Time for a closer look at divorce

Give Speaker Manuel Villar credit for courage. Some may call it foolishness, especially for a politician aiming for national office in this predominantly Catholic country. In an interview over the weekend, Villar said that among several controversial bills being opposed by the Catholic Church, a measure proposing to legalize divorce has the best chance of approval by the House of Representatives.

As expected, Villar's pronounce-ment drew flak yesterday from those who have always been against divorce. Sponsors of this bill know what they're up against -- the proposal has been stalled for years. Politicians who don't want trouble during their campaign avoid measures that will offend the Church. But the Church is not infallible. If there were no brave souls who dared go against the Church, Christians would still be annihilating non-Christians, as in the Crusades and the Holocaust. And many people would still believe this planet is flat and lies at the center of the universe.

No one will dispute the Church's positive contributions to society. Apart from providing spiritual guidance, it serves as a vanguard of freedom in this country. But while the Church may still have moral sway over its flock, Filipinos are learning to separate matters of church and state.

There are marriages made in heaven and others spawned in hell. It is a sad fact that some marriages don't work, that love dies. And even when men still profess love for their wives, they sleep with other women. What does a wronged woman do? Some Filipinos believe cheating over money is a criminal offense while cheating on a spouse is part of normal life in these islands. What about battered women who are stuck with abusive, philandering husbands? It is said that marriages must be preserved for the sake of the children. A loveless marriage based on pretense, however, eventually rubs off on the children.

Divorce will give wronged spouses a way out, a chance to start a new life. It will give the wronged spouse -- usually the woman -- alimony, which will help sustain her without having to endure an unwanted presence, till death do they part. No longer will "Sorry, I'm married" always work for a philanderer and his latest victim. Divorce can force philanderers to choose, and pay. There is already a so-called Catholic divorce for those who can afford it. If it's good enough for the rich, why shouldn't it be made available to the poor? It's time for lawmakers to take a closer look at divorce.