Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Monday said he is not giving up on his bid for the enactment of dissolution of marriage and divorce law despite the opposition of several senators to the measure.
Alvarez said that efforts are ongoing to reach out to their counterparts in the Senate to convince them of the necessity of passing such a law.
“I am not at liberty to name names but there are ongoing discussions on this [measure],” Alvarez told a radio interview Monday.
Last March 19 the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 7303 which legalizes absolute divorce in the country. However, at least five senators voiced opposition to the measure.
He said he is optimistic the senators will understand the need for marriage dissolution and divorce law and the reality of the problem of increasing number of couples trapped in broken marriages.
“In fact we have conducted several committee hearings on this measure, including those conducted abroad, and we have seen people crying, pleading with us to address their situation,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said he believes that the suggested compromise proposed by some lawmakers to merely amend the existing annulment law would be inadequate to address the problem.
“Under the law the grounds for annulment must exist before or during the celebration of marriage. That is why all decrees of annulment of marriage are based on the presumption that there was no marriage at all, that it was void from the beginning,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez admitted it is possible to amend the law and provide additional grounds for annulment but these should all adhere to the criteria of existing before or during the celebration of marriage.
“But you have a situation where, for example, there was an attempt on the life of the other during their marriage or in cases where the spouse is being subjected to physical abuse. Also, there are situations where the husband doesn’t want to work at all to support his family,” he pointed out.
He said there were situations where the wife who is working as an Overseas Filipino Worker is sending her entire salary to her family but the husband is keeping all the money for himself and spending it on another woman.
“Why do we have to condemn couples to get trapped in this situation where their relationship is already irreparable?” Alvarez said.
Unlike in annulment, Alvarez said the marriage dissolution and divorce process under the approved House bill is not as lengthy or as costly.
While Duterte has expressed reservation over the marriage dissolution and divorce bill, Alvarez said lawmakers are ready to explain to the President why the House approved the measure.
“We can do that during the Ledac [Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council] meetings. But we would only do that if the Senate agrees to pass the bill. It would be useless to talk to the President if the Senate does not agree,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez reiterated his appeal to the Catholic Church, which has been opposing the passage of a divorce law, to respect the responsibility of the State to address the concern of all the citizens of the nation, not just of the members of a particular religion.
He said that if the Catholic Church does not agree to divorce, it should tell its flock not to avail of such a legal option to end their marriages.
“But let us not impose that belief on those who are not members of the Catholic Church. What is wrong is that the Catholic Church wants its doctrine be implemented through our laws—that is unacceptable,” Alvarez said.
He noted that the Philippines remains the only country in the world, aside from the Vatican, that does not have a divorce law.