Cover Here is a timeline of divorce legislation in the Philippines (Photo: Malte Mueller/Getty Images)
Here is a timeline of divorce legislation in the Philippines (Photo: Malte Mueller/Getty Images)
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Find out the ups and downs of divorce’s legislative journey in the country in this quick timeline
The House of Representatives approved the third and final reading of the bill reinstituting absolute divorce in the country on May 22. House Bill 9349, titled “An Act Reinstituting Absolute Divorce as an Alternative Mode for the Dissolution of Marriage”, garnered 131 affirmative votes, 109 voting against it, and 20 abstaining.
General Santos City Representative Loreto Acharon, supported by his peers, opposes the bill, describing divorce as “anti-family, anti-children, anti-social, and anti-Christian faith.” Conversely, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the proposal, advocates for its passage, stating it is “urgently necessary in marriages which have collapsed and are beyond repair, where the majority of the victims are the wives who have been subjected to cruelty, violence, infidelity, and abandonment”.
With the bill now passed to the Senate, its supporters remain hopeful. “I hope the Senate sees the importance of the divorce bill… We don’t have to muddle religious issues with measures like this,” said ACT Teachers Representative France Castro.
However, newly-installed Senate President Chiz Escudero has taken a neutral stance: “My position on this issue of divorce is that it should be a conscience and personal vote, and should involve a personal decision of each senator… As the Senate President, I have no intention of exerting influence either in favour or against it.”
As the legislation unfolds, it is worth reflecting on the country’s history of divorce—from its implementation in the past to its repeal and the current efforts to reinstate it.
More from Tatler: When ‘I do’s’ turn to ‘I don’t’: here’s the Philippines’ stand on marriage and divorce
Pre-colonial Philippines: Chronicles among the Tagbanwans of Palawan, the Gaddangs of Nueva Vizcaya, the Sagadans and Igorots of the Cordilleras, and the Manobos, B’laans, and Muslims of the Visayas and Mindanao islands suggest divorce practices. The liberal attitude towards divorce was even considered an obstacle in introducing Catholicism to locals.
March 1917: The Siete Partidas, a set of Spanish laws, was supplanted by Act No. 2710, also known as the “Divorce Law”, introduced by the American colonial government. This law permitted absolute divorce on specific grounds: adultery committed by the wife and concubinage by the husband.
Above Couple signing documents (Photo: Romain Dancre/Unsplash)
Couple signing documents (Photo: Romain Dancre/Unsplash)
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March 1943: Act No. 2710 was supplanted by Executive Order No. 141, issued by the Chair of the Philippine Executive Commission with the approval of the Imperial Japanese Forces in the Philippines.
EO No. 141 allowed absolute divorce based on 11 grounds:
- Adultery and concubinage
- Attempt on the life of one spouse by the other
- A subsequent marriage by either party before the previous one was dissolved
- Loathsome contagious diseases contracted by either spouse
- Incurable insanity
- Impotency
- Repeated bodily violence by one spouse against the other
- Intentional or unjustified desertion continuously for at least one year
- Unexplained absence from the last conjugal abode continuously for at least three years
- Slander by deed
- Gross insult by one spouse against the other
October 1944: After the Japanese Occupation, General Douglas MacArthur reinstated the laws of the Commonwealth era. Consequently, Executive Order No. 141 was replaced once again by Act No. 2710, which reinstated more restrictive divorce laws but still permitted divorce.
June 1949: The Civil Code of the Philippines was adopted, marking the repeal of the divorce law.
February 1977: Then-president Ferdinand Marcos incorporated in Presidential Decree No. 1083, “A Decree to Ordain and Promulgate a Code Recognizing the System of Filipino Muslim Laws, Codifying Muslim Personal Laws”. Consequently, Muslim Filipinos have continuously had divorce as an option to dissolve marriages.
1999 and 2001: Representative Manuel C Ortega filed House Bill No. 6993, seeking the legalisation of divorce in 1999. After two years, Senator Rodolfo Biazon filed SB No. 782, and Representative Bellaflor Angara-Castillo filed HB No. 878.
August 2010: Gabriela women’s party list revived a measure to legalise divorce in addition to the country’s laws on legal separation and annulment. Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan and Emerenciana de Jesus introduced House Bill 1799, titled “An Act Introducing Divorce in the Philippines”, which faced staunch opposition and received minimal support from their fellow members in the House of Representatives.
More from Tatler: Divorce in the Philippines—to conform to the global norm?
Above The House of Representatives plenary hall (Photo: House of Representatives website)
The House of Representatives plenary hall (Photo: House of Representatives website)
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March 2023: The House Committee on Population and Family Relations approved the proposed Divorce Act.
Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the proposal, said the approval of the substitute bill on absolute divorce for eventual plenary debates assures that the country is now at the threshold of joining the universality of absolute divorce in the community of nations.
September 2023: The Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender approved Senate Bill No. 2443, which institutes divorce and aims to expand the grounds for the dissolution of marriage.
May 2024: The House of Representatives approved House Bill 9348, or the Absolute Divorce Bill, on the third and final reading. Lagman said its third reading passage signifies a significant shift in societal attitudes towards marriage and relationships in the country.
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Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is a digital editor at Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
