Malacañang clarified that President Rodrigo Duterte is not in favor of same-sex-marriage but agrees for a civil union.
Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque said the President was only against same-sex marriage and not civil partnerships for same-sex couples which is being pushed by some lawmakers.
“Even the President is part of the majority in opposing the same sex marriage,” Roque said reporters in a press briefing.
The Catholic Church has long opposed same-sex marriage in the Philippines, the bastion of Catholicism in Asia, where roughly 80 percent of its 100 million people subscribe to the faith.
“Now, I don’t think the current challenge in the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of Article 1 of the Family Code, defining a marriage as between a man and a woman will actually succeed on the basis of the oral arguments conducted,” Roque, inciting the proposed House Bill 6595 or Civil Partnership Act.
“I have a strong feeling that this bill will not pass the Supreme Court. But I could be wrong,” Roque said.
The Palace reacted to the recent Social Weather Stations survey which showed that only 22 percent backed “civil unions” for same-sex couples, 61 percent expressed opposition, and 16 percent remained undecided.
Under the Family Code of the Philippines, marriage is defined as a “special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into accordance with the law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.”