WINNIE MONSOD ON DIVORCE BILL: ANNULMENT COSTING UP TO P250,000

DIVORCE BILL GETS SUPPORT FROM BISHOP!
By Jereco O. Paloma

Sunday, June 5, 2011

A CHURCH leader in Davao City on Sunday expressed support to the controversial divorce bill pending in Congress, saying it will resolve issues among married couples, as well as in the community.


Bishop Modesto Villasanta of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)-Southern Mindanao said House Bill 1799, known as the Divorce Bill of the Philippines, authored by Gabriela Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan, will address failing relationships among married couples who have been living together sans love.


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"Kailangan ito ng mga kababaihan para sa kanilang kalayaan sa isang relasyon na hindi naman gumagana at kahit ang mga kalalakihan ay nangangailangan din nito (Women and men need divorce for their freedom from a failed relationship)," Villasanta told Sun.Star Davao.


He, however, said the Philippines appeared to be not ready for this kind of policy, especially that the majority of Filipinos are Catholic whose main teachings imply the importance of family.


He said UCCP is open-minded on the issue, but it is also not easy for other congregations and sects to deal with the issue since this will adversely affect the thinking of followers.


The passage of divorce bill, he said, does not mean Filipinos' outlook on marriage has dwindled.


Responding to claims by the bill's oppositors that it will affect the sanctity of marriage in the country, Villasanta said: "It's up to the Church on how they will teach their people on the importance of marriage and not on barring its (Divorce bill's) approval."


In a statement, Davao City Councilor Leah Librado, who chairs the City Council committee on Women, Children and Family relations said the bill must be seen in the country's realities.


"Should this measure be approved, we are giving unhappily married women an option to rebuild their lives, especially those who are victims of domestic/marital violence." Librado said


Librado said the bill's proponents provide stricter grounds on granting divorce to couples since Filipinos still value the importance of marriage.


"Contrary to other versions of the divorce bill that are Western in orientation, we have to ensure that the measure we will approve only grants divorce to couples whose marriage are beyond repair and not for reasons that either one of them just wants to have another partner the next day or as soon as they want." Librado said.


Edil Gonzaga, secretary general of Transport of Mindanao for Solidarity, Independence and Nationalism (Transmission) in Southern Mindanao, said that instead of dwelling on the issue, which triggers debates, the government must look at the real problem of the country.


"Dili dapat kini ang gina-prioritize sa mga kongresista kundi kung unsaon pag sulbad sa mga problema nga nasinati sa mga katawhang Pilipino (This should not be prioritized by legislators as there are more important things that they can do to address the real problems of the Filipino people)" Gonzaga said.


Councilor Benard Al-ag, who chairs the City Council committee on health, said he favors the divorce bill for the following reasons: first, for people who have been separated for more than five years and reconciliation is highly improbable; second, for couple wherein the wife has been physically abused by the husband; and third, for couple wherein the wife and or any children has been abused by the husband.


Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on June 06, 2011. http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2011/06/05/divorce-bill-gets-suppo...

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[Hyslopify]

The Catholic Church seems to care more about young boys than about women, especially those living in abusive relationships. The Catholic Church is living in an adult baby world while hundreds of millions of their parishioners worldwide live in grinding poverty. The Spanish Inquisition (1480-1834) is proof that the Catholic Church wasn't always pro-life. Anyone who insulted the church were punished by burning at the stake.

[LadyGaladriel8]

@1m25nbg whoever said divorce will be quick? the divorce bill that is being proposed here are based on five solid grounds and due process of the law will be followed. what the legislators are proposing is divorce, filipino style. :)

[LadyGaladriel8]

@vanskilig magkaiba po ung grounds ng divorce at annulment, pati na rn po ung concept nya. the grounds for annulment should have been present at the time the marriage was celebrated, meaning, kung yung spouse nyo po ay naging lasenggo at nangbubugbog sayo at sa mga anak nyo, hindi igrant ang annulment sayo. may sinasabi din po na legal separation pero hindi po icut ung marriage bond. bale po magkahiwalay kayo pero married pa rin kayo, d kayo pwede magkarelasyon. isn't that absurd?

[vanskilig]

tanong lang po ano po ba ang pinagkaiba ng annulment sa divorce? eh diba parehas lang naman yun iniba lang ang term.

[1m25nbg]

@wakeuppilipinas Hi, it seems to me that you may either be in a depressing situation now or are not yet divorced nor annulled. The sad fact is, perhaps not even half of the divorcees find the ideal match. There is no ideal or perfect mate.

[lanimar3417]

@xwind2 Your friend is living in sin, living with a man she is not married with.

[wakeuppilipinas]

mag isip nga kayo walang pamilya na gustong maghiwalay kapag masaya sila at maayos ang pagsasama. ang maghihiwalay na mag-asawa ay yung wala ng kalutasan ang problema nila kung hindi ang maghiwalay. Ang mag-asawa sinusubukan muna nila lahat bago pag-usapan ang paghihiwalay hindi basta basta na lang na sinasabi ng ibang tao. Ang pinag uusapan rito ay mabigyan yung ibang tao na maging masaya at makasama ang taong gusto niyang makasama habang buhay. Paano na lang yung iba mayayaman na lang ba?

[1m25nbg]

I had an annulment. I don't agree to quickie divorces. Marriage is sacred. It's resulting offspring have feelings. And, a lot of Filipinos don't even practice their conditions. Some continue to cohabit with first wives. The state should be absolutely sure that the break=up is necessary, not only for the children, but for decent women who will be sucked into the troubled world of exes still in a relationship after a divorce.