Absolute Divorce Bill passage urged in Senate

The Manila Times

Absolute Divorce Bill passage urged in Senate  Gabriela Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas, House of Representatives' assistant minority leader, seeks the swift passage of the Divorce Bill in the Senate after it was approved in the House.   Video and interview by Ezrah Raya  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes  #ReelTimes  #exclusiveinterview  #divorcebill

Transcript

00:00I'm Ezra Araya and this is the Manila Times. The House of Representatives has approved on third

00:06and final reading the Absolute Divorce Bill in the country. Garnering 131 affirmative votes

00:13during plenary session, House Bill 9349, or an act reinstituting absolute divorce as an

00:20alternative dissolution of marriage, passed in the lower chamber. Albay representative Edsel

00:26Lagman said this was a clear and resounding victory for Filipino wives who are entombed

00:32in toxic, abusive, and long-dead marriages. Now with plenty of opposition, it still has a long

00:40way to go before it becomes law in the country. Here to tell us more is Gabriela Partilis,

00:47representative, House Assistant Minority Leader, and one of the authors of the divorce bill,

00:53Congresswoman Arlene Brosas. Welcome to the Manila Times, ma'am.

00:57Ma'am, House Bill 9349, or the Divorce Bill, has been approved in the lower house. Now there were

01:02other divorce bills in the past, like you said, you've been fighting for this bill since the 14th

01:09Congress or since 2005. So in the past, it did not make it past the Senate. Now the bill says

01:16marital infidelity, domestic abuse, or physical as well as sexual violence and abandonment can

01:23all be grounds for divorce. So ma'am, tell us more about House Bill 9349. So how is it different

01:30from the other divorce bills in the past? Well, actually, there is no major difference

01:36in the past House bills that we passed. It just evolved and there are changes. For example,

01:45we already put grounds for legal separation, grounds for annulment. It can also be used as

01:53grounds for the petition to file a divorce. So those are the differences. It is more broadened.

02:01Except for the absolute part, to be honest, there is not much difference

02:09in the other House bills on divorce that we passed. Actually, for the authors,

02:19there is not much difference. So that is why it is easy for us to have one version

02:30or substitute bill after the Technical Working Group because there is not much contention about

02:36the provisions of the divorce bill. Ma'am, one of the challenging factors of annulment are the legal

02:43fees. It is very expensive. Is it true that the newly passed divorce bill in the lower House

02:48will only cost Php50,000? Yes, we really tried to regulate it as much as possible.

02:56So in Section 27 of the bill, it says that the appearance fee is Php50,000, the costs that are

03:05required, etc. We hope that it will only reach up to Php50,000. Of course, there is the attorney's

03:12fees. We put a leeway that it can be more for the attorney's fees. It is not necessary

03:26that it will only be for the attorney's fees. But as much as possible, as it is stated in Section

03:3837, Php50,000 all-in-all will be spent on the divorce process. Because annulment is expensive,

03:50as you know in annulment, you need Php500,000 at the very least before you have an annulment of

04:02the marriage. At the same time, this is also a way for others not to abuse. We are not saying that

04:14all of them should be annulled. We are just saying that this is one way that we can stop the abuses

04:23that many are asking for money for those who want to separate and get married.

04:32Like what you said ma'am, aside from the fact that it is expensive, the process is very long.

04:38Let me just go back. Some of the grounds for annulment is lack of parental consent,

04:44insanity, impotence, even sexually transmissible diseases. It is very limiting.

04:50It is hard to prove these grounds with annulment. But what you are saying about the divorce bill,

04:57even physical violence, and you mentioned that this is for the women, you are pushing for this

05:04bill for the women who are actually in abusive relationships.

05:08Yes. We are happy with the happy marriages. This is not for them. This is for the ones who have

05:19failed their marriages. Because the reality, practically speaking, there are a lot of

05:29women who are separated from their husbands and they have no remedy. They cannot be annulled,

05:37that is why it is like that. They cannot also enter legal separation because you will still be

05:44married after all. You are just legally separated. That is how it looks. So they have no choice.

05:51And yes, this is for all the women who are in need of our help now. They are the ones

05:59that we need to help to escape from the harmful marriages that they have entered.

06:08So actually, this is their request. I'm sure that the women who are divorce advocates are crying

06:16because we were able to pass this on the third and final reading. They cannot believe it actually

06:23because they thought that they would not be able to pass this Congress because it is very seldom

06:31that it happens that it is passed. And now, the numbers in Congress, it speaks for itself.

06:41It is also like a survey, right? In the national survey, there are 131 yes, 109 no, and 20 abstained.

06:55So it is like our national survey. And it is a conscience vote, that is why we are happy because

07:04the process of the divorce bill was passed. So yes, this is for all the women who are in need of our help.

07:15You know, those who approach us, for example, Gabriela, when it comes to domestic violence,

07:20they are very strict. There are bullets inside their bodies, they are not allowed to be hunted by their spouse,

07:27they do not know where they will sleep, they cannot separate, etc.

07:33So this is the only way, to file a petition, to file for a divorce, to have judicial proceedings here,

07:39and to give them a reprieve, a remedy, like a divorce.

07:48Ma'am, what can you say about those lawmakers who are planning to block the divorce bill?

07:53So they are planning to make a law against this, saying that if this gets passed, of course, over a long shot,

08:02this will instigate or trigger a lot of divorces in the Philippines.

08:07Actually, in our opinion, there is no basis for that, because we do not know what the effect will be.

