BY IME SORNITO
ILOILO City – Cong. Raul Tupas of Iloilo’s 5th District is against divorce and is not supportive of House Bill 7303 – “An Act Instituting Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage in the Philippines.”
On Monday the House of Representatives approved the bill on third and final reading.
“It is my belief that marriage is a gift from God,” said Tupas.
While “there is no perfect marriage,” he said, it can be “strengthened over time by triumphs and failures as well as happiness and pain.”
Tupas also said divorce would adversely affect children.
Spouses should prioritize their children’s interest, he stressed.
Cong. Arthur Defensor Jr. of Iloilo’s 3rd District, on the other hand, said spouses that could no longer work out their marriages should be given the chance to move on, thus he supports House Bill 7303.
He cited as example couples who have been living separately for a long time already and whose chances of being together again have become remote.
Divorce, he said, is a legal way for these couples to get out of an irredeemable relationship.
Under House Bill 7303, grounds for an absolute divorce include the following:
* reasons stated under legal separation and annulment under the Family Code of the Philippines
* separation in fact for at least five years
* legal separation by judicial decree for at least two years
* psychological incapacity
* gender reassignment surgery
* irreconcilable differences
* joint petition of spouses
The bill, however, provides for a mandatory six-month cooling-off period for petitioner spouses after the filing of the divorce petition. This aims to give the spouses time to think over their marriage and possible save it if they could.
Voting 134 for and 57 against, with two abstaining, the lawmakers approved House Bill No. 7303.
As of this writing, the other congressmen from Iloilo could not be reached for their position on divorce./PN
