By Max Walden, ABC News
Photo: 123rf
If a wife and husband fall out of love in the Philippines they are legally required to remain married - even in cases of infidelity.
As the ABC reported earlier this year, it also means that women who are abused by their husbands cannot escape.
So, why does divorce remain forbidden in the Philippines? What does the Filipino public think of divorce?
And when might the law change?
Why is divorce illegal?
In a word: Catholicism.
The religion arrived with the Spaniards who came to colonise the archipelago in the 16th century.
"Catholic Church teachings emphasise the indissolubility of marriage. It is a lifelong commitment that cannot be dissolved by human authority," said Cecilia Francisco-Tan, a Melbourne-based theology lecturer.
"A consummated marriage between baptised individuals cannot be dissolved except by death.
"Divorce is not recognised. Annulment is the Church's response to 'invalid marriages' - that is, certain conditions have not been met at the time of the marriage."
While Spain legalised divorce in 1981, its legacy lives on in the Philippines - the only place other than the Vatican where divorce remains outlawed.
Today the Philippines is the third largest Catholic-majority country on the planet, after only Brazil and Mexico.
Almost 80 percent of the country's 109 million people were Roman Catholics in 2020.
While the Vatican has remained opposed to divorce, Pope Francis has emphasised during his tenure that those who have divorced and remarried should still be welcomed by the church.
What are the consequences of divorce being outlawed?
Filipino Muslims, who account for 6.4 percent of the population, are exempt from the divorce ban.
Former president Ferdinand Marcos in 1977 enacted the Code of Muslim Personal Laws based on sharia, which recognises divorce.
For the vast majority of Filipinos, however - Catholics and religious minorities such as Protestants and Buddhists alike - legally ending a marriage is off-limits.
In line with Catholic teachings, they may annul their marriage in a range of circumstances, including "psychological incapacity"; where one partner is homosexual; or if one party has an incurable sexually transmitted disease.
But the legal process for annulments is generally slow and prohibitively expensive, meaning it's not an option for many Filipinos.
It generally costs upwards of 150,000 Philippine pesos (NZD$4300) - more than the average annual salary.
The divorce ban therefore means many are trapped.
Some 17.5 percent of Filipino women aged 15 to 49 had experienced physical, sexual or emotional violence from their intimate partners, according to the 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey.
What do Filipinos think about divorce?
Many Filipinos remain socially conservative, including about divorce.
Still, nationwide survey data from 1500 respondents by Filipino pollster Social Weather Stations found in June 2024 that only 31 percent were opposed to legalising divorce for couples in irreconcilable situations.
Half of those polled were in favour of legalisation.
A bill to legalise divorce passed the House of Representatives in 2018 but was thrown out by the Senate.
The current president, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, has expressed support for divorce being made legal in the Philippines, while emphasising the process should not be easy.
"We must allow our couples, our married couples to work on their marriages," he said in an interview ahead of being elected in 2022.
"We need to not give them an easy option."
How might the law change?
In May, the Filipino House of Representatives passed a bill that would reinstate "absolute divorce" in the country.
Under the bill, a married person would have to file a petition to a court for consideration.
Grounds for divorce under the bill include physical violence or abuse; drug, alcohol or gambling addiction; and marital infidelity.
Other cited reasons for divorce, which are currently valid under the Family Code of the Philippines for annulment of a marriage, include "lack of parental consent", "insanity" and "impotence".
Arlene Brosas, a member of the House of Representatives for the Gabriela Women's Party, was one of the authors of the bill.
"This is a significant women's rights push forward to legalise divorce," she told the ABC.
"It doesn't have anything to do with the church, religion, or whatever."
Another of the bill's authors, MP and human rights lawyer Edcel Lagman, said that its passage through the House reflected changing attitudes in the Philippines.
"This is a clear and resounding victory," he said as quoted by the Philippine News Agency.
"[It] signals the imminent liberation for Filipino wives who are entombed in toxic, abusive, and long-dead marriages."
The bill has moved to the Senate for further debate.
But conservative forces are gearing up to fight the change.
More than 40 religious organisations formed the Super Coalition Against Divorce in June "to work together to prevent anti-family and anti-life laws from being passed in Congress".
How has the church responded?
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines reiterated its opposition to legalising divorce.
While acknowledging the division of church and state, in July it warned Filipino politicians against "jump[ing] on the divorce bandwagon".
Catholic leaders have mobilised prayer rallies and petitions against the reform.
Auxiliary Bishop Midyphil Billones told Catholic radio station Radio Veritas that the Philippines could be the "last bastion of hope" by keeping divorce illegal.
Brosas, the Gabriela Women's Party MP, said she remained hopeful but was expecting that legalising divorce could once again be voted down in the Senate.
"I think it will be blocked again," she said.
Still, Dr Francisco-Tan said that there were signs of change in attitudes "among a small but growing cohort of theologically educated Filipinos".
"There is, even among the bishops, a divergence of views about a very human problem."
- ABC
