THE Artikulo

29 September 2015

A fictional publication in the Philippines

by Budz Marata

OTHER STORIES

The Philippines has a longstanding opposition against

divorce, to aggravation of
unhappy married couples.
But the Divorce Bill can
change that.
Luzviminda C. Ilagan and Emerciana
A. De Jesus, two representatives from
GABRIELA Womens Party, filed
House Bill 1799 or the Divorce Bill of
the Philippines, which promises to
give an affordable and quick remedy
for unhappy couples to get out of
marriage. The co-authors reasoned
that non-Muslim Filipinos deserve the
rights and benefits of divorce the
same way Muslim Filipinos got ever
since the Code of Muslim Personal
Laws of 1977 granted them divorce.

LIFESTYLE
How to cut down on study
time (and still know as much)

SPORTS
LAST ONE STANDING. A couple looks at the sunset in the Manila Bay, uncertain of their
future. The Philippines is the only country remaining that has yet to allow divorce as a remedy.

South Korea trumps North

Korea at 20.2 19.7

THE Artikulo
29 September 2015

A fictional publication in the Philippines

by Carl Paulo Migalang

They say that marriage is not all about

rainbows and unicorns and sometimes the
pouring of the rain is inevitable. No matter how
persevere you are to evade such rain, at the end
of the day; youll get soak and wet.
The state values and protects the sanctity of marriage as a sacred
union, and family as a basic institution in the society. In Filipino
culture, it generally discourages break-ups that lead to cutting of
marital ties. To prevent this, the Philippines provides cultural
and legal safeguards to maintain marital relations. These
remedies keep many couples together in spite of marriage
breakdown.
In the face of reality, failed and unhappy marriages exist across
all Filipino classes especially from marginalized sectors who
have no access to trial courts. Because of this, couples end up
separating without benefit from legal procedure. Countless
petitions were filed since the effectivity of the Family Code in
1988 for declaration of nullity, as many couples get desperate to
get out of their failed marriages. (continue at page 3)

TILL DET(RIMENT) DO US PART. As of today, unhappily-married couples have to

resort to either annulment or legal separation to get out of marriage. However,
annulment is a very expensive and lengthy process that everyone cannot simply afford,
while legal separation, in spite of its ease, does not allow remarriage.

THE Artikulo
29 September 2015

(from page 2)
Historically, divorce had been part of our legal
system. In the beginning of the 16th century, before
the Spanish colonial rule, absolute divorce was
widely practiced among ancestral tribes such as the
Tagbanwas (Palawan) the Gadangs (Nueva
Vizcaya), the Sagdans and Igorots (Cordilleras),
and the Manobos, Blaans and Moslem (Visayas
and Mindanao Islands). Divorce was also available
during the American period in 1917 and during the
Japanese occupation, up until 1950.
However, on August 30, 1950, the New Civil Code
took effect and divorce was barred under Philippine
Law. The same rule was adopted in the Family
Code of 1988, which replaced the provisions of the
New Civil Code on marriage and the family.
Although the Family Code still denied divorce, it
introduced the concept of psychological
incapacity as a ground for declaring a marriage
void.
There are sentiments from the history that left the
wisdom of legalizing divorce to the Congress by the
framers of 1987 Philippine Constitution, thus, it
does not prohibit the legalization of divorce.

A fictional publication in the Philippines

As mentioned in their Explanatory Note of House Bill 1799

Luzviminda Ilagan (top) and

Emerenciana De Jesus (bottom)
co-authored House Bill 1799, or
the Divorce Bill of the
Philippines. The bill is currently
pending in Congress awaiting
approval from the House of
Representatives.

THE Artikulo
29 September 2015

A fictional publication in the Philippines

FILING FEES
(up to Php 10,000.00)

An article from iMoney Philippines, Interpreted by Budz Marata

ACCEPTANCE FEES

One of the biggest justifications for the legalization of divorce is

that divorce is cheaper than annulment. But how expensive
could the whole process of annulment be? A 2015 online article
from iMoney Philippines provided financial figures on every
step of the process, from filing to pleading to appearing.
Unhappy couples, take note.

