Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen acknowledges the fact that old Philippine laws are making it hard for couples to leave or get out of unhappy marriages.
The Philippines is one of the only two countries in the world that prohibits divorce apart from the Vatican.
In a lecture, Leonen said the antiquated laws are no longer adaptive to modern marriages.
“Marriage as the foundation of the family no longer reflects the present realities and sensitives of many Filipino families,” said Leonen.
Leonen said the prohibition of divorce started during the Spanish period.
“The antiquated form from our colonial past is still codified in our laws and is still being reiterated in jurisprudence 135 years later,” he said in a GMA News report.
“Perhaps if we truly want justice, we will see how antiquated our laws are. If we truly are for justice, we will feel how we impose a burden that is a vestige of our colonial past, that even our colonizer chose to no longer impose on their own people,” he noted.
The House of Representatives already passed an absolute divorce law while a counterpart bill is having a hard time at the Senate due to religious positions.
