The Philippines Moves Closer to Legalizing Divorce With Approved Bill

 The Philippines, like the Vatican, is the only country where divorce is not legally recognized. This may soon change, as House Bill (HB) 9349, often known as the proposed Absolute Divorce Act, has been passed and is on its way to a final reading.

Photo by Abet Llacer

On its third and final reading, the House of Representatives approved HB 9349 with 126 votes in favor, 109 opposed, and 20 abstained. This ratification comes only two months after the bill was referred by the House Committee on Population and Family Relations.

The proposed Divorce law under the Absolute Divorce Act defines several reasons for absolute divorce, including:

• Physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner;
• Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation;
• Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement;
• Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six (6) years, even if pardoned;
• Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism or chronic gambling of the respondent;
• Homosexuality of the respondent;
• Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippines or abroad;
• Marital infidelity or perversion or having a child with another person other than one’s spouse during the marriage, except when upon the mutual agreement of the spouses, a child is born to them through in vitro fertilization or a similar procedure or when the wife bears a child after being a victim of rape;
• Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner, a common child or a child of the petitioner;
• Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one (1) year;
• When the spouses are legally separated by judicial decree for more than two (2) years, either spouse can petition the proper Family Court for an absolute divorce based on said judicial decree of legal separation.

While the grounds for divorce under this measure are the same as those for legal separation and annulment, the divorce procedure is supposed to be faster and more practical. Additionally, divorced individuals would be granted the freedom to remarry.

#DivorceAct #familycode #philippines

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Sources  b& Credits: The Philippines Moves Closer To Legalizing Divorce With Approved Bill (msn.com) / Inquirer