Radical Ideas (Part I)....

Radical Ideas for the Philippines (A continuing series)

I've always had certain ideas which I believe should be seriously considered by the Philippine government in order to address certain persistent problems in the country. In my humble opinion, I think the time is right for these ideas, even though some of them may be considered radical, extremely liberal, immoral, and/or anti-Christian/anti-Catholic. These ideas were conceived of from a purely practical point of view, and though I have considered the moral and/or spiritual implications of these ideas on a personal level, these have not influenced my recommendations on these ideas on the practical side. I have opted not to combine discussions on the statutory versus spiritual aspects because what is good for the State is not necessarily good for the Church and vice versa. As our Constitution provides in Sec. 6 of Art. III: "The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable". There is also a saying that goes, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

With that in mind, here is my first suggestion to start the ball rolling:

I. Legalize Divorce

Despite the opposition of certain conservative quarters and the Church, its about time that divorce be finally legalized and recognized in the Philippines. Despite over-moralistic claims that divorce is un-Filipino, immoral, unconstitutional and therefore should never be allowed here, Filipino citizens, without realizing it, already have a de facto divorce law in Article 36 of the Family Code. Of course, we know it by a different name - and that is annulment.

Unfortunately, the process for annulment is not only lengthy and protracted, it is also expensive. A visit to any court having cognizance over annulment cases would show that the vast majority of cases filed are for declaration of nullity of marriage. This clogs up the dockets, occupies the time of judges and lawyers, and makes other, arguably more important cases, like those involving heinous crimes, proceed at a slower pace.

Despite appearances to the contrary, the majority of petitions for declaration of nullity are frought with collusion...that is, there is an implicit agreement of the spouses on how the annulment proceedings would take place. There is nothing really wrong with that, since it happens. But it also happens to against the law. Annulment cases are also used as milking cows by lawyers and psychiatrists, and perhaps even encourage corruption among government lawyers and judges.

With instances of violence against women on the rise, it is not fair that only those who are financially well off be given the opportunity to avail of this remedy. It is also not fair that in a society where the Church and State are supposedly seperate that our legal recourses be limited by spiritual considerations. This is simply an instance of unfair protection of the law. Our Muslim brothers are allowed this remedy, yet non-Muslims are not. And they say divorce is un-Filipino? Aren't our Muslim brothers Filipino as well? We as a society should stop being hypocritical by condemning divorce yet turning a blind eye towards annullment, which is in essence the same thing, only that it is more expensive, takes longer, and has a name which does not offend the sensibilities of the moralists and overly conservative.

They say that the legalization of divorce would weaken the moral fiber of the Filipino as well as seriously undermine the integrity of the family as the basic unit of society. In my mind, does that make annulment any different? I believe that divorce cannot weaken something, if that something is already weak in the first place. It is only a practical solution to a problem that we already have, and should only be resorted to as a last recourse. The task of strengthening the moral fiber of the Filipino and the integrity of the family does not lie solely with the State, it also lies with Church and our educational institutions. However, the problem of managing this reality as it occurs in a legal sense falls solely with the State, and given limited resources, it cannot be blamed for dealing with this reality in the most efficient means possible.

I personally do not encourage divorce. I believe in the sanctity of marriage. But there are some who need this remedy, perhaps some even desperately. We should not let our moral prejudices blind us from realities of our society. Divorce in the Philippines is an idea whose time has come.

Coming soon: Part II