House to pass divorce bill in March – Alvarez

THE House of Representatives will pass a measure that allows the dissolution of marriage before congress takes a break in March, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said on Wednesday. “Ang commitment kodiyan, magbi- break kaminitong March, a no, so kai lang ang mai pas aiy an on third reading bagokamimag

break (My commitment there is we will take a break in March so we have to pass it on third reading before we take a break),” he said

The House of Representatives will adjourn on March 24 and will resume session on May 14.

“Sabik okay Senate President, ta tap us inn aminyung DOM ( dissolution of marriage), i bib igayk os a in yo,n gay on,

kayonaangbahala ( I told SenDOM, then I will give it to you, now, it is up to you).” “D it os a a kin, tap us ink on a iy an, tap us ink on ayung civil union [ bill], tapusinkonarin yung BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law) para bag on am ankamim ag-break, maymaireport tayosataongbayan naiy an ha, an gd a mi naming ginawa we take a break, we can report to the public that here, we did a lot),” Alvarez said.

Meanwhile, a technical working group which was formed to craft a substitute bill to four proposed measures on divorce, annulment, and the dissolution of marriage met on Tuesday.

“The technical working group has already met this morning, consolidating the four bills pertinent to the grant of absolute divorce. The grounds are expanded and includes the grounds for legal separation, annulment of marriage... psychological incapacity, irreconcilable differences, and where one of the spouses has undergone transgender surgery,” Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said.

“So hopefully, before March 8, the International Day for Women, this bill will be already taken up” in the plenary, Lagman, who was earlier named as the head of the technical working group, said.

“I assure you this bill is easier to enact than the Reproductive Health Bill,” he said.

Lagman, author of House Bill 116 or the proposed “Act Instituting Absolute Divorce In The Philippines and For Other Purposes,” was one of the principal authors of the Reproductive Health Law, which was signed into law by then-President Benigno Aquino 3rd in 2012.

Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, aims to prescribe additional grounds for annulment. Under the measure, a marriage may be annulled if the parties have been

HB 2380, authored by Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Emerenciana de Jesus and Arlene Brosas, aims to introduce divorce in the country.

HB 6027 meanwhile proposes grounds for the dissolution of a marriage.