EDITORIAL - The divorce bill, again

The bill legalizing divorce in the Philippine has been filed in Congress again by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman.

“The right of women to live free of physical, emotional and psychological violence is a human right. The right of women not to live in fear is a human right,” Lagman explained in filing House Bill No. 78.

This issue has been a contentious one for a long time, not to mention a favorite topic of debates in classrooms and contests throughout the years.

Of course there are pros and cons to legalizing divorce.

As for the pros, there is no doubt that there are couples who are unhappy in their marriage. People make mistakes all the time, most especially when it comes to this greatest of all decisions. A couple may find out after tying the knot that their dreams are not compatible, or that their futures are not headed in the right direction, or simply that they belong with other people.

It could even be simply that they married the wrong person or for the wrong reasons.

Legalizing divorce will also allow one partner to escape an abusive relationship. While Lagman highlights the plight of women only, who is to say some men aren’t in the same situation? There are different kinds of abuse aside from violence after all.

As for the cons, easy access to divorce will give the impression that a marriage isn’t worth fighting for. That it is something easy to just throw away or set aside if the couple doesn’t feel like putting any more effort into fixing it.

A divorce can also weaken family structures. We all know what happens in a household that is missing a strong female or male role model. A child may look for one in the wrong places or easily fall under bad influences without the guidance of such a figure.

We are sure there are more pros and cons to legalizing divorce, but we don’t have enough space for all of them here.

Of course, it should be up to the public to decide on this. We all know what the Church will say: “What God put together, let no man tear asunder”. But this is easy for them to say, never having been married, or married to the wrong person.

If this topic is to be brought to discussion in the House again, perhaps the public can be given more say in it, as opposed to just the lawmakers. That way it can get the support it really needs to push through --or get shot down for the final time.