THE LEVEL OF ACCEPTANCE OF SOPHOMORE STUDENTS IN FAR EASTERN UNIVERISTY INSTITUTE OF NURSING ON THE DIVORCE BILL

A Research Paper Presented to the Institute Of Arts and Sciences English Department Far Eastern University Manila

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Course English III - Research

Bryan Paolo Cruz Visarra August 2011

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study Divorce (or the dissolution of marriage) is the final termination of a marital union, cancelling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties (unlike annulment which declares the marriage null and void).(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce) In 2005, party-list representative Liza Masa of Gabriela filed a divorce bill. In 2001, similar bills were filed in the Senate (Bill No. 782), introduced by Senator Rodolfo G. Biazon, and House of Representatives (Bill No. 878), introduced by HonorableBellaflor J. Angara-Castillo. In 1999, Representative Manuel C. Ortega filed House Bill No. 6993, seeking for the legalization of divorce. This Congress (14th Congress), Gabriela again filed a bill to introduce divorce in the Philippines. Heres the explanatory note of House Bill 3461, filed by GABRIELA Womens Party Representatives Liza Largoza-Maza and LuzvimindaIlagan. (http://jlp-law.com/blog/proposed-divorce-law-in-the-philippines/) The debate on legalizing divorce in the Philippines started when news of Maltese Referendum favouring divorce reached the country. These alerted and awaken the different groups and organizations to make a bolder call for the Philippines to follow Malta's steps and legalize divorce in a predominantly Catholic nation. Filipino Thinkers has a great digest of how the debate was settled and how the referendum unfolded in Malta. More importantly, it provides a side by side comparison of the issue between the Philippines and Malta: Aside from the happy ending, which left the Philippines the only country without divorce1, the story of Maltas divorce referendum shares similarities with our own reproductive health (RH) debates: Both countries are last bastions of Catholicism: Malta in Europe, the Philippines in Asia; both countries are predominantly Catholic: 95% in Malta, 80% in the Philippines; and both battles are primarily between progressive Catholics and conservative bishops. And in both cases, the conservative bishops use fear mongering to keep their flock in line. (http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/06/03/philippinesdebate-on-divorce-bill/) If the Reproductive Health bill becomes law, and it is followed by a divorce bill? That would be one continuity reboot for the Philippines. It signals that the nation is slowly becoming secular and less under the thrall of the Vatican.

As a Catholic, for me, it presents an opportunity for the Church to focus on the spiritual. I want sermons and direction that make me a better person. I dont need the Church to tell me what is wrong with government. Filipinos everywhere already know whats wrong with our nation. It is that time in history that we fix it. I need my church to help guide that poor maid who is always beaten up by her husband. I need a Church that guides street children away from the streets, and into education. I need this church to be relevant. (Cocoy, http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/06/03/philippinesdebate-on-divorce-bill/) Divorce in the Philippines is still on the process of questioning, arguing and a lot of reviewing at the present time, especially that another bill is on the hot topics too, the Reproductive Health Bill. Being a Christian country, many of the Filipinos believe that if the Divorce Bill and Reproductive Health Bill were passed, it will violate their culture and norms as a Filipino, and contradict Gods will. The Philippines doesn't allow divorce because of this issue. As the Catholicism is the majority religion there, Catholic organizations such as the CBCP opposes the divorce to be in effect. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce#Religion_and_divorce) In Filipino culture, marriage is regarded as a sacred union and this is where the family is founded.A family is where the fountain of love, protection and care can be seen. Philippine society generally discourages marital break-ups and provides cultural and legal security to preserve these marital relations. Cultural beliefs and religious norms keep many Filipino couples together despite the breakdown of the marriage. Just like this bible verse says: Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so (Matt 19:8) Women are traditionally regarded as primarily responsible for making the marriage work and are expected to sacrifice everything to preserve the marriage and the unity of the family.Reality tells us that there are many failed, unhappy marriages across all Filipino classes. Many couples especially from those under the marginalized line, who have no access to the courts, simply end up separating without the benefit of legal processes.The sheer number of petitions that have been filed since 1988 for the declaration of the nullity of the marriage under Article 36 of the Family Code (commonly known as annulment) shows that there are just too many couples who are desperate to get out of failed marriages. (http://jlp-law.com/blog/proposeddivorce-law-in-the-philippines) So what is the need to conduct this study? This is to determine what is in the mind of the citizens and to let theFilipino community to be able accept to themselves that not every marriage will start happy, and end happy. Just look at these previous cases indicating unhappy and failed marriages: The 2003 report of the Philippine National Police shows that wife battering accounted for 53.6 percent of the total 8,011 cases of violence against women. About

