NEXT time Filipinos wake up, they would probably be in ‘Las Vegas.’ It is certainly not over the wide array of casino resorts and similar entertainment, but because of quick weddings and just as quick divorces.
For almost three decades, a number of Filipino legislators have been introducing a bill to legalize divorce in the country. All of them have failed.
The divorce campaign has been revived in the new Congress by Gabriela, a women’s party-list group.
According to Luzviminda Ilagan and Emerenciana de Jesus, proponents of the bill, Philippine society is ready to take divorce as a ‘remedial’ option for irreparable marriage. They based this claim on certain “indications” in the explanatory note of the bill: the infidelity of husbands, violence against women, and the inadequacy of existing law on marital separation.
The Philippines is one of the two last countries in the globe (the other being Malta) which has no divorce law. Chile was the latest country to legalize divorce in 2004 amid strong opposition from the Catholic Church.
But how could the divorce bill be passed into a law in the midst of an influential Catholic Church, a male-dominated Congress, and more than 85 percent of Filipinos professing the Catholic devotion.
Moreover, there are many pressing arguments against divorce.
While divorce may be that path to freedom, peace of mind, and starting anew for some, it also threatens the stability of a family. Divorce would also redefine the concept of marriage that Filipinos have perceived, as divorce would make it easy for either party to opt out when conflict occurs.
It would be as simple as “we just can’t get along anymore,” or “we cannot resolve this problem. I don’t want to argue any longer, so goodbye.”
What’s worse is that a family split by divorce would cause depression to children, or even psychological trauma. According to a study conducted by the North Carolina State University, depression is one of the many short-term effects of divorce, which can lead to a long-term emotional deficiency.
Other studies have shown that children from divorced families have an increased risk for a variety of problems such as fear of being abandoned, losing attachment, and difficulty in coping with parental tensions.
Furthermore, insincere relationships turned into marriage would become profuse as a result of immaturity of teenage decisions. And in the advent of social networking sites and text messaging, young couples are always reminded that divorce can always be an easy escape button. As Sophocles said, “Quick decisions are unsafe decisions.”
The proponents of the bill argue that when a breakdown of marriage and a total non-performance of marital obligations caused by irreconcilable differences take place, the bond must be ended so as not to prolong the discord between couples.
Also, there must be this sense of dignity and affirmation in decision-making. One must be able to foresee the consequences and conflict that are to be brought about by these decisions. Surely, times would sometimes be rough. What one has to do is to figure the bad root and pull it off.
People alawys have the choice of whether to heal or not some brokenness. When on refuses to transform conflict into concord, it only proves one’s frivolity. As Niccolo Machiavelli puts it: “one never finds anything perfectly pure and unmixed, or exempt from danger.”
For one, I do not want to be welcomed to this ‘Las Vegas.’
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The 26th Gawad Ustetika is now accepting entries. For contest rules, you may visit Varsitarian: 26th Ustetika on Facebook. Deadline of entries is on November 11, Thursday.
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The Varsitarian is looking for new Filipino and SciTech writers and a photographer. For inquiries contact Alexis Ailex Villamor Jr. at 0915.235.2965. Deadline of submission of requirements is on November 13, Saturday.
