Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Monday renewed his push for the passage of a bill allowing the dissolution of troubled marriages.
“Admittedly, there is a sad reality about some marriages. We do not always get it right the first time around,”Alvarez said in his speech during the opening of the second regular session of the 17th Congress.
“Unfortunately, the present system practically coerces married persons to remain with each other even if the relationship is beyond repair and has caused, and continues to cause, harm to the well-being of the husband, the wife and, worse, the children involved. We have to change this,” Alvarez added.
Alvarez, who is estranged from his wife Emelita Apostol Alvarez and admitted to having a girlfriend, said he would file a bill that seeks to allow the dissolution of irreparable marriages.
Alvarez said that compared to annulment which takes time, dissolution of troubled marriages can only take a day, especially if estranged couples mutually agree to end their marriage “subject to the approval of the court.”
In his speech, Alvarez thanked Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano for her commitment to file the bill “without the need for an extensively adversarial system.”
“One of the conditions, which must be complied with, is an agreed upon and executable framework to provide for the care and support of their children. Moreover, previously married persons can remain friends and better parents, despite their differences, since they no longer have to sling mud at each other in front of a judge just to convince the magistrate that their marriage should be declared void or voided,” Alvarez said.
He said the proposed dissolution of troubled marriage is a remedy for “unhappy” couples as they have to consider “the fact that marriage may not be for everyone.”
This developed as Alvarez also called the passage of a bill legalizing civil unions.
“Presently, it even excludes certain groups of people from its fold. Let us tackle this issue head on. I will file a bill that will legally recognize and protect civil partnerships,” Alvarez said.
He also vowed to file a measure that will put an end to an unequal treatment of legitimate and illegitimate children by “equalizing their legitimacy regardless of whether or not they were born within or outside wedlock.”
At the same time, Alvarez called for the “great” reorganization of the bureaucracy, saying Congress must require that operators of casinos, public transportation, as well as mining companies, secure a legislative franchise from it prior to their operations “to make certain that the public’s interest will always be protected.”
“This will make certain that their applications are scrutinized deeply. Only the deserving will be allowed to operate,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said the power to grant licenses in favor of Congress should be taken away from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
“Let’s start off with Pagcor. It does not make sense for it to regulate and operate. An entity that has this power runs the risk of dealing itself a favorable hand while undercutting others,” he said.
Alvarez also wanted the Land Transportation Office and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to be merged into the Land Transportation Authority.
Alvarez said railways must be regulated by the Philippine Railways Authority, a new body “which sets the uniform standards and fares for all railways operating here in the Philippines" even as he called for the creation of the Philippine Airports Authority “since the different airports act autonomously, without sufficient oversight and agreed upon standards, given that many have their own charters.”