Tuesday, August 28, 2007 Pre-wedding counseling for couples proposed to prevent breakups
MARRYING couples should undergo counseling before they get a license to determine if they fit for marriage.
Muntinlupa City Representative Rozzano Rufino Biazon filed a bill that will require soon-to-be married couples to go through counseling before they get a marriage license in order to lessen the incidence of failed marriages in the country.
Biazon's House Bill (HB) 53 seeks to amend Article 16 of the Family Code as the congressman cited its importance in the light of rising incidence of failed marriages in the Philippines.
Reasons for failed marriages include adultery and concubinage, physical abuse of spouse and children, physical separation or frequent quarrels, among others.
Biazon stressed the need for couples intending to marry to be properly educated on the rigors of marriage to enable them to cope with the challenges they will face everyday for the rest of their lives.
With marriage counseling, Biazon said both parties would understand the new life that they intend to face.
Biazon will seek the help of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and religious groups in the crafting of a national standard curriculum for pre-marriage counseling. (Sunnex)
