Lagman stresses need for divorce law: ‘Many marriages plummet into hell’

May 13, 2024 , 10:46 PM

By Gabriel Kim Leal

(May 13, 2024) – A lawmaker on Monday dismissed concerns that legalizing divorce in the country would destroy families, maintaining that the Constitution provides for such a move.

During the plenary session of the House of Representatives, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman defended House Bill No. 9394 or the Absolute Divorce Act, noting that divorce is not contrary to the teachings of the Bible.

“We should all know that while it is said that marriages are solemnized in heaven, many marriages plummet into hell because of human frailty,” said Lagman. “That is why even Moses allowed his people to divorce their wives who have become unchaste, and for any other reason, for that matter.”

Efforts to legalize divorce in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic nation, have recently gained momentum. Women’s rights groups are advocating for divorce to help women escape violent marriages. In the Senate, a similar measure has already been approved.

While annulment is available in the country, Lagman stressed that it has never been enough.

“We would notice that under the annulment provision, the causes are prior to or simultaneous to the celebration of marriage. But in reality, many of the causes of divorce happen after the marriage—during cohabitation, just like marital infidelity, mental abuse, and marital abandonment, among other causes,” expounded Lagman.

Lagman, one of the principal authors of the divorce bill, also noted the constitutional aspects, saying that nothing in the highest law of the land prevents Congress from legalizing divorce.

“It is true that the Constitution says the marriage is the foundation of family and is inviolable. But that is not cast in stone. It does not prevent this Congress from enacting an absolute divorce law. No less than the commissioners of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 had a unanimous consensus that Congress, despite the presence of the marriage provision in the Constitution, can enact an absolute divorce law,” added Lagman.

The Philippines and Vatican City are the only two sovereign states in the world that do not have a divorce law.

(PM)

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