Robredo 'open' to supporting divorce bill

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday said that she was open to supporting a divorce bill currently being deliberated on in Congress for as long as it wouldn’t destroy the sanctity of marriage and would be accessible to the poor.

Robredo, who was yet to study the copy of the proposed law she received early in the day, said that she would also be open to supporting amending the Family Code, specifically Article 36 which talks about psychological incapacity as a ground for the annulment of marriage.

“The divorce bill now, I’m open to that,” the vice president said.

She said that access especially among the poor and protection of the sanctity of marriage were important considerations for her.

The vice president stressed that she did not want the institution of marriage to be taken for granted as she called on legislators to thoroughly debate on the measure.

“We don’t want people to take marriage for granted, to take relationships for granted, because divorce can easily be availed of,” Robredo said in Filipino.

Divorce is a contentious issue in the mainly Roman Catholic Philippines. The measure is expected to face strong opposition from the Church and many legislators especially in the Senate.

Campaigners say that such an option will give couples a way to start anew with their lives and prevent children from seