Lawmaker looks at barangay as adjudicator in family cases
By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
A CONGRESSMAN said on Thursday that if barangays could serve as adjudicators in cases of domestic violence and marital spats, these family concerns would be quickly resolved without burdening the courts or prolonging the torment of aggrieved parties.
In a statement, Manila Rep. Joel R. Chua noted that while barangays are the basic unit of the government, its justice system has no authority to resolve issues involving marital affairs under the 1987 Family Code of the Philippines.
“The barangay is the government closest to the people, yet when it comes to matters about marriage, domestic violence, violence against women and children, the barangays cannot enforce the Family Code because they are excluded from it,” he said.
Under the law, barangays only have the authority to resolve conflicts to prevent petty disputes from escalating into cases that overcrowd Philippine courts.
Mr. Chua also responded to those opposing divorce on the pretext that troubled couples could opt for legal separation and/or annulment. “By the time those options reach their conclusions, irreparable damage has been inflicted on the abused spouse or both spouses and or on their children,” he said.
The rigid system of both annulment and legal separation is “ridiculous and sadistic upon the aggrieved spouses and children,” he added.
Mr. Chua is one of the 131 congressmen who greenlit the divorce bill in the House of Representatives.
