A lawmaker has filed a bill giving couples who want to void their marriage another potential remedy by prescribing five years of separation as an additional ground for annulment of their union.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers filed House Bill 502 to amend Title I, Chapter 3, of Executive Order No. 209 or the Family Code of the Philippines by introducing Article 45-A, which provides that "a marriage may also be annulled if the parties have been separated in fact for at least five years."
In his explanatory note, Barbers said HB 502 seeks to acknowledge a factual and existing marital condition for many Filipinos.
"Without dwelling on the deeper reasons behind the separation, this bill offers a remedy without opening a Pandora's box or a can of worms that are usually present during annulment proceedings," he said.
Barbers said five years of actual separation would make the couples “estranged enough that a possible reconciliation is nil.”
Five years should have also made the parties adjust and move on with their individual lives without further straining the relationship, the Surigao solon added.
"Thus, they should be granted the best relief that they can have, annulment. This way, they can go on their separate ways peacefully, as no other reason is needed to justify the annulment, thus avoiding opening old wounds," Barbers said.