCP said it would destroy Filipino families by providing a convenient avenue to end
marriages, including those that could still be repaired. The CBCP maintained the current legal
remedies are already enough to address marital problems and appealed to pro-divorce lawmakers
to reconsider their decision. “We do not even question the fact that there are indeed failed
marriages and that not all married coupled were 'joined together by God.' Thus, we have
provisions for both canonical and civil annulments, which are not exactly the equivalent of
divorce. The legal remedies for such difficult circumstances are not lacking in our existing laws,
both civil and canonical,” the CBCP said.
In closing, divorce should be legalized as it provides relief and enables victims of abuse,
addresses the gaps present in nullity, annulment, and legal separation, and at the same time is a
concept not foreign to the Filipino. By instituting divorce laws that are guided by strict
principles, divorce can be effectively implemented. Government interventions involving the
recuperation of broken families and children can be paired with the institution of divorce. In this
way, divorce becomes a mobilized system for families to find relief, and is not misconstrued and
abused by individuals seeking to end a marriage. What we need is a divorce law that defines
clearly and unequivocally the grounds and terms for terminating a marriage. Life is too short to
be married to someone you don’t want to be married to. Divorce is a choice and we all should
have the freedom to make choices. Simplify the divorce process and let the couples continue on
with their lives in to find the partner they will be happy with to live their lives. Furthermore, in
cases where a union is more harmful than beneficial, a divorce can be a benevolent and less
hurtful way of severing ties with your partner. When the marriage is no longer viable, divorce
should be an option.

Ref.
 https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/10/04/1857216/psa-husband-partner-most-common-
perpetrator-violence-against-filipino-women
 https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/200630-divorce-bill-philippines-marriage-reality-religion
 https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/gender-issues/85640-women-girls-violence-ph
 https://www.rappler.com/brandrap/data-stories/205437-relationship-status-filipinos-may-2018-survey-
results
 https://www.rappler.com/nation/225275-expert-violence-against-women-epidemic-philippines