Otso Diretso bets differ on views on divorce, same-sex marriage

“Otso Diretso” candidates now in University of Cebu Banilad Campus for a dialogue with its students. pic.twitter.com/bcc1YMYCac

— Erwin Colcol (@erwincolcol) February 21, 2019

Though they are running under one team, senatorial candidates belonging to the "Otso Diretso" opposition coalition do not share the same views on some controversial issues.

This was manifested at the University of Cebu Banilad Campus in Cebu City on Thursday where seven of the eight candidates under the opposition slate held a dialogue with students.

During the open forum, both Marawi civic leader Samira Gutoc and Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV were asked about their position on divorce and same-sex marriage.

Gutoc was quick to respond that while she does not promote divorce, it is something that the government and even the Catholic Church should explore, especially in the cases of abusive relationships.

"Yes, I don't promote divorce but there are abusive relationships already. There is a limit to the abuse, kailangan nating pa-igtingin ang relasyon na pwedeng proteksyunan na ang babae," she told the students.

"Therefore, dapat tingnan na rin ng Catholic Church na ang divorce ay mag-open ng mind ng Pilipinas despite our religion," she added.

Aquino, however, rejects the idea of divorce, citing that it would only result to more broken families in the country.

He, nevertheless, suggested an easier and more accessible annulment procedure.

"Kung merong abusong nangyayari, idaan natin sa annulment. And I've already said, gawin nating mas mura at mas mabilis ang proseso ng annulment na meron naman sa ating mga batas," Aquino said.

When it comes to same-sex marriage, Gutoc said that while she is "conscious" and "sensitive" in practicing Islam, she is fighting for equal opportunities for members of the LGBT community.

"I believe that equal opportunity is a right by any person. Importanteng kilalanin yun. Towards same-sex marriage, I cannot categorically state I support but I support equal opportunity for all, including LGBT," she said.

Aquino, for his part, gave a somewhat similar view as he favored civil union over same-sex marriage.

He said that if the government adopts same-sex marriage, it would only cause further division among many sectors of the society.

"I've said publicly na I'm willing to explore civil partnerships or civil unions. In other countries, iba yung kanilang patakaran, hindi nila tinatawag na same-sex marriage. Yung magkasama na nasa isang bahay, may rights na nalilipat doon through a civil partnership," Aquino said.

"I think this probably something that we can explore better, simply because kapag inadopt agad natin yung same-sex marriage, magkakagulo na naman ang ating bansa," he added.

Aquino acknowledge that it is not all the time that they he and his fellow candidates under the "Otso Diretso" slate have the same set of opinion on certain issues.

"When it comes to 95 percent of most issues, more or less pare-pareho ang aming stand. Pagdating sa divorce, same-sex marriage, magkakaiba yung aming posisyon," he said.

The "Otso Diretso" slate, except for former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, were present in all of their campaign activities in Cebu, one of the vote-rich provinces in the country.

The group will fly to Bacolod City on Friday morning for the continuation of their campaign sortie. — BAP, GMA News