Sen. Raffy Tulfo on Monday said it is about time that lawmakers craft a divorce bill for the poor who cannot afford the high cost of annulment.
“They want to break away from the marriage but they have no money to pay, the violence, the abuses are there, all the elements that warranted the need for the separation,” Tulfo said.
While acknowledging the separation of the state and the church, Tulfo disclosed he wants a dialogue with the church which does not agree with divorce in the Philippines.
“I need to hear their side. Now if they are willing to dialogue with me, I will sit down with them, I will present to them all the complaints I have been getting that couples can no longer be together because of abuses,” Tulfo said.
He believes the “ irreconcilable differences between a couple could be a strong rationale for a divorce.”
Sen. Robin Padilla said the proposed measure to legalize divorce is not meant to destroy marriage but to protect victims of broken relationships.
He said this bill intends to give protection to spouses—husband and wife—as well as their children.
The bill, he said. would give people in broken marriages a second chance as some had no choice but to continue with their relationships with their spouses even though it is no longer working for both of them.
“Sometime,s there are people who are not meant to be. We must admit that. What if the time comes that you meet the one for you but you are already committed? That’s sad. Everybody deserves a second chance,” Padilla also said.
