Divorce remedy for women to get out of abusive relationships -- Gabriela rep

MANILA, Philippines -- House Bill 1799 which the Gabriela Women’s Partylist re-filed in the 15th Congress last July, 2010, was crafted in consultation with women lawyers and inspired by the studies and inputs of various women’s groups and the experiences of spouses gathered by GABRIELA from its various chapters nationwide.

The bill seeks to introduce divorce in the Philippine law with a strong sense of confidence that it will be used responsibly Filipino couples. This confidence stems from the experiences of Filipino families that show that separation is usually the last resort of many Filipino couples whose marriage has failed. Cases of battered women also strongly support this. Battered women invariably seek separation only after many years of trying to make the marriage work; separation only becomes imperative for them when they realize that it is necessary for their and their children’s survival. Divorce could actually provide protection to battered women and their children from further violence and abuse.

Historically, divorce had been part of our legal system in the beginning of the 16th century before the Spanish colonial rule, absolute divorce was widely practiced among ancestral tribes such as the Tagbanwas of Palawan, the Gaddangs of Nueva Vizcaya, the Sagadans and Igorots of Cordilleras, and the Manobos, Bila-ans and Moslems of the Visayas and Mindanao islands. Divorce was also available during the American period starting from 1917 (under Act No. 2710 enacted by the Philippine Legislature) and during the Japanese occupation (under Executive Order No.1410 and after, until 1950. It was only on August 30, 1950, when the New Civil Code took effect, that divorce was disallowed under Philippine law. Only legal separation was available. The same rule was adopted by the Family Code of 1988, which replaced the provisions of the New Civil Code on marriage and the family, although the Family Code introduced the concept of “psychological incapacity” as the basis for declaring the marriage void. In recognition of the history of divorce in the Philippines, the framers of the 1987 Constitution left the wisdom of legalizing divorce to the Congress. Thus, the 1987 Constitution does not prohibit the legalization of divorce.