Divorce Not Equal To Bad

Outline

Thesis Statement:  Divorce Bill does not only result to bad things; it can also result to good things.

I.                   Introduction

A. Introduction to choices for the argument: to agree and not to agree

B. Thesis Statement

II.                Body

A.    Definition of Divorce

B.     Existence of choices for ending a bad marriage

1.      Annulment

2.      Declaration of nullity

3.      Legal separation

C.     Arguments against Divorce bill and refutation

1.      Increases divorce rate

2.      Weakens family ties and harm children

3.      Makes people unhealthy

4.      Causes financial problem

III.             Conclusion

A.    My position

B.     Thesis statement

            In addition to the RH Bill another controversial bill was introduced to the Philippines. It is the House Bill 1799 or better known as the Divorce Bill. The Divorce Bill is simply about legalizing divorce in our country. Following the legalization of divorce in Malta, Philippines is now the only country in the world that has not legalized divorce. As the issue regarding the implementation of the Divorce Bill raises, the masses were divided into two groups: those who agree to the implementation of the Divorce Bill and those who don’t. Divorce Bill does not only result to bad things; it can also result to good things that make me agree to the implementation of the Divorce Bill.

Before taking a stand it in an issue, it is important to first define the meaning of the term and then weigh the pros and cons.  According to the Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, divorce is defined as the action or instance of legally dissolving of a marriage. So, the legalization of the Divorce Bill will be giving the people a chance to legally separate and legally dissolve their marriage.

Currently in the Philippines there are already three ways to end a marriage legally. It is either through annulment, declaration of nullity or legal separation. (Festin, 2011)With these three options existing people still wanted the implementation of divorce simply because these three options are flawed. In an annulment the marriage would not be recognized by the law and would be considered as it had never existed. But this is not the only reason why an annulment is not good enough for the people. An annulment can only be obtained under circumstances where the there was no parental consent for those who are above 18 years old and below 21; when the marriage was conducted while one of the party is not in a sound mind to understand what is happening, when the marriage happened by fraud or by force; when one party is found to have STD that is serious and incurable; when one of the party is discovered to have impotence or physical incapacity which does not cover one being infertile meaning this would not account to an annulment. Another reason to why annulment is not good enough is that to prove that one is physically incapable would require check-ups from experts which would cause a lot of money that most Filipinos could not afford. (Santos, 2011) In a declaration of nullity it is almost the same as an annulment which denies the existence of the marriage from the beginning, but in this type of separation there is another set of basis for the petition to be filed. In filling a declaration of nullity only reason such as minority, lack of authority of solemnizing officer, absence of marriage license, bigamous or polygamous marriage, mistake in identity, failure to record with appropriate registry, incestuous marriage, void by reason of public policy, and psychological incapacity are considered for a petition of  declaration of nullity. Both kind of separation would make the child illegitimate since the marriage would not be recognized by the law. In order to avoid making a child illegitimate there is the legal separation. This is also a solution to problems such as being abused, being corrupted or induced to engage in prostitution or connivance, having the correspondent imprisoned for more than 6 years after the final judgement, having a drug addict or alcoholism partner, having a homosexual partner, being in a bigamous marriage, having a sexual infidel or pervert partner, having one’s live being threatened, and being abandoned with no cause for more than a year. The three choices that were given to legally end a marriage solves almost all the possible problems that may occur making them sound good enough, but what makes it short is that in legal separation one is not entitled to remarry. (Fred, 2007) The Divorce Bill covers all these concerns.

Another argument against this is that the introduction of the Divorce Bill would make the divorce rate in the country high. Contrary to this argument, there are data that show low divorce rates even if people are allowed to get a divorce. As shown in “Maps of the World” (2006), some of these counties are Mongolia with 0.38, Georgia with 0.36 and Libya with only 0.24 per 1000 people.

In line with the argument that it will make the divorce rate high, the introduction of the Divorce Bill is said to weaken family ties and would cause harm to the children. If the Divorce Bill weakens family ties then how is it that the divorce rates in some countries maintain low? These low rates on divorce are also evidences of strong family ties and of people who would not easily go to the option of filling a divorce. Those who proposed the divorce has also given thought to control the divorce rate and therefore would set standards for the divorce to pass. In case the divorce is passed and married couples are permitted to separate, those people who are anti-divorce bill will argue that it would harm the children. If the children were to stay in a house where the parents would continue to fight would it not cause harm to the children as well? If one party were to be abusive of the other would the children be unharmed emotionally? If one party gets more abusive and decides to hit the children as well is there no harm caused? When these kinds of things happen in the family, is it not better for the parents to separate for the good of the children?

Some people think that divorce could make the people involved unhealthy because they do not have partners that they could talk to. Since humans are naturally social animals it is expected that humans who have someone to talk to would have a healthier mind and have the initiative to have a healthy body as well. If there were always fights in the house, would the people there still be able to communicate properly and be in a healthy condition? Instances were one will be abusive of the other; one of them is surely in an unhealthy condition, is it not?

Regarding the implementation of the Divorce Bill the most important question is perhaps about the financial condition. Most families in the Philippines have their fathers work and mothers stay at home watching the kids. After the divorce, the mother who has no work would surely have a problem in getting even the basic needs for living. This problem is also covered by the divorce bill. In the bill proposed, the one who is working is entitled to support the jobless one until he or she is able to get a job. To be able to prevent the abuse of leeching of the partner, this support is only valid until one year after the divorce is made final.

The Divorce Bill that is being proposed covers all the possible problems that would be encountered by a married couple and has the solutions to the problems that were raised regarding the implementation of it. Those who proposed the bill had definitely given the issue a thorough view and gave the best possible solutions to it. Those people who agree to the Divorce Bill are not necessarily in favour of people getting divorce because of the little things, but they agree to it simply because they wanted to give chances to those who are in failed marriages that cannot anymore bear with the problems growing because of the failure. It is giving a chance for them to have a new and better life. Let us all be unselfish and think more of those who are suffering. Do not just disagree to the implementation of the bill and take consideration of what are being proposed, because after reading the things that are proposed one might just change his idea regarding the topic. One just might agree to the implementation of the bill after reading both the pros and cons.

Reference:

Divorce. (2012). In Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divorce

Festin, R. (2011, July 9). Is the Philippines ready for divorce?. Inquirer. Retrieved from: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/5183/is-the-philippines-ready-for-divorce

Fred. (2007, January 11). Annulment, Divorce and Legal Separation in the Philippines: Questions and Answers [Web blog post]. Retrieved from: http://jlp-law.com/blog/annulment-divorce-legal-separation-in-the-philippines-questions-and-answers/

Maps of the world. (2006). Top ten countries with the lowest divorce rate. Retrieved from: http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-lowest-divorce-rate.html

Santos, A. (2011, June 21). 9 reasons to support legalization of divorce in the Philippines [slide show photo 8 of 9]. Female Network. Retrieved from: http://www.femalenetwork.com/news-features/9-reasons-to-support-the-legalization-of-divorce-in-the-philippines/