Divorce remains a hotly contested issue among Senate hopefuls who took part in the Harapan sa Diliman elections forum held on Feb. 20 at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Hosted by UP sa Halalan, the forum discussed senatoriables’ stances on the equality agenda, including the Menstrual Leave Bill, education, and mental health services, among others.
Senate candidates who attended the forum include environmental advocate Roy Cabonegro, retired police major general Arnel Escobal, labor leaders Sonny Matula, Ernesto Arellano and Leody de Guzman, as well as independent candidates Jose Jessie Olivar, Angelo de Alban and Norman Marquez.
Labor leader Arellano emphasized the need for legislators who are open to allowing divorce in the country. “Inhuman na pilitin ang mag-asawa na magpatuloy sa isang bubong,” said Arellano.
However, fellow labor leader aspirant Matula argued that a divorce bill is unnecessary given the existing options of legal separation and annulment.
“Sa kasalukuyan, meron tayong legal separation, meron tayong annulment […] Declaration of Nullity na pareho naman ang epekto kung ‘yun ang ating gagamitin, at atin lamang ili-liberalize ang prosesong ito,” said Matula.
In response, Arellano described the options of annulment and legal separation as “useless” and “cruel.”
Ending a marriage in the Philippines can only be legally dissolved via annulment, or total nullification of the marriage—a “lengthy and costly” process that takes over two years and requires thousands of pesos in legal expenses, as analyzed by a 2017 study.
As senatoriables split on passing a divorce law, so does the public. Close to six in 10 adult Filipinos opposed legalizing divorce, according to an August 2024 survey by OCTA Research. On the flipside, a June 2024 Social Weather Stations survey showed half of Filipinos approving the enactment of divorce bill into law.
The divided public sentiment on divorce echoes the bill’s fate in the Congress. The House of Representatives has already passed the Absolute Divorce Act on its third and final reading last year. The bill seeks to legalize divorce on grounds including but not limited to unjustified abandonment, domestic abuse, and irreconcilable differences.
In contrast, the Dissolution of Marriage Act filed by Senator Risa Hontiveros in 2022, remains in limbo. Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said that the divorce bill is not the upper chamber’s priority.
“Kahit may divorce bill o walang divorce bill, hindi makakatulong sa kumakalam na tiyan ‘yan,” said Estrada in a media statement.
The divorce bill is likewise absent from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s list of priority bills. In 2022, Marcos was open to legalizing divorce on a case-by-case basis. The then-presidential candidate said during a PTV interview that divorce is necessary in some certain cases.
“There are real cases that I have seen where the married couples who separated, […] their kids are better off, and both the husband and wife are better off,” said the president.
The bill will lapse if the Senate fails to pass it before the 19th Congress ends, which will require the newly-elected lawmakers in May to restart the legislative process on the divorce bill.
For senatorial bet de Alban, amending the Family Code would be a better solution than allowing divorce. “Pahirapan sana magpakasal […] Napakadaling magpakasal dito sa Pilipinas pero ‘yung mga kinakasal, hindi pa sila handa […] Divorce is not a solution,” said de Alban during an interview on ABS-CBN’s Harapan 2025.
The Family Code of the Philippines only requires the legal capacity and consent of the parties involved, a marriage license, and a marriage ceremony for a marriage to be considered valid.
Other aspirants prefer reforming the country’s current annulment processes over legalizing divorce. Among them is reelectionist Bam Aquino, who cited the “divisive” nature of divorce. Likewise, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III suggested in an interview with One News that administrative annulment—like administrative adoption—would be “easier and cheaper.”
But for some candidates, legalizing divorce will become a path to freedom for those in dysfunctional marriages. ACT-Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro pledged to push for the bill’s passage in the Senate if elected.
“Ang diborsyo ay magbibigay […] ng paraan magkaroon ng pagkakataon na magsimula muli, malaya muli sa karahasan at pang-aapi sa loob ng tahanan,” she said during a 2024 HOR session.
Castro’s fellow senatorial bet from the Makabayan bloc, Arlene Brosas, continues to advocate for the Absolute Divorce Bill’s passage. Brosas, representing Gabriela Party-list, was one of the bill’s co-authors in the House.
“Marami sa mga kababaihan ay inabuso o pinagsamantalahan sa mga unhappy marriages, […] kailangan nila ng divorce,” she emphasized during an interview with ABS-CBN.
Brosas described the passage of the bill as a “humanitarian imperative”, as many Filipino women and children suffer domestic violence due to the lack of accessible legal mechanisms to dissolve harmful marriages. Nearly two in ten Filipino women faced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from their husbands or intimate partners, according to the 2022 Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey.
The Philippines remains one of the only two countries in the world that has not legalized divorce yet, with the other being the Vatican.
