The House Panel approved the Divorce Bill on Wednesday, February 21. This eliminates the Philippines from being the nation along with the Vatican without divorce. The House Committee on Population and Family Relations approved the bill after deliberation. There were no contentions upon its approval.
An executive session approved the bill “An Act Providing Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage in the Philippines.” It enables a faster and cheaper way of ending a marriage than annulment.
The Divorce Bill, in five easy statements
1. Affordable fees vs. annulment
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman claims that the said bill will be friendly, even for the indigents. In a report by ABS-CBN, he said that a talk between two sides can settle the termination of the marriage. In that case, a full-blown court trial is not necessary. That would immediately cost less than usual. Added to that, filing fees free for indigents. Indigents in the bill are people with below P5 million worth of property.
2. Tying loose ‘ends’
Separated couples for at least five years still are eligible to file for divorce. According to CNN Philippines, this applies to cases when couple relationships can’t be “saved.” This may be due to overseas employment or both spouses residing in a distant region. Other factors may be psychological incapacity, gender reassignment surgery, and unsolvable marriage conflicts. The State insisted a six-month “cooling off” period to show that it is still aware of the sanctity of marriage. It is time used to fix what’s broken in a marriage in the hopes of resolving it. But the six-month rule has conditions.
3. Custody, is it with mommy or daddy?
The children will get to decide the parent that they want to be with. The court determines the best interest of the children and gives them the children. Unless the woman has issues, a separation between a mother and child is not permissible. The bill also suggests that if one parent is unable to provide for the children, he or she will be an “innocent spouse.” The other spouse should support him or her for a year until he or she can provide for himself or herself. “The proper court shall have the discretion to grant alimony, child support, and child custody pursuant to the pertinent provisions of the Family Code of the Philippines,” the bill adds.
4. Overseas Filipino Workers, the priority
The court will give OFWs a privilege to schedule the hearings. They can present evidence depending on their availability. But the catch is, it should not go beyond two successive days.
5. Logical grounds for separation
The court has released grounds for valid divorce. The basis of this is the Article 55 of the Family Code and annulment under Article 45 of the same code. The following are the logical grounds for the separation.
(6) Separated de facto for 5 years
A separation for five years, whether rightful or not, is a ground for divorce. This is because of a lot of factors. It may be because the couple lives in different or separate houses. It may be because one of the couples left the family for valid reasons. Distance from each other may be a reason to file for divorce.
(7) Contracted a bigamous marriage
If one of the couples got married again to another person, it may be a valid reason to file for divorce. This is because of the other person marrying another without the termination of his or her current marriage. This may also be because of the person’s inability to declare prior marriage.
(8) Separated by judicial decree for 2 years or more
This applies to couples separated by law due to various reasons. It could be a restraining order. It could be a custody for their child or other reasons that would prohibit one person to go near another person. If this is the case, the party could apply for divorce. Divorce means to dissolve a marriage. Meanwhile, an annulment means to show that a marriage never happened or existed. The difference is that in divorce, there will be a decision on the custody of the child, the alimony of the parents, and the division of assets.
(9) Sentenced to imprisonment for 6 years even if pardoned
Jail time is also a valid ground for divorce. It should be after six years since the person was in jail.
(10) Sex reassignment surgery
If one of the couples decided to get reassigned to another sex, their marriage will be valid for divorce. This contradicts the Civil Code of the Philippines. It states that your birth determines your sex. This means that you are male or female in the eyes of the Philippine law even after sex reassignment. It wasn’t clear to how this is valid grounds for divorce by the committee.