Comments on: Allowing Absolute Divorce in the Philippines

By: Male Fertility Diets

Male Fertility Diets — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:01:33 +0000

Generally, it is believed that 15 percent of couples meet with failure when attempting their first pregnancy, since 80-85 percent of couples achieve pregnancy within twelve months of unprotected sexual intercourse. There is evidence from clinical data to show that in 30 percent of cases of infertility, the problem is with the man alone. While in another 20 percent, the man and the woman both share the ‘reason’ for the couple’s infertility. Therefore in 50 percent of infertility cases, the problem is wholly or partly from the man. This fact might be too much for persons to believe, but it should be understood that the male reproductive system is almost as complex as that of the females. Also, from conception to menopause, the male stands almost the chance of reproductive malfunction or abnormality as the woman.

By: openminded

openminded — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:16:18 +0000

divorce should be allowed in the Philippines, its a judicial tool to help people start anew their lives from a trapped relationship…

By: none

none — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 03:38:58 +0000

allowing divorce will save a lot of relationships too. by giving them second chances to have a happy life.

By: Missy

Missy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:35:42 +0000

I have a boyfriend who got divorced in the U.S. Can he remarry in the Catholic church? Thanks.

By: Johnny Zelaya

Johnny Zelaya — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:42:01 +0000

Reading Malta 101’s ideas and researching Malta’s decision not to allow divorce, I would like to share with one and all my opinions. Thanks to attyatwork.com for their wonderful site.

I agree with Malta 1010, when he said that “it (marriage) is a holy sacrament that cannot be undone by the state.”

However, my marriage was in front of a judge, NOT a priest. Shouldn’t there be a difference?! What do I mean? Being a democracy, we should be given a choice. If Filipino citizens want to get married, they should have the “choice” of it being: 1) a religious ceremony; 2) a civil ceremony, or 3) both.

Whatever they chose will determine all else (i.e., divorce). The parties involved who want to get married should be counseled on these 3 ceremonial options.

If it is a civil option – they should be allowed to divorce if they feel they are not compatible for marriage after a few years (just like in most modern democratic countries). Judges should can quickly clear their backlogs, especially if both parties consent to divorcing each other, if no crimes were committed, and if there were no children or property issues involved.
Wouldn’t it be safe to say that the most cases in the dockets are of this nature?

If they go for the religious ceremony – well, they will be covered by Church laws — which is “sorry, but we don’t allow divorce, except in certain circumstances (i.e., what we see in the Philippines today).” The toughest punishment that the Church can dish out is perhaps excommunicating the offending party and recommending some punitive action to the government, who will study their recommendation on whether to carry out such action or not.

Again, my idea that we SHOULD separate Church and State. I don’t see any evidence to that. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Philippines should not be a theocracy or a religious republic by being heavily influenced or controlled by any one Church or religious insitution (such as what we see in the Islamic Republic of Iran).

However, when it comes to divorce, it does seem strange that the Philippine government allows its Muslim citizens to divorce (because divorce is allowed under Muslim Shariah law). Unfortunately, if you are a Catholic, you cannot divorce under Catholic Church laws.

But what doesn’t make sense if that if you are a Protestant-Filipino, a Buddhist-Filipino, a Jewish-Filipino (or what have you), you are not allowed to divorce. Doesn’t make sense, does it?

So, shouldn’t it make sense that our government allow us to pursue whatever our own respective religions dictate? Not just the Catholic Church?

That’s why under the current state of divorce, it is clear to me that the Philippine Catholic Church INDEED has grabbed the nuts of our government officials, by not giving its non-Muslim citizens that choice. That’s very undemocratic.

In addition, the real reason why many marriages fail is we attach too much religion to it. Again, as in my previous post, “human beings are imperfect, but some subscribe to the fact that marriage must be a perfect union.” In a religious world, it is. But in reality, it isn’t.

Now, try telling that to a young 21 year-old who “kind of” feels he is ready to marry, but isn’t 100% sure, and is afraid of “looking bad” or “loosing face” in front of his relatives, future in-laws, and friends if he decides to change his mind! Has the Church counseled him enough and was with him every step of the way?

Yes, the Church and State both have a duty to protect the social fabric – particularly children. That was one of Malta’s Nationalist Party’s principal reasons to avoid raising the issue of divorce.

However, the government should understand that not everyone is a diehard Catholic and that not all Filipinos are Catholic. It should responsibly carry out what is enshrined in every modern constitution — the choice of who we vote for, the choice of which God we worship, as well as the choice of who we want to marry.

I agree with May 3, when she said in her post that she feels her country and her church have abandoned her. What the government has spawned are what she termed “Catholic courts.”

So, are we still the “Republic of the Philippines” or the “Catholic Republic of the Philippines?” Is it the Islamic Republic the Philippines down south (because divorce is allowed down there)? Our public defenders and civic leaders should not ignore, alienate, neglect or abandon us anymore — just because the Church says so.

Is anyone protecting our choice? In my view — it should be the State. It has to show some balls.

By: malta01

malta01 — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:08:44 +0000

I am from Malta, the only other nation in the world where divorce is illegal. Nonetheless I do not think it should be legalised as it would destabilise marriage. Research also shows that divorce has many negative effects on demography and future generations. One of the reasons the Church is against divorce is that it harms the country. Apart from that, marriage is no simple contract – it is a holy sacrament that cannot be undone by the state.

By: vhette

vhette — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:25:03 +0000

.. i believe that DiVoRSE should be LEGALiZED for the women not to suffer because of unhealthy MARRiAGE. People should have their LiBERtY or what we call FREEdOM in choosing and deciding what is wrong.

hahai .. HOPE this HELP .. ^^

im vhette
16 y/o
female
from the beautiful country of
PHiLiPPiNES .. ^^

By: may3

may3 — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:36:57 +0000

i strongly agree with you johnny zelaya, i am bitter with philippine laws, separated for 18 years, raising two children by myself, but still have to spend all my savings 150K for annulment and get denied, court says good only for legal separation. catholic religion is a curse to the nation, practicing idolatry, selling hell, filipinos need to realize that catholic countries are the poorest and the most corrupt. as a woman that for 18 years feel not protected by my country, i want to throw my citizenship to the dogs if only there is a way. i need to be dead first before philippines laws recognize i have to be free from an abusive husband. what good is that? when there is no collusion, chances for your petition for annulment is denied. when there is collusion, sure it will be granted. that’s how catholic courts operates. that is reality.

By: VLJ

VLJ — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:57:59 +0000

absolute divorce should not be legalized ‘coz what is marriage for if there is divorce????????it is against the will of God coz HE HIMSELF instituted marriage…getzie????//……..

-4

By: Jade

Jade — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:27:03 +0000

The Philippines should allow DIVORCE because it’s equitable to both parties involved. Men or women should give child support (if they are below 18) and properties should be divided equally between the parties if they have been married 10 years (minimum) or more. A lot of women were left in a lurch by their cad-husbands and they had nowhere to turn to for help/aid. Children are left motherless or fatherless. With Divorce (and make it affordable for the aggrieved party), at least, there’s hope for a new life without encumbrance. Annulment is an expensive process in the Philippines and it takes years before it becomes final.