three of ten perpetrators were husbands of the victims. Husbands accounted for 28 per cent of the violence against women crimes. The Department of Social Welfare and Development reported that in 2003, of the 15,314 women in especially difficult circumstances that the agency serviced, 25.1 per cent or 5,353 were cases of physical abuse, maltreatment and battering. (http://jlp-law.com/blog/proposed-divorce-lawin-the-philippines) Given these realities, couples must have the option to avail comfort in their lives that will show them the way for the attainment of their freedom from the failure of their vows, and enjoy themselves from the unhappy memories they shared with each other, and the protection of their human rights. But speaking all of these good reasons and advantages of passing the bill, do the Filipinos emotionally ready for this? Do the Filipino Christians disregard this harsh reality just to say that theyre not violating the Bible? What if there is not a chance for Filipino Christians to accept this bill? There is a necessity for the government to consider the feedback and acceptance of the community, it is to make sure that the Filipinos will use this bill responsibly and ensure its effectiveness.

B. Statement of the Problem This study aims to answer the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. How necessary is Divorce for the Filipino citizens? Does this bill violate the Filipino norms and beliefs as a Christian country? In what extent or cases Divorce is considered an option for the family? What are the reasons why Filipino youth wants the Divorce bill to pass? What are the reasons why the Filipino youth doesnt want the bill to pass? Does the Filipino youth consider Divorce an option for marital break-ups? How ready is the community for the Divorce bill? What is the level of acceptance of Filipino youth on the Divorce bill?

C. Significance of the Study Philippine Congress.This research paper would able to help the congress to have knowledge of the level of acceptance of students on the divorce bill. A lot of times, they can only hear why the Catholic sector is prohibiting them to pass the bill. But this time, the research paper will help them to be aware of the opinion of the youth

with regards to Divorce, and fortunately help them decide to postpone, if not diminish, this bill. Members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP): Although they had decided to say no to Divorce Bill, the knowledge of the outcome of this study will be able to help them view a lot of things, which may be given more emphasis while conducting this study. They may change their point of views and foresee how ready the community in accepting this bill.

D. Scope and Limitation This study focuses on the level of acceptance of the sophomore students in Far Eastern University, Institute of Nursing with regards to Divorce bill. This research paper may also include the reasons why they dont want the Divorce bill to pass, and why they do; the degree of the need to pass the Divorce bill, and the circumstances that Divorce becomes an option for the family. This study also includes some of the major points of the government and churchs side of the issue. Sophomore students were chosen as the respondents of this research because the youths point of view matters as they will be building the future families in Philippine community and they are the ones wholl be under the bill, if passed.

E. Materials and Methods Most of the information gathered that is related to this study was from online discussions, debates and forums. This research will be utilizing surveys that will extract significant information from the respondents. It will be composed of openended questions and minimal interview questions. Data that will be gathered from the respondents will be clustered and classify as to its similarity. It will also dictate the level of acceptance which will be described in percentage at the end of the study.

F. Definition of Terms Maltese Referendum:The consultative divorce referendum which is held in Malta on 28 May 2011, in which the electorate voted to permit the introduction of divorce.