The proposed bill allowing divorce in the Philippines has moved forward at the House of Representatives as it hurdled the third and final reading.
126 lawmakers voted in favor of House Bill No. 9349 or the Absolute Divorce Act. Meanwhile, 109 voted against the bill and 20 abstentions.
Under the proposed divorce law, physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner could be grounds for divorce.
The ball now is at the Senate on whether it will allow the divorce bill to pass.
“I hope the Senate sees the importance of the divorce bill… We don’t have to muddle religious issues with measures like this,” ACT Party-list Representative France Castro said.
Under the measure, divorced individuals would also be allowed to remarry.
The Philippines is among the two remaining countries in the world without a divorce law.
