Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte recently clarified her father President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that he is against the proposed divorce law because, among other reasons, she disapproves of it.
Around March 19, the President expressed his opposition to the proposed divorce law soon after the House of Representatives approved the divorce bill on third and final reading. The Philippines is the only country in the world, aside from the Vatican, without a divorce law.
According to Palace spokesperson Harry Roque, the President is against divorce because it places children and spouses at a disadvantage.
“Ang Presidente po ay tutol sa divorce, Roque said. “Ang sabi niya, kawawa ang mga anak at kung magkakaroon ng divorce mawawalan ng karapatang magsampa ng kaso ang mga asawa na pinabayaan ng asawa nila matapos ang divorce.”
On April 18, news reports quoted the President as saying that because his daughter was against the bill, he could not support it. In a speech at Camp Aguinaldo, he referred to “House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, the exponent or the proponent of the divorce law,” and said, “I am sorry, but I cannot follow your [Alvarez]… My daughter is not happy with that. Really. Mag-usap na lang kayo ni Sara.”
The country is not the Duterte household. The opinion of a relative or friend must not sway the leader of our country for or against a major concern. What should be taken into account when making decisions is the welfare of Filipinos, what’s best for them and what they want.
Thankfully, Sara Duterte recently spoke up to say that her opinion on the matter doesn’t matter. Last Thursday at an event in Tagum City, she said that her father was only teasing Speaker Alvarez because he was aware of the tension between Sara and Alvarez stemming from the latter’s criticism of her for forming a new political party.
At the time, Sara slung some stinging words against Alvarez who remarked afterward, “I surrender.”
Sara Duterte said, “[President Duterte] was only joking when he said that I was not in favor of the divorce bill that Congressman Alvarez is pushing. He said at the time that Alvarez should talk to me about the bill.”
She added, “He knows about our dispute and we do not see each other eye to eye, that is why he said those words. He was just teasing Speaker Alvarez.
She further clarified, “It is not my job to give an opinion about the divorce bill since I am a mayor of Davao. My opinion does not matter. I am not a member of Congress.”
This is a welcome and enlightening statement from the mayor. We appreciate that she made an effort to correct people’s perceptions about the matter.
We know that the President has his own opinions about the proposed divorce bill. When the time comes for him to decide on this, we hope he will put personal concerns aside and consider what’s important and necessary for Filipinos, and what the majority of Filipinos want.
The results of a Social Weather Station survey released in early March shows that 53 percent of Filipinos favor divorce. They agreed with the survey statement, “Married couples who have already separated and cannot reconcile anymore should be allowed to divorce so that they can legally get married again.”
The lack of a divorce law and the high costs of legal proceedings such as separations and annulments mean that most Filipinos in the above situation are unable to obtain any legal remedy.
Going back to Mayor Sara’s statement, knowing that she is aware she shouldn’t bring her opinions to bear on something outside her purview is a relief. Knowing that our President’s off-the-cuff remarks need interpretation and clarification is worrisome.
It’s disturbing that we can’t tell when the President is teasing or not. Affairs of state are no laughing matter. How are we to take his pronouncements from now on, then? Whenever he speaks we’ll be wondering, is this a joke or not? We can only hope that there will be fewer situations such as this in the future.
* Dr. Ortuoste is a writer and communication consultant. FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO