LAWMAKERS who voted in favor of the Absolute Divorce Bill have betrayed their constitutional mandate to protect the sanctity of marriage and family, an official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Thursday.
“In essence, divorce is anti-family, anti-marriage, and anti-children,” Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the CBCP – Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs (ECPA), said.
He said legalizing divorce in the Philippines is not necessary.
“The fact remains that divorce is not the ultimate solution to problematic unions. We already have existing legal remedies to couple separation, and yet Congress decided to add more,” he added.
Voting 126 in favor, 109 against and 20 abstentions, the lower chamber on Wednesday approved on third and final reading House Bill 9349 or the Absolute Divorce Act.
The bill seeks to institute absolute divorce as an alternative mode of dissolving an irreparably broken or dysfunctional marriage in the country.
Vatican City and the Philippines are the only two nations in the world that prohibit divorce. (PNA)
