MANILA, Philippines: Stella Sibonga, mother-of-three, desperately want to end her marriage, but divorce is illegal in the Catholic-majority country, and it takes years for court annulment of the union.
The Philippines is the only country outside of the Vatican where divorce is prohibited. According to supporters of divorce, the ban makes it more difficult for couples to break their bonds, get remarried, and flee abusive partners.
If a couple wants to get divorced, they can appeal to a court to declare the marriage null and void or to annul it, but the government has the right to challenge that judgement.
In a nation where poverty is rife, cases can cost up to $10,000 or more, and there is no guarantee they will succeed. As a result, some people looking for a quicker resolution fall victim to online fraud.
“I can’t figure it out why it has to be this difficult,” said Sibonga, who has spent 11 years attempting to leave a marriage that her parents forced her in.
Sibonga’s legal struggle started in 2012 when she requested a divorce because of her husband’s purported “psychological incapacity,” one of the reasons for dissolving the marriage. A judge eventually agreed, but only after five years and $3,500 in legal costs. But the ex-domestic helper’s relief didn’t last long.
The judgement was successfully appealed in 2019 by the Office of the Solicitor General, which serves as the government’s legal counsel and is charged with defending the institution of marriage.
Sibonga claimed that she had asked the Court of Appeals to overturn its decision but has not yet received a response. Sibonga, 45, a resident of the vicinity of Manila, asked, “Why are we, the ones who experienced suffering, abandonment, and abuse, being punished by the law?” “Freedom is all we want,”
– ‘Dysfunctional marriages’ –
The Catholic Church, which opposes abortion and contraceptives, is the most potent opponent of divorce in the Philippines. According to official census figures, 78 percent of the 110 million people in the country identify as Catholic, and many politicians are hesitant to disagree with the Church on delicate social issues.
But in recent years, Congress has made tremendous gains. Despite fierce opposition from the Church, a contentious birth control law was passed in 2012.
A divorce law that was adopted by both the majority and opposition parties in the House of Representatives in 2018 eventually came to a standstill in the Senate. This proposal had never before advanced that far.
According to surveys by the polling firm Social Weather Stations, divorce is now viewed differently in the Philippines. The legalization of divorce “for irreconcilably separated couples” was supported by 43% of Filipinos in 2005, while it was opposed by 45%. 53 per cent of respondents to the same survey from 2017 agreed, while only 32 per cent disagreed. Several legislations have been introduced in the House and Senate by a group of lawmakers in a new effort to make divorce legal.
