The Senate Committee on Women and Children held its historic hearing on the proposed divorce bill in the country.
Senator Risa Hontiveros invited a number of resource persons to give their positions on the controversial measure.
One of them was an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) and seaman who opted not to push through with his annulment because of its very complicated and expensive process.
OFW Marco Luna said he was separated from his wife a long a time ago but they didn’t push through with the annulment because lawyers are demanding hundreds of thousands of pesos to file their case.
“Annulment is unrealistic. I didn’t pursue it because I don’t believe in it. It is being exploited. That is being exploited even one of the milking cows of lawyers,” Luna said.
The seaman added that until now he is forced to share his earnings even though they are no longer together.
Some women also shared why divorce could be the answer to unhappy marriages.
“While there is no question that divorce is hard on us kids, it is better than raising your children in a violent, abusive, angry or deeply resentful marriage,” Kana Takashi a divorce advocate said.
Church and religious groups have expressed their strong opposition to the bill. They said the measure prevents people from restoring family relations.
“The presence of the divorce law would in the long run pose a greater prejudice to the families despite the suffering that children may experience and this is because through a divorce law, the possibility of reconciliation is ultimately eliminated,” Alliance for Family Foundation Vice President Joel Arzaga said.
