AN OFFICIAL of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Wednesday, July 6, 2022, lambasted lawmakers who sought to legalize divorce in the country.

In a brief statement, CBCP Public Affairs Committee Executive Secretary Fr. Jerome Secillano said the renewed push for divorce legalization is unacceptable given the more pressing problems of the country.

"To think that Filipinos are embroiled in much bigger problems, the likes of (Albay Representative Edcel) Lagman are busy advancing their irrational advocacies instead of legislating policies that will thumb down the negative impacts of unrelenting oil price increase, inflation, fare hike, unemployment, and Covid-19," said Secillano.

"The unreasonable penchant of these legislators to the divorce bill while we are reeling from economic devastation tells me that it's no longer about helping Filipinos rise up from economic poverty but a matter of pride and subservience to whoever is behind this measure," he added.

The priest also said they cannot agree with the measure, as it will ultimately lead to the destruction of more families.

"It's unfortunate that some legislators would rather focus on breaking marriages than fixing them or strengthening marital bond," said Secillano.

Earlier, Lagman filed another bill at the House of Representatives seeking to legalize divorce in the Philippines.

Dubbed as the “Absolute Divorce Act,” the proposed law aims to allow absolute divorce for “irremediably broken” marriage with “affordable, expeditious, and inexpensive” court proceedings.

To note, the Philippines and the Vatican City are the remaining two sovereign states where divorce is considered illegal. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)