House approves divorce bill on 3rd and final reading

By: Inquirer.net March 19,2018 - 11:50 PM

The House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill which seeks to legalize absolute divorce and dissolution of marriage in the country.

Voting 134 for and 57 against, with two abstaining, the lawmakers approved House Bill No. 7303 – “An Act Instituting Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage in the Philippines.”

The House started its period of debate and interpellation on the proposed measure last March 12 and approved it on second reading two days after.

The bill seeks to provide spouses in “irremediably failed marriages” to secure an absolute divorce decree under limited grounds, to protect children from pain and stress resulting from their parents’ maritime problems, and to grant divorced spouses to marry again.

Grounds for an absolute divorce include the following: reasons stated under legal separation and annulment under the Family Code of the Philippines
separation in fact for at least five years legal separation by judicial decree for at least two years psychological incapacity gender reassignment surgery
irreconcilable differences joint petition of spouses

The bill also provides for a mandatory six-month cooling-off period for petitioner spouses, and also recognizes the reconciliation of the spouses through a joint manifesto under oath submitted to the court.

The bill will then be submitted to Senate. Some members of the upper Chamber had already expressed opposition to the divorce bill.

President Rodrigo Duterte is against the divorce bill, saying it would be bad for children of separated parents.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Read Next

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.

TAGS: 3rd, divorce bill, House

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. To find out more, please click this link.