By Liezelle Soriano
MANILA — 4Ps Party-list Representative JC Abalos clarified that under the divorce bill, married couples would have a ‘cooling period’ and earnest efforts would be made for reconciliation.
“Divorce is not for everybody. We are not forcing couples to separate. There is a cooling period during which earnest efforts will be made to reconcile the couple,” Abalos, co-author of the proposed Absolute Divorce Act, said in an interview with DWIZ on Saturday, May 24.
The divorce bill passed the third and final reading in the House of Representatives before adjournment, with 131 affirmative votes, 109 negative, and 20 abstentions.
“We need to acknowledge reality. In our country, we know there are people whose marriages exist only on paper, and they no longer fulfill their marital obligations to each other,” the lawmaker said.
Albay Representative Edcel Lagman previously stated that the proposed bill would provide options for individuals trapped in “unhappy and irreparable marriages.”
“As the only country in the world besides the Vatican where divorce is still illegal, this is a clear and resounding victory, signaling imminent liberation for Filipino wives entombed in toxic, abusive, and long-dead marriages,” Lagman said.
(el Amigo/MNM)