Philippines law does not recognize divorce. Instead, Filipinos can obtain either legal separation or annulment as alternatives to divorce.
Alfafara remains optimistic despite her Senate’s term expiring in 2025, saying the current bill has advanced more than any prior attempts.
Grounds for Divorce
Philippines law only permits divorce under certain limited conditions. Due to deep Catholic Church opposition to any liberalization of laws, filing for divorce has proven particularly challenging and expensive for married couples who wish to end their relationships.
At present, couples can only legally separate or declare their marriages null and void through an extensive and expensive annulment process known as annulment. This involves filing a petition, gathering evidence, undergoing psychological testing and evaluation, as well as psychological evaluation. It can also be very expensive.
House of Representatives approved a bill legalizing divorce, which will need Senate approval before becoming law. Should it pass, this would greatly simplify the divorce process – something many Filipinos, particularly women who often experience abuse during marriages may welcome as two organizations working with domestic violence victims estimate domestic violence affects 6 out of 10 Filipinas.
Annulment
Philippine marriage annulment law offers only one legal way out, which involves providing evidence of specific qualifying events. Unfortunately, this process can be lengthy and expensive; for instance, Filipinas must undergo psychological evaluations in order to prove physical or emotional abuse by their husbands, or show proof that the marriage was bigamous or polygamous.
These requirements are unrealistic in a country in which two-fifths of its population lives on less than $2 a day, leaving many women who wish to end their marriages trapped because they cannot afford the expensive process of proving that their husbands committed adultery or abuse against them.
But a new bill in the Senate that would permit divorce on grounds such as physical abuse and irreconcilable differences has gained momentum, potentially opening the door for more couples to legally dissolve their marriages in the Philippines, potentially opening the way for more empowered and prosperous lives for Philippine women who find themselves trapped in abusive relationships.
Legal Separation
House bill 480 does enable spouses to file for legal separation; however, this does not dissolve their marriage bond. Instead, spouses must establish one of several grounds stipulated in Philippine law for legal separation in order to achieve it, such as physical abuse, adultery or abandonment without justification of more than a year duration.
However, unlike a nullity or annulment case, legal separation requests require a cooling-off period of six months before proceeding with trial to evaluate evidence and decide on grant of separation. This reflects Philippine legal system’s tendency towards maintaining marriage bonds.
This has caused great dissatisfaction among Filipinos who wish to end their marriages, such as Aranas’ experience working with a woman whose husband beat her with an itak knife used for butchering animals; unfortunately, legal options available were insufficient in protecting her against abuse. Aranas believes the House’s ruling may change this; however, for it to take effect fully the Senate still needs to approve of it first.
Child Custody
Filipino law does not provide for specific criteria when awarding child custody; courts typically consider what is in the best interests of the children in a case like domestic violence or abuse and may award custody to the victim.
Custody battles can be extremely complex. Mediation can help parents reach an amicable agreement outside of court.
Social Weather Stations conducted a recent poll which revealed that more Filipinos are supporting divorce despite its difficulties. A survey by Social Weather Stations discovered that approximately half of adults in favor of legalizing irreconcilable differences as grounds for legalized separation or divorce; that support continues to rise year over year. House approval of the Absolute Divorce Bill shows this shift; however, conservative forces in Senate remain committed to blocking its passage.
