Bro. Eddie dismayed over passing of divorce bill at panel level: It’s not an answer to problematic marriages

Deputy Speaker and CIBAC party-list Representative Bro. Eddie Villanueva on Wednesday expressed dismay on the approval of the divorce bill at the House committee level.

In a statement, Villanueva said that with this development, marriage, which is an inviolate commitment, would now "be reduced to a contractual relationship, subject to the whims of unscrupulous individuals."

"CIBAC firmly believes that any law that will effectively downplay the inviolability or the not-to-be-broken status of the family as a social institution is directly and inherently unconstitutional and contrary to the deeply-held Filipino value of preserving and fighting for marriage," Villanueva said.

"Passing any measure that effectively negates this Constitutional mandate shall foster unabated decay in our families," he added.

On Tuesday, the House committee on population and family relations unanimously approved the unnumbered substitute bill for the introduction of absolute divorce in the country.

The grounds for legal separation, annulment of marriage, and nullification of marriage based on psychological incapacity under the Family Code were included as grounds for absolute divorce.

Divorce not an answer to 'problematic unions'

Villanueva said that while he understands the plight of hostile marriages, he believes that divorce will never be an answer to problematic unions.

"The legal remedies available such as legal separation, annulment, and declaration of nullity of marriage are sufficient to address them," Villanueva said.

"The more pressing policy action right now is not the divorce bill, but government simply making existing remedies more accessible especially to the poor—by making the process cheaper and the resolution of cases faster," he added.

He noted that offering couples "an expressway out of marriage" would diminish the institution into a simplistic contractual relationship bereft of its pure meaning and call for lasting commitment.

"Injecting absolute divorce in the society is a sure formula for raising fatherless and motherless Filipino children," Villanueva said.

"It will artificially manufacture reservations in the minds of future couples, who would be enabled to enter and exit marriage conveniently when their expectations are unmet. It will wreck families and spell disaster for Filipino children," he added.

Villanueva further argued that the proposed measure is against the will of God.

"And fighting against the will of God is inviting wrath to this nation. Simply, the risks and dangers far outweigh the perceived benefits of this measure," the lawmaker said.

Railroaded?

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker and BUHAY party-list Representative Lito Atienza slammed the supposed railroading of the proposed measure at the committee level.

He claimed that the panel did not invite family groups that could defend marriage's sanctity, noting that these organizations could present studies that will show the adverse effects of having divorced parents to children.

"This is in direct violation of the Constitution, specifically Article II, Section 12 which says that the State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution; and Article XV where the State "recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation," Atienza said in a separate statement.

"Accordingly, it shall strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its total development and that marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State," he added.

Atienza said passing the bill goes against the "inviolability" of marriage, which should never be broken, infringed or dishonored.

"We will challenge this all the way to the Supreme Court, if needed, where we are sure it will be deemed unconstitutional," Atienza said.

"This is another sorry day for Congress, where the State, instead of protecting the sanctity and inviolability of marriage and the family, led the way to further weaken it," he added.

The bill is bound for plenary debates at the House of Representatives. The counterpart measure of the divorce bill in the Senate remains pending at the committee of women, children, family relations, and gender equality.

The Senate panel had already conducted a hearing on the measure last September 2019. — RSJ, GMA News