Leading us astray

We should be quite honored indeed to be the only country in the world which has not legalized divorce. Yet some influential and powerful people in government and in media are using this rare distinction as the very same reason for proposing a divorce bill recognizing divorce here and depriving us of that great honor. It is really quite alarming that they would like our country and people to imitate the undesirable culture and practices now prevailing in other countries despite knowing the serious harms they have caused on the people there. Indeed there is something wrong in this country; and they are none other than these influential and powerful people in our midst.

It has been previously pointed out so many times that this practice of contraception subsidized by the RH law and endorsed by no less than our president will bring upon us the culture of death like what has happened in those countries practicing it. This is a culture that will eventually legalize divorce, euthanasia, abortion, total fertility control and homosexual union. And true enough even as the law has just taken effect and even before its implementation pending the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), a divorce bill is already introduced in Congress with an all out media blitz accompanying it ala RH law. Unfolding before us one by one right now, are the damaging “fallouts” from the RH law.

The divorce that is sought to be legalized by this bill will result in the dissolution of no less than a valid, existing and permanent bond created by the union of a man and woman in marriage which our Constitution itself considers as an “inviolable institution” because it is the foundation of the family as the family is the foundation of the nation (Article XV Sections 1 and 2). This is how valuable our Charter looks at this institution which some of our legislators particularly the leftists-atheists are trying to destroy through this divorce bill. In effect they are trying to shake the very foundation of our country.

And they are bold enough to do so because they are sure that the incumbent president will support them to the hilt like he did with respect to the RH law. They are again claiming that this is another legislation mainly promoting the women’s welfare especially the impoverished battered women by helping them get out of the unbearable life in their family just as the RH law will purportedly help the impoverished women in promoting their reproductive health and limiting the size of their family.

Immediately noticeable here is that the proposed divorce bill makes a general rule for exceptional cases. The proponents of the bill are presuming that there are more women undergoing unbearable married life than those who are happily married, thus necessitating a legislation enabling them to get out of the situation. But fortunately this is not the case here in the Philippines with respect to Filipino women. There are more Filipinas who are happily married than those who are not. This is why we are the only country in the world without a divorce law.

The truth is that even most of the Filipinas with unbearable married life prefer to endure their fate just to save their marriage for the sake of their children who will suffer the most in broken marriages and shattered families. In fact the perpetrators of the series of rampage killings in the U.S. schools, malls, theatres and other public places were all offspring of parents who divorced during their childhood years. If we legalize divorce here, those tragedies will surely happen here also.

It is really a grand deception especially for some media personalities particularly a well known and popular Radio-TV anchor, to depict in his show the deplorable situation of a poor battered woman as good enough reason to pass the divorce bill. This is not however the typical situation in our country now that would require a legislation undermining marriage and family life highly valued by our fundamental law.

Actually, our existing law already allows divorce which those poor battered women can avail of. This is the divorce a mensa et thoro or separation from bed and board provided in Article 55 of the Family Code. This kind of divorce, also known as legal separation, already provides all the adequate remedies to spouses who can no longer bear their married life because of their mates’ deplorable conduct and condemnable acts. In this kind of divorce, the innocent spouses are also allowed to permanently get out of the relationship and live separately from the guilty spouses who are required to support them and their children.

The only difference between our kind of divorce ( a mensa et thoro) and the divorce now being proposed ( a vinculo matrimonii) is that in our kind of divorce, the marriage bond is not severed. And there is really wisdom and reason in preserving the marriage bond and keeping the sanctity of marriage.

First of all, it will constrain those wanting to “tie the knot” to be more careful, prudent and judicious in selecting their mates. Being aware that the knot can no longer be untied, they will surely try to avoid committing a mistake in their choice of a mate before taking the plunge. Secondly, if ever they commit a mistake, because “to err is human” ( sapagkat kami ay tao lamang), they will be saved from committing the same mistake over and over again because of the existing bond preventing them from taking another plunge. And most important of all, preserving the marital bond will not reward the guilty spouses with the freedom to marry over and over again and inflict their tortuous acts constituting grounds for divorce on many other men or women who may catch their fancy.

Let us therefore get rid of these people who lead us astray.

Email: attyjosesison@gmail.com