DIVORCE LAW

AND ITS ROLE ON THE WELFARE OF

WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE
PHILIPPINES
Daray, Estrada, Itaas

Hypothesis
A law on divorce will greatly benefit
abused women and children in the
Philippines.

The Philippines should have a law

on divorce
No; 21%

Yes; 79%

45
40
35

Physical violence/ domestic violence/

abuse/ battered wife/ abusive relationship/
sexual abuse
Better than annulment/ legal separation
Unhappy marriage/ unsuccessful marriage/
unhealthy marriage
Separation of church and state/ church
plays a major role in our culture and family/
people have different religions
Current laws are flawed
Infidelity/ addiction/ other complications
Concerned about children/ child custody
Philippines is one of the two countries in
the world that does not have a law on
divorce.

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Yes

25

20

Complications in divorce like joint assests/

child custody/remarriage
Divorce might be taken for
granted/abused/ an esier way out/
marriage taken lightly
Marriage is sacred/ family is important/ love
Divorce is an

15

10

0
No

Definition of terms
Annulment a judgment by a court that retroactively invalidates
a marriage to the date of its formation
Legal separation a court-decreed right to live apart, with the
rights and obligations of divorced persons, but without divorce.
The parties are still married and cannot remarry. A spouse may
petition for a legal separation usually on the same basis as for a
divorce, and include requests for child custody, alimony, child
support and division of property
Divorce a judicial declaration dissolving a marriage in whole or
in part, especially one that releases the marriage partners from all
matrimonial obligations

Questions
Does divorce solve abuse in a relationship?
Who benefits from a divorce more, the husband or the wife?
With so many of our masses in slums and impoverished, how
many of our people would actually utilize the divorce law?
Is divorce better than other existing legal remedies? In what
way?
Are the respondents (UP students) aware of domestic abuses
in Filipino families?

Analysis
Yes
Should Rep. Luz Ilagans bill on divorce be appointed it is guaranteed to be
30-40% cheaper to pursue divorce than annulment.
I believe that physically abused women and children should be given the
chance to break force from their violent husbands.
First is physical violence or abusive conduct of the husband which may badly
affect not only his wife, but the children as well.I recognize that every person
has the right to be happy and free from oppression.
Annulment costs a lot of money that is why only celebrities and upper-upper
class people are the once who can afford this trial.
According to Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), physical injuries or
battering remains to be the top most prevalent case from 1999-2009 of all
reported violence against women. Those victims would continue to be caged
in their abusers and would be hard to start a new life as they are still tied to
the ones hurting them.

Analysis
Yes
How many times has Kris Aquino gotten annulled, right?
Divorce would be helpful to legally terminate the marriage between a battered
wife and her abusive husband.
Letting couples get legally separated is not a moral issue, as a matter of fact,
even without divorce, couples get separated anyway. This happens by living
separately and dividing on their own when it comes to the custody of the children.
Divorce should be granted to protect women; to protect women in the sense that
women are often the victims of physical anf mental abuse from their spouses.
I firmly believe it is time we have a law on divorce, but only on the grounds of
domestic violence.
The divorce would free the children from all the negative things, and be with one
of the parents who love them more than the other and vice versa.
Being a part of a patriarchal society, women are oppressed and are usually have
no place in the production sphere, istead, they are left in the reproductive sphere.

Analysis
No
Not having a divorce law forces the marriage couples to resolve their
problems and talk things between them.
Annulment is already present in our country, resulting to an increase of
couples being able to terminate their marriage. What more if divorce
comes into the picture?
There are a lot of complications that come along with divorce such as
alimony, child custody, child support, division of assests, etc.

Important statements
The code of Muslim personal laws of the Philippines allows
divorce but only men are entitled to this and not women.
Women who are victims of abusive relationships would find it
hard to be separated with their husband especially if they
dont have the money to fight for their rights in court.

Conclusion
A law on divorce will greatly benefit abused women and children
coming from high-income families in the Philippines.
Low-income families may not afford divorce but may resort to living
separately and dividing their own when it comes to custody of
children.

Recommendations
Perform another survey, one which encompasses a wider scope of
respondents, ideally including married couples.
Educate the respondents on the differences of annulment, legal
separation and divorce before asking for their opinion on the matter.
Educating the people about marriage and family development must
be enforced along with the creation of the law to avoid marital
problems which may result to divorce.