08:16This is a law that was requested and requested by our women, according to our consultations.

08:28Because there are already a lot of divorces, that's why you need to give a legal remedy.

08:37It is our obligation to do that as lawmakers.

08:43We have to listen to our constituents, we have to see what is really happening below.

08:49Now, for those lawmakers who are saying that they will block this, etc.

08:55Actually, they are right. They have the right to think what they want.

09:00But then, as we said, everyone has the right.

09:03We also have the right to protect our women.

09:07Actually, not just women, even men who want to get rid of a failed marriage.

09:14So this is for all, this is for everybody.

09:20If they will block or make a law, etc.

09:26I hope they will consider the advantages of this.

09:31I hope they will realize the effects of this on the next generation.

09:37This is a progressive bill, this is a progressive legislation, piece of legislation

09:42which will basically change what is really happening now.

09:48But as we said, we did not remove the nullity of marriage, we did not remove the annulment, we did not remove the legal separation.

09:59Whatever the choice of our constituents, whatever the remedy, it is still free to them.

10:10It is still their decision.

10:12So we are not blocking it.

10:16It is the right of other lawmakers and we respect that.

10:22It is their decision.

10:24Ma'am, do you think House Bill 9349 will fare well or will pass in the Senate this time around?

10:31I hope it will pass in the Senate because actually, they have the next ball.

10:37We are done with the Congress.

10:39So we did our part.

10:41It is in the Senate now.

10:44And we are hoping, because there are people who are saying that they are for the divorce bill.

10:50They are just a bit sensitive to what they are saying.

10:54This is a sensitive issue, culturally, religious, etc.

10:59We are trying to make it clear for all to educate our fellow countrymen here.

11:08This is not about religion.

11:12This is about state protection for our people.

11:17This is also not about making the situation of the couple worse.

11:27Actually, there is a provision here that we are saying that there will be a cooling off period wherein

11:36if it can be fixed, it will be fixed.

11:40If not, that will be the time.

11:43We have provisions.

11:46We did put some safeguards.

11:50This is not a no-fault divorce.

11:55The process is still ongoing.

11:58It means there will still be a hearing in the Family Court.

12:02It will still be discussed.

12:04It will still be known what the situation is.

12:06So it is not that easy.

12:08Just like what some people are thinking, Las Vegas-style.

12:14Yes, it is fast to divorce, etc.

12:18And of course, we don't want it to be abused.

12:20We know that because in the law, there is such a thing.

12:23What we always explain to Gabriela is that this is not an end-all and be-all.

12:29Because you really have to tackle societal issues and ills together with this.

12:36The poverty, the high salary, the needs of our citizens, the important services of the government, etc.

12:45Ma'am, you mentioned the cooling off period.

12:47For the viewers, how many days is the cooling off period before the finality of the divorce, if it gets passed?

12:57I believe it's 60.

12:5960 days or two months to think about it.

13:03But for the domestic violence, for the issues of RA 90 to 62, the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act,

13:12of course, it will not apply because you will be in danger for just one day.

13:17For the cooling off period, 60 days.

13:21From P300,000 to P500,000, the goal will be reduced by P50,000 aside from the attorney's fees.

13:30And the time, ma'am, because we know annulment here in the Philippines could take three to four years.

13:37How many years is the divorce bill?

13:41There are some judicial proceedings.

13:43For example, if you have been separated for five years or you are in jail, it will not be that fast.

13:53So we are hoping that it will be fast and we are asking for the formation of family courts and added family courts for this.

14:05So hopefully, according to our plan, it will also be released to the IRR as to where the legal remedy will be for our citizens in regards to their situation to get a divorce.

14:26And ma'am, how about the children?

14:28I know you have some provisions on this bill about the children of the spouses.

14:34Yes, of course, protection for the children.

14:39We don't want them to grow up in a family that loves each other or is sick.

14:49It's better for the spouse to get a divorce rather than having the children suffer.

14:57They have been saying in the opposition that usually the children suffer, etc.

15:06But as Kong Edzel said, the monster here is not that.

15:10The monster here is the cruelty, the violations, the violence that is happening.

15:17To protect them, of course, their situation needs to be well.

15:23And there, we ensure that there is sufficient care for the children.

15:35And lastly ma'am, what is your message to the women, including women, who are hoping for the divorce bill to pass as law in the country?

15:45Yes, it's almost there.

15:48We just need to pass it in the Senate.

15:51Of course, we have to work on lobbying and we will do everything to pass it.

15:58We are asking actually, now the call is to pass the divorce bill in the Senate.

16:07Because it's easy if after passing it in the Senate, the President will sign it.

16:17Although if you look at it, it's still a long way to go.

16:23But if there is a will, a political will, even if the President says that this is a priority and we should do this,

16:32and we should fast-track this even if it's in the Senate, it's not easy for it to reach our people.

16:40We still have one year.

16:42Please pass the divorce bill now.

16:44Our people need this now, especially the women who cannot be separated from their loved ones.

16:56They will really be very happy because we saw that in the Congress, in the plenary last time.

17:06They were there, they watched over our divorce advocates.

17:10They were all there.

17:11Very well said, ma'am.

17:12Thank you very much, House Assistant Minority Leader and one of the authors of the divorce bill, Congresswoman Arlene Brosas.

17:19Thank you for your time, ma'am.

17:21Thank you, Ezra.

17:22Thank you very much, Manila Times.

17:26Thank you for your time.

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