Advertisement
The Philippines
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Philippine divorce bill’s passing hailed by women’s rights groups, but conservatives vow to fight back

  • The bill could face roadblocks when it reaches the senate as pressures from conservative lawmakers and Catholic groups mount
  • While annulments and legal separations are possible under Philippine law, both options are limited, women’s rights advocates say

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
1
Pro-divorce advocates take part in a protest in front of the senate building in Metro Manila. Photo: AFP
Sam Beltran
The passage of a long-delayed bill legalising divorce in the Philippines in the House of Representatives has been hailed by women’s rights advocates, even as conservative lawmakers and religious groups vow to continue fighting against the move.

Known as the Absolute Divorce Act, the bill was passed in the House on its third reading on Wednesday with 131 affirmative votes, with the count updated from its earlier announcement of 126 votes.

The Philippines and the Vatican are the only countries in the world that do not have laws enabling legal divorce.

According to its text, the bill is meant to liberate women from abusive relationships and help them “regain their dignity and self-esteem”.

“We are ready to celebrate. Our next step is the senate hearing in August,” Cici Leuenberger-Jueco, convenor of the lobbying group Divorce for the Philippines Now, told This Week in Asia shortly before the bill’s third reading.

Jueco has been lobbying for the reinstatement of divorce in the country over the past decade, following multiple unsuccessful attempts.

Advertisement