MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 22, once again approved on third and final reading the measure that allows couples to terminate their marriage through absolute divorce.

Voting on House Bill 9349 (An Act Reinstituting Absolute Divorce as an Alternative Mode for the Dissolution of Marriage) was sharply divided with 131 affirmative votes, 109 voted against, and 20 abstained.

“To those who opposed the measure, I truly respect their differing views based on religious belief, fear of their bishops and pastors, following the preference of their constituents, apprehension of reprisals at the polls, that it is a conjugal decision, and in order not to displease their respective spouse,” said Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the bill.

“I am happy to note that these objections do not go into the empirical and secular merits, constitutionality, and efficacy of the absolute divorce bill.”

The Philippines remains the only country, along with the Vatican, that has yet to legalize divorce. In explaining his negative vote, Leyte 4th District Representative Richard Gomez said that “laws must abide by the religious customs of the majority.”

General Santos City Representative Loreto Acharon said the divorce was “anti-family, anti-children, anti-social, and anti-Christian faith.”

Lagman, however, said that the Philippines is a secular state, which means that while a majority of Filipinos are Roman Catholics, there is no official religion recognized in the country’s Constitution.

For those who are scared that their respective bishops and pastors might get angry at them for supporting the divorce bill, Lagman said: “We do not vote against a measure because of fear, we should legislate based on courage and empirical issues.”

And when some raised that their constituents were not in favor of the measure, Lagman asked: “Hindi ba tayo (Shouldn’t we) as leaders, we should lead? And tell our constituents, what is correct and what is not? That is the test of leadership.”

This is the second time that a measure seeking to legalize absolute divorce in the Philippines was approved in the lower chamber.

In 2018, during the 17th Congress, the House under former speaker and now Davao del Norte 1st District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez, also approved an absolute divorce bill with a majority vote of 134-57-2. The bill’s Senate counterpart, however, languished at the committee level.

On Wednesday, Lagman said he was optimistic that their colleagues at the upper chamber will consider the divorce bill filed at the Senate, especially after the change in leadership.

“Hopefully, it will move faster and moreso, that the majority leader has been quoted as he is in favor of the divorce bill. Unlike his predecessor, who was against the bill, together with the bill on the prevention of adolescent pregnancy, so the change in leadership is favorable to the divorce bill,” Lagman said. – Rappler.com