President Rodrigo Duterte has distanced himself from commenting on the proposed divorce bill a week after the House committee on population and family relations approved by a unanimous vote a measure to institutionalize divorce in the Philippines.
“When I asked him what his current stand is, he said ‘no comment.’ He leaves it to Congress,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque during a Palace press briefing.
“He said, ‘No comment,’ although he remains steadfast to be against abortion,” he added.
It can be recalled that in a 2016 interview, Duterte said he was against divorce since it would split the family and affect the children.
On February 21, the House committee on population and family relations approved a consolidated measure legalizing absolute divorce in the country.
The substitute bill aims to ensure that the proceedings for the grant of absolute divorce shall be affordable, efficient and inexpensive, especially for indigent litigants or petitioners.
The grounds for absolute divorce are the existing grounds for legal separation and annulment of marriage.
Also, a possible ground for absolute divorce is the couple’s separation for at least five years.
Other valid grounds include psychological incapacity of either spouse, irreconcilable marital differences, or a gender reassignment surgery of either spouse.
it should have been long over due for this bill to be a law… We are the only country that still suppress the liberty of an individual that is withheld by marriage.