A CONGRESSMAN on Thursday urged the House of Representatives to start discussing a bill seeking to expand the grounds for marriage separation, making the case for lawmakers to consider improvements to annulment instead of enacting a divorce law.
Filed by lawmakers led by Party-list Rep. Jude A. Acidre, House Bill No. 10970 seeks to “modernize” the grounds for annulment by expanding its legal justifications for separation, including psychological incapacity and deceitful marriages.
“By recognizing additional causes such as psychological incapacity, lack of due discretion of judgment, and simulation of consent, the bill seeks to ensure that the legal framework reflects the realities faced by many Filipino couples,” Mr. Acidre said in a statement.
“This initiative is not about introducing divorce but about safeguarding the sanctity of marriage by addressing unions built on fraud, coercion, or deceit,” he added.
The House, in May, approved on final reading a proposed law seeking to reinstitute divorce as another mode for terminating marriage.
The Philippines is the only country in the world besides the Vatican City prohibiting divorce.
Mr. Acidre said the measure aims to simplify the procedures for annulment by placing such petitions under summary procedure, reducing the time and cost involved with the process. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
