CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In the Philippines, marriage is understood as a special contract of permanent union of

man and a woman, and the foundation of the family whose nature, consequences and incidents

are governed by law. A definition recognized by the law which eventually become one of the

roots of arguments and controversies when the Filipino homosexuals or the society of “third-sex”

raised their equal rights to marry.

In the late twentieth century, debates about the legalization of same sex marriage around

the world has been publicly noticeable in view of the strong opposition of Christianity as they

consider it as morally wrong. However in 2000, Netherlands granted religious rites of marriage

and legal recognition to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Community. In light of

its decision, 20 other countries namely Belgium (2003), Canada (2005), Spain (2005), South

Africa (2006), Norway (2009), Sweden (2009), Argentina (2010), Iceland (2010), Portugal

(2010), Denmark (2012), Brazil (2013), England and Wales (2013), France (2013) New Zealand

(2013), Uruguay (2013), Luxembourg (2014), Scotland (2014), Finland (2015, effective 2017),

Ireland (2015) and United States of America (2015) legalized marriage for same sex couples.

Though few more countries are in the process of assessing legitimizing same sex marriage, still,

majority of these countries doesn’t recognized reformation of marriage in their Constitution. And

this include the Philippines.

Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country which holds a huge influence in the

society. Religious heritage and embraced principles in view of morals made majority of the

Filipino people conservative democrats especially in matters concerning marriage. In fact, three

anti-same sex marriage bills has been introduced in 2006 followed by the 2011 proposed House

Bill 4269 which objective is to expand Article 26 of Family Code exceptions of valid marriages
solemnize outside the Philippines by including "prohibited marriages" encompassing same sex

marriage. Several of gay rights organizations opposed the idea contending marriage as a human

right based on love shared between two human hearts and not two sets of genitalia. Ladlad

Partylist, a political party advocating LGBT rights in the country, says its legalization would laid

down anti-discrimination and prejudice to LGBT couples. However, even after the Party list took

their hopes up as United States granted legalization of same sex marriage, the Philippine

government remained mum on the issue granting nothing on the party’s plea.

I. Importance of the Study

Marriage in the Philippines is one of the most important features in life. It constitutes legal

benefits, marital obligations, holds the symbol of commitment in relationships and even

psychological benefits. In line with this, marriage also constitutes equality beyond the realm of

married life of opposite sex but also same sex couples. This study will enlighten the importance

of marriage and how it actually relates to the status quo of the LGBT community in the Philippine

setting. Also, the study will also identify the impact of same sex marriage legalization within the

Philippine laws by highlighting mainly the advantage and disadvantages upon its possible

implementation.

II. Statement of the Problem

In the Philippines, the debated topic of same sex marriage garnered attention as LGBT

community continuously fight for their rights and raise their concerns against discrimination and

inequality. The conflicting scheme of same sex marriage to Philippines Laws and the opposing

contentions of the Catholic Church are the main hindrances observed against the appeal of its

legalization in the country. In light of United States, an allied country of the Philippines, that

recently recognized gay marriage throughout the 50 states of America, were the hopes of
Philippines’ LGBT’s plea of approving the constitutionality of same sex marriage. Its adoption in

the United States clearly made a huge mark of change in their constitution especially in the

sense of rights and benefits in the eyes of the law. However the question is, in the legal sense,

is the Philippine Law ready for a change?

III. Significance of the Study

The study is concerned with the Same Sex Marriage issue in the Philippines – if such is a

legal right that LGBT community deserve to have. It also touches on the importance of marriage,

its benefits and definition in terms used by the Philippine Laws, the advantage it can make in the

country and its significance to the rights of LGBTs.

The study mainly spotlights the constitutionality of legalizing same sex marriage in the

Philippines comprising LGBT rights against inequality and discrimination. Facts contained herein

are limited to secondary data such as news articles, books, international and local literatures

and internet web sources released by educational institutions, academes and authors of law.

The data collected from the secondary data serves only as representative and not to

generalize as whole, to provide insights for future policy making and research directions.

Nevertheless, the study may still be a turning point for the general public.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Philippines belief in marriage is mostly in lined with morals and cultural aspects in which,

majority of its principles embraced were taught through Christianity. Family Code in the

Philippines also defined marriage as union of man and woman which renders same sex unions
not binding in the eyes of law and constitutes no legal effect in terms of marital obligations and

family life. However, unlike Philippines, other countries viewed marriage as a legal right of

human thus its legalization is a must and not a privilege.

