divorce in the Philippines

[Dash of SAS] Second chances in the only country in the world without divorce

Ana P. Santos

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[Dash of SAS] Second chances in the only country in the world without divorce

Illustration by Guia Abogado

'[T]he grounds for the three legal options available to end a marriage are insufficient, flawed, and are so detached from the human experience of love, marriage, and heartbreak that they are illogical'

I was once married to Bradley Cooper. But it did not work out so I had to have our union declared null and void. I have the annulment decree to prove it.

While I was writing the Rappler report series investigating various annulment scams, I made my way to Recto Avenue where my pseudo blissful marriage to and heartbreaking separation from Bradley Cooper was “fabricated” via an annulment decree – in three hours, for P500.

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Recto Avenue as the epicenter of manufacturing pretense is the stuff of legend. It is a place where your dreams can become a reality, albeit a manufactured one. A freshly minted college diploma replete with dean’s lister grades. A laminated ID certifying permanent employment at a prestigious corporation. Certificates brandishing in-demand trade skills that you may not be proficient in. For those whose heart and marriage are in tatters, the holy grail in this sea of facsimiles and make-believe is an annulment decree. 

I will not use this column to indulge the moral panic that plagues the legalization of divorce. When it comes to severing marriage ties, what is morally acceptable and conscionable is deeply personal and is largely dependent on individual circumstances. 

Rather, I will argue the legalization of divorce based on the universal issues of good governance, curbing corruption, upholding the integrity of our judicial system – and the plea for common sense to prevail. 

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The only country in the world

The Philippines is the only country in the world* where divorce is banned. The recent legal developments to make the dissolution of marriages more efficient and realistic, like the recognition of foreign divorce and no longer mandating psychological reports to determine psychological incapacity, are steps in the right direction towards laws that are more compassionate and more in touch with lived experiences of uncoupling.

However, it remains that the grounds for the three legal options available to end a marriage (declaration of nullity, annulment, and legal separation) are insufficient, flawed, and are so detached from the human experience of love, marriage, and heartbreak that they are illogical.

For example, under legal separation, the couple can divide conjugal assets and can live apart, but are still considered legally married, and neither party can remarry. However, grounds for legal separation include infidelity and physical abuse, grounds that are not included in annulment and declaration of nullity. 

Grounds for nullity of marriage under Chapter 3 of the Family Code include: the couple being underage at the time of the marriage, incest, the marriage being solemnized by an unauthorized person, mistaken identity, or psychological incapacity. Because of the narrow scope of the grounds for nullity, psychological incapacity has been assigned as the catch-all default grounds.

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Compare this legal framework to the reasons why couples resort to untying the knot. 

According to Cecil Jueco, convenor of the Divorce for the Philippines Now International advocacy group, surveys among the members showed that the top three most common reasons why marriages break down are infidelity, irreconcilable differences (because of domestic violence or vices like drugs addiction, alcoholism, and chronic gambling), and abandonment.

Our current laws allow us to terminate marriages for reasons that fall under a limited pre-set list and leave it up to a judge to decide if your marriage warrants a dissolution. In other words, an annulment petition may be denied. So while individuals freely may make the decision to marry, it is only a judge or death that can do them part.

Second chances

Because the laws are complicated and an annulment/nullity petition can be denied, scams and workarounds make the business of heartbreak in the only country in the world without divorce a lucrative one. Courts, especially provincial ones, are turned into annulment mills that manufacture fake decisions wholesale. Lawyers, paralegals, and even legal secretaries issue fake annulment decisions by copy-pasting existing ones. Online annulments – there is no such thing – are advertised to entice OFWs, a sector whose unions are invariably strained by the years of separation.

However, there are small but game-changing legal victories.

There is the April 2018 Supreme Court en banc ruling that recognized the validity of foreign divorce obtained by a Filipino against a foreign spouse. This landmark decision recognized the Filipino’s right to have the foreign divorce recognized and have the freedom to remarry, regardless of who files for and obtains the divorce. More importantly, mixed-nationality couples would be considered not married to each other under Philippine law. Prior to this Supreme Court ruling, only the foreign spouse could initiate divorce proceedings. 

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Most recently, the Supreme Court also decided en banc that psychological incapacity, the fallback grounds for nullity of marriage, is not a medical but a legal concept. This ruling, penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, eliminates the mandate to have a psychologist or psychiatrist report for a petition of nullity of marriage. 

These are steps to correct the fractured, punitive, and corruption-prone marriage dissolution process and make it more realistic and more compassionate. These legal corrections, while welcome, also underscore the urgent need to pass Divorce House Bill 7303 reinstituting absolute divorce, which was overwhelmingly approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives last March 2018. Three House bills on absolute divorce have been refiled in the 18th Congress. 

While the Philippines remains the only country in the world without a divorce law, judges will be bought, lawyers will manipulate the law, and the desperate will have to resort to Recto Avenue even for just a glimpse of what second chances afforded by freedom can look like. – Rappler.com

*Divorce is not allowed in the city-state of the Vatican. However, this ban is moot considering that residents of the Vatican are mostly male celibates.

Ana P. Santos is an award-winning journalist reporting on sexuality, sexual health, and female migrant labor. She is currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Gender (Sexuality) at the London School of Economics and Political Science as a Chevening scholar. Follow her on Twitter: @iamAnaSantos and Facebook SexandSensibilities.com.

Voices features opinions from readers of all backgrounds, persuasions, and ages; analyses from advocacy leaders and subject matter experts; and reflections and editorials from Rappler staff. 

You may submit pieces for review to opinion@rappler.com. 

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Ana P. Santos

Ana P. Santos is an investigative journalist who specializes in reporting on the intersections of gender, sexuality, and migrant worker rights.