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Sunday, April 03, 2005
Lawmakers told: Be wary of divorce bill
THE Cebu Provincial Board (PB) is urging Congress to look into the constitutionality of the divorce bill sponsored by Gabriela party-list representative Liza Maza.
PB Member Juan Bolo, who sponsored the resolution, said the bill must be carefully studied and the pros and cons weighed as it might just be promoting the very things that it wants to prevent, such as physical abuse, because it will give them a reason to separate from their spouses.
Since the Philippines is a pre-dominantly Catholic country, he said the proposed legislation will meet strong opposition.
“The representative said the measure would give couples who have irreconcilable differences an option to part ways and remarry. (But) the 1987 Philippine Constitution has explicitly protected the family by enshrining provisions which are pro-life and pro-family,” Bolo said.
Last month, Malaca-ñang rejected Maza’s bill seeking to legalize divorce in the Philippines, saying it is not in line with govern-ment’s pro-life and pro-family policy.
Maza, in filing the House Bill (HB) 4016, cited the rising number of petitions for legal separation. In the City of Manila, she said an average of three applications for annulment is filed daily.
She said legal separation does not allow estranged couples to remarry and while there is annulment that dissolves the marriage, it is also very expensive and inaccessible to many couples.
The bill, however, applies only to civil marriages and will have safeguards against abuses.
In Cebu, it is expected that different groups will oppose Maza’s bill.
Last year, the nongovernment group Human Life International headed by Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer launched a signature campaign against six “anti-life” House bills, including HB 6993, which also seeks to legalize absolute divorce. (MBG)
(April 3, 2005 issue)
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