By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

EIGHTY-six percent of the 119 million population (2024) of the Philippines are Catholic.  The country is the only other place, aside from the Vatican City State (population 825), where divorce is not legal. The proposed law is being opposed by the Catholic Church, not necessarily by the Christian laity.

In her FB post, “Upholding the Sanctity of Marriage Through Divorce”, (28 May 2024), Cheryl L. Daytec-Yañgot stated: “Contrary to preserving the sanctity of marriage, the lack of a divorce law desecrates it by keeping people bound in unions where love, respect, and protection have given way to routine abuse. True protection of the institution requires the dissolution of marriages where vows of love and fidelity are betrayed, as such betrayals undermine the very essence of what marriage stands for. I am a Christian. I support the proposed divorce law.”

Atty. Daytec-Yañgot provided an enlightening history of marriage laws, highlighting provisions from the Siete Partidas (1530), General Orders No. 68 (1899), Act No. 2710 (1917), Civil Code of the Philippines (1950). Based on her research, the Philippines allowed divorce for 33 years. “Given this history, opposing divorce on cultural grounds seems unfounded. The Philippines’ past includes periods where divorce was an accepted practice.” For a detailed account on the evolution and practice of these laws, please read her post-dated 29 May 2024.

On the other hand, Vatican City is a “landlocked sovereign country, city-state, microstate, and enclave within Rome, Italy” which became independent from Italy in 1929 with the Lateran Treaty. In the 2019 census, it recorded a population of 825. Of this population, over 450 have Vatican citizenship which includes the Cardinals, the diplomats of the Holy See and approximately 135 Swiss Guards. Vatican’s population is “predominantly male (just 5.5% is female), childless, older, and eat and drink communally.”

The realities making the divorce law imperative in the Philippines are not present in the Vatican. Vatican is 94.5% male, how can it empathize with the plight of women wanting to end abusive relationships? The women are the main caregivers of children. Children should never bear witness to the abuse of their own mothers. Moreover, the 119 million population  (49.22% female) of the Philippines presents a more complex reality than that of a “country” with 825 residents with only 5.5% female.

Italy legalized divorce in 1970, despite the ferocious opposition of the Vatican. In 1974, an attempt to repeal the Italian divorce law was overwhelmingly rejected in a referendum. Other predominantly Catholic countries followed suit: Brazil (1977), Spain (1981), Argentina (1987), Ireland (1997), and Chile (2004). It is time to enact the Philippine divorce law (2024).

 

Absolution

why oppose?
when you’re happy and you know
it’s not for you
you’re okay, she’s not okay
her life in disarray
you impose your catechism
forgive, you say
she bleeds, incessantly
from the chronic pain
of absolution and decay

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