A party-list lawmaker has tagged as ‘unconstitutional’ the proposed measure seeking to dissolve ‘unhappy’ marriages.
Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said he is against House Bill 6027 on the Dissolution of Marriage.
“I am against this because it is unconstitutional. Our Constitution defends the family and defines marriage as an inviolable institution that should be protected and enhanced, not dissolved. If this is passed into law, marriages can be dissolved faster than picking up your order at the ‘drive-thru’,” Atienza said.
Atienza said likened the proposed measure to “instant divorce.”
Atienza cited specific provisions in the 1987 Constitution which protect the family as the foundation of the nation.
These include: Article 2, State Policies, Section 12 where the State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution; Article 15, The Family; Section 1, which states that the State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation. Accordingly, it shall strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its total development; and Section 2. Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State.
“Our Constitution also provides under Article 15, Section 3.(4) The right of families or family associations to participate in the planning and implementation of policies and programs that affect them,” Atienza said.
“You cannot plan anything without consulting the families, especially on matters that will impact the very foundation of the family. Aside from the legal issue of this proposed law, we as Catholics believe in the sanctity of marriage. In the eyes of the Church, each marriage has Christ as the witness,” Atienza added.
Atienza vowed to fight this bill from the committee level, and if needed, even all the way to the Supreme Court.
“We will appeal to each member and hope that they will not curtail the free debate on this crucial issue. Let us debate this on the floor. Please do not railroad it or we will go all the way to the Supreme Court. Instead of a law on the dissolution of marriage, let’s have more laws to strengthen marriage as an institution,” Atienza said.
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is the author of HB 6027.
He said the proposed dissolution of troubled marriage is a remedy for “unhappy” couples as they have to consider “the fact that marriage may not be for everyone.”
