The end of the affair

Five years ago, party-list Representative Liza Maza of Gabriela filed in the Lower House of Congress a bill (House Bill 4016) introducing divorce as an option for couples in failed or irreparable marriages.

Maza said her proposal would give Filipino couples the option to sue for divorce, instead of confining their options to legal separation or annulment.

“The sanctity of marriage is not based on the number of marriages existing but on the quality of marital relationships. When a marriage is no longer viable, divorce should be an option,” Maza explained.

Under the Maza bill, couples who may apply for divorce include those who have been separated in fact for five years, or those already legally separated for two years.

The grounds for legal separation may also apply when these caused the irreparable breakdown of the marriage. In addition, psychological incapacity, causing one’s failure to comply with essential marital obligations and irreconcilable differences causing the irreparable breakdown of the marriage are also recognized as grounds for divorce.

Foremost in the proposal is the issue on battered women. Said Maza: “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 safety and their children’s survival. Divorce could actually provide protection to battered women and their children from further violence and abuse,” she said.

Nothing has been heard of the Maza bill since then. The proposal drew the ire of the Roman Catholic Church soon after it was filed. The Church called the bill “anti-women.”

Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Dagupan, a past president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said that divorce strikes at the social standing of women in the country.

“It is good that women are gradually winning their crusade against discrimination. But now comes another threat to their good name. It is hidden in the projected divorce bill,” Cruz said. He said the bill actually defeats the purpose of protecting women and gaining equal status as men.

The archbishop said divorce will add another prejudicial and discriminatory attribution to women. In the Filipino socio-cultural mix, there are existing offensive and insulting terms appended to women, like “separada” (a woman separated from her husband); “desgrasyada” (an unmarried woman with child).