Mircea Trandafir of Université de Sherbrook and GREDI conducted a study in November

2009 entitled "The effect of same-sex marriage laws on different-sex marriage: Evidence from

the Netherlands". Netherlands is the very first country that legitimized same sex marriage in

2000. According to her research, same-sex registered partnership does not affect different-sex

marriage negatively and the availability of an alternative institution increases the different-sex

union rate. This suggests that there might be no negative effects on the institution of marriage

from allowing same-sex couples access to an institution that grants the same rights as marriage

but does not carry its traditional meaning. And second, granting different sex couples access to

an alternative institution to marriage increases the different-sex union rate, extending the

economic and social benefits of marriage to a larger group of individuals.

Ireland, one of the recent countries that recognized same sex marriage, raised their legal

perspective of same sex unions and their nods over the rights of the LGBTs. Moninne Griffith's

"The Case of Marriage Equality in Ireland" raised political and radical concerns in matters

involving same-sex marriage. With the same insights with Netherlands, Irish people stated that

lifting the marriage ban for same sex couples will not damage the institution of marriage.

Marriage is defined as love, commitment and caring for our loved ones which lesbian and gay

couples doesn’t want to change simply because what they only want is to have access to it. And

even though Civil Partnership exists, civil marriage was still pushed through as it partakes huge

difference in terms of legislative, constitutional, policy, and social stigma. In terms of family and

child relationship, 30 years of scientific research proves that children growing up with lesbian

and gay parents turn out just fine and have found no significant developmental differences

between them and children with heterosexual parents in their intelligence, psychological
adjustment, social adjustment, popularity with friends, development of social sex role identity or

development of sexual orientation. Also, Ireland advocates equality in the eyes of law. UNICEF

even stated that “All people regardless of race, gender, religious belief or sexual orientation

should be entitled to the same protection and privileges under the law.” With all these

contentions, Ireland clearly defined same sex marriage as an absolute legal right. Justice Sachs

of the South African Constitutional Court also noted “The exclusion of same-sex couples from

the benefits and responsibilities of marriage, accordingly is not a small and tangential

inconvenience it represents a harsh if oblique statement by the law that same-sex couples are

outsiders, and that their need for affirmation and protection of their intimate relations as human

beings is somehow less than that of heterosexual couples.”

Continuous debates still exist opposing marriage. Several countries face disputes and

discussions in regard to the LGBT rights followed by protest of the members of the latter.

"Same-Sex Marriage and Legalized Relationships: I Do, or Do I?" of Esther D. Rothblum

highlighted some of the questions proving the importance of same sex marriage. According to

her, the increasing salience of legalized same-sex couples raised political issues even within

LGBT communities. Some of her contentions are "How representative are same-sex couples in

legal relationships of lesbian and gay male couples in general?", "Should LGBT communities be

advocating for institutions such as marriage?", "How can we question such laws without coming

across as reactionary?" and "How can same-sex couples serve as a model of equality for

heterosexual couples?"

It is true that both pros and cons have legal basis and points with their own contentions

regarding same sex marriage. Now, the next question in line is, in the existence of these

powerful arguments, what are the challenges that Philippines faces in finally adopting same sex

marriage?
 CHAPTER III

FINDINGS

Netherlands is the very first state that recognized Same Sex Marriages. According to the

reports of statistics in Netherlands, the number of homosexual and lesbian couples living

together totalled 57 thousand in 2010 where in 14,813 of them had same sex marriage, in which

7,522 were female and 7,291 were male. One in three couples had their relationships officially

registered and nearly 11 thousand couples were married and more than 61 thousand had

registered partnerships. There have been 1,078 same‐sex divorces, 734 (two‐thirds) of them by

female couples. The title of married partners for same sex couples gave them the advantage of

building their own family. One of this is the automatic joint parental authority over common

children only in the following circumstances:

1. For gay marriage, a consent from the mother of the child is needed;

2. For lesbian marriage, a mother must be one of the couple.

In the year of 2005, a legal recognition of marriage for same-sex union has also been

held in Canada. The legal concept of marriage in Canadian law is the “union of one man and

one woman to the exclusion of all others” which existed since the birth of Confederation. The

opposite-sex requirement for marriage, however, has been the root of debates in 2002 stating

that marriage has legal consequences, which includes range of benefits and obligations under

federal law and under provincial and territorial law as it covers many aspects such as social,

religion, emotional and financial matters and others. Series of court decisions has held that most

benefits and obligations available to married couples should be extended equally to other

couples in a conjugal or marriage-like relationship, including same-sex couples. The LGBT

community raise their plea seeking balance between individual autonomy and protection of

vulnerable partners. The argument ended peacefully through Civil Marriage Act in 2005 which

upholds the right to equality without discrimination requiring couples of the same sex and

couples of the opposite sex to have equal access to marriage for civil purposes.

The same-sex couples were finally allowed to share intimacy and companionship, was

permitted to societal recognition of relationships, equal distribution of economic benefits,

obligations and responsibilities, blended families, and supported procreation and child-rearing.

There was also a vast change in social values, including the religious values in Canada.

Significantly, various religious communities supported same-sex marriage and their right of

marriage without touching any disrespectful manner in their certain religious beliefs. Opposite-

sex definition of civil marriage, according to Canadian Bar Association, change the perception of

the Canadian citizens, as it was observed that it no longer reflects to a kind of nature of a

diverse, multicultural and multi-faith society.

The only firm conclusion to be drawn from these studies shows inexistence of negative

impacts of passage of same-sex marriage in Netherlands and Canada. Purely, equality is the

main concern raised by both states to finally approve the petition of same-sex couples towards a

legal recognition of marriage. Both may have experienced flurry of gay marriage lawsuits,

debates and arguments due to divided hearts of legislators and citizens in the subject of same-

sex marriage, yet what prevails was shown to be in favor of the prayer of the majority. The

immediate effects of law amendments has been outdone in the long run, following social,

economic and legal changes in the society.

 CHAPTER IV

SUMMARY

The study aimed to determine the impacts of legalization of Same-Sex Marriage in the

Philippines. This study used data sets from secondary materials, mainly from authors of

academe of foreign and local literatures. The findings of the study however, shows incapability

of the Philippines in the current setting, in social and legal manner. Such change may result to

wider range of amendments in the Family code as it concentrate to marriage and family life,

which will not be an easy task for legislators due to its extensive scope. The Philippines must

also observe economic stability as it will face additional responsibility towards rights and benefits

of the people, which shows physical impossibility in the current setting of the country as it still

battles against poverty alleviation. In addition, the behaviour of the society towards the

legalization of same-sex relationship in the eyes of law requires an adjustment to reach equality

and surpass gender discrimination.

CONCLUSIONS

The researcher, therefore finds same-sex marriage beneficial to the citizens of same-sex

relationships, however granting the virtue of marriage is not yet a good idea in the current

setting as it will not only revolve around the changes of law of marriage, but also to the capacity

of one’s state to be held responsible enough to the immediate impacts and effect of it in the

economy and other relative laws concerning their rights and obligation. It may have united multi-

faith states in the past few years, and it may have created freedom towards religion in some,

however the capacity of a state must still be taken into consideration to the possibility of

changes in law in the near future.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The researcher recommends this study for students and academes to consider broader

study of same-sex marriage in the country. A wider study must highlight the advantages and

disadvantages of adoption of same-sex relationship in the country, especially in the legal sense,

to which the issue may depend its constitutionality. And lastly, the definition of marriage and

equal rights must also be clarified and interpreted by the legislators and judicial body to avoid

conflicts involving rights and privileges of the people in the eyes of law.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Civil Marriage Act, available from http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-31.5/page-1.html

Defense of Marriage Act, One Hundred Fourth Congress of the United States of America,

January 1996

Department of Justice Canada, "Marriage and Legal Recognition of Same-sex Unions" Ministere

de la Justice Canada, November 2002

Duncan, William C., "The Tenth Anniversary of Dutch Same-Sex Marriage: How is Marriage

doing in the Netherlands?", from iMAPP Research Brief Vol., 4, No. 3, May 2011

Griffith, Moninne, "The case of Marriage Equality in Ireland"

How Legal Tide Turned on Same-Sex Marriage in the US, available from

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-21943292

Legal Definitions and Legal Terms Defined, available from http://definitions. uslegal.com/

Philippine Statistics Authority, Poverty, available from https://psa.gov.ph /tags/poverty

PH LGBT advocates welcome US legalization of gay marriage, available from http://mobile.abs-

cbnnews.com/lifestyle/06/27/15/ph-lgbt-advocates-welcome-us-legalization-gay-marriage/