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After weeks of plenary debates, a bill allowing absolute divorce in the Philippines was approved on second reading at the House of Representatives on Wednesday night.
Sponsored by Albay Rep Edcel Lagman, House Bill No. 9349, or the draft Absolute Divorce Act, calls for a fourth mode of terminating what he described as “irreparably broken or dysfunctional” marriages in the country. The three other modes allowed under the Family Code are canonical dissolution, annulment and legal separation.
If enacted into law, the bill would actually “reinstate” divorce in the country, as it was legal during the American colonial era and then abolished during the Japanese occupation.
Defending the bill on the floor before the voice vote, Lagman said absolute divorce would allow estranged couples a second chance at marital bliss.
“There are circumstances that will lead to the demise of a marriage and we should be able to address couples who are in distress,” he added.
Lagman argued that while the Family Code states that a marriage is supposed to be a permanent union, “permanence here is not doctrinal. It is a standard or a norm because that permanence accepts exceptions even under the Family Code.”
According to Lagman, HB 9349 would prohibit “no-fault divorces,” or cases where couples would collude to avail themselves of the remedy.