(Php 100,000.00 and up)

PLEADING FEES
(Php 5,000.00 Php 10,000 per
pleading)

APPEARING FEES
(Php 5,000.00 Php 10,000 per
appearance)

DOCTOR/ PSYCHIATRIST FEES

(price varies)

THE Artikulo
29 September 2015

3 to 5 years

A fictional publication in the Philippines

2 years

THE Artikulo
29 September 2015

A fictional publication in the Philippines

An infographic by Jezen Esther Pati

The Family Code
will undergo a
serious revision once
House Bill 1799 is
approved and signed
into law, but which
provisions will be
affected by the bill?
Lets take a look at
some of the affected
provisions in case
this controversial bill
gets approval from
the Congress and the
President CBCPs
outright disapproval
be damned.

THE Artikulo
29 September 2015

A fictional publication in the Philippines

An infographic by Jezen Esther Pati

THE Artikulo
29 September 2015

A fictional publication in the Philippines

by Ysmael Padilla

"We should talk about it. The

current situation is not good
enough especially in situations of
wife battering or when children
are beat up I believe
harmonious societies start with
harmonious families."

"It's better for a couple to separate

if they're not understanding each
other anymore. It would be better
that way for me."

It is now high time that Filipinos

start discussing divorce and for
legislators to draft a good version of
it for the conservative Philippines."

House Bill 1799, or the

Divorce Bill of the
Philippines, is still pending
action from Congress, but
what do some of our
political figures have to say
about this controversial
bill? Who agrees, who
disagrees, and why do they
say so? Well take a look at
the various opinions from
some of the proponents and
opponents of the Divorce
Bill.

"I think the government should

strengthen the family, not break it
up. Besides, we already have
annulment and then there's legal
separation."

"I'm not in favor of divorce because I see

more couple will divorce when such law is
"Responsible parenthood is
passed.
Weshould
should
also respect the
important. Parents
know
where
their kids
at, who they're
Catholic
Church's
teachings against it."
with, and what they're doing.
We must preserve sanctity of
marriage and family life."

"I'm not in favor of divorce because

I see more couple will divorce when
such law is passed. We should also
respect the Catholic Church's
teachings against it."

THE Artikulo
29 September 2015

A fictional publication in the Philippines

"I'm against divorce... I think annulment is

enough. We should improve the parameter
for citing 'psychological incapacity'. I think
we should fix that system rather than
allowing a 'no-fault' divorce.

The president of the Catholic Bishops of

the Philippines (CBCP) believes failed
marriages cannot be used as an argument
to pass a divorce law, saying divorce only
encourages a married couple to no longer
work out their differences.

"Not in favor. But we should loosen the

rules of annulment. My sister got her
marriage and it was very expensive. The
problem with divorce is I dont want the
type of divorce that can create dysfunctional
family."

In a statement, CBCP president and Lingayen Dagupan

Archbishop Socrates Villegas took exception to a statement
of Sen. Pia Cayetano that the Philippines having no divorce
law is nothing to be proud of.
"To that, I hasten to add: Neither is it something for which
we should be apologetic! That all countries of the world
save ours have [a divorce law] is no compelling reason to
have it," Villegas said.
Villegas said the reasons being advanced for a divorce law
fail to convince since the reasons only prove that only
mature people should enter into marriage.

He said that if a spouse is oppressive and cruel, a woman

could avail of legal separation or annulment of voidable
marriages. He noted that nullity of marriage because of
psychological incapacity is also available under the
Constitution.

CBCP SAYS NO. Being a Catholic

group that sticks to Christian values
and morals, the religious organization
does not favour divorce as a remedy
to failed marriages.

"There have been divorce bills filed in each

Congress but they never passed. We don't
need a divorce law because we already have
civil annulment. It protects the two parties
and the children. Divorce law is not
necessary. It would further divide the
country."
"Look at the U.S. Has America benefited
from divorce? There are more negative
impacts on American families. A lot of
teachings in the church are based on
empirical evidence."