divorce

divorce in the philippines, a possible? a certain representative of gabriela women's party proposed a divorce law [hb4016] known as "pinoy-style" divorce.

the family code of the philippines provides for a legal separation or annulment, due to "psychological incapacity", of a marriage, but not divorce.

under current law, legal separation does not nullify the couple’s marriage and neither can they remarry.

an annulment allows a separated couple to remarry but it has stringent requirements, is costly and takes a long time before it can be granted.

an annulment can be used to void marriages if both husband and wife decide to separate ways for a vast of complex reasons. the annulment law is so complex and very very expensive. thus many filipinos are resolving their separation in their own ways not on legal means.

the catholic church is the very first to opposed the divorce bill, regarding it as "anti-women". but their are lots of womens group in our country points that the catholic church's view on divorce is outdated and out of step with the realities of life in the 21st century.

their are also lots of catholic nation [chile, ireland and spain] who are already legalizing divorce. last year chile, after a bitter eight year fight by the catholic church, managed to overturn a 120-year-old ban on divorce. ireland, another staunch catholic nation, legalised divorce in 1997 while spain managed to change its law in 1981.

legal annulments are very costly and women who can afford it go down that road. the range of cost for filing one is between php50,000 to php100,000 and on top of that, you have the expensive psychologist reports.

but this is not an avenue open to the vast majority of people in the Philippines because they simply do not have the money.

whether this bill succeeds or not, there will be others. The point is divorce is still a work in progress in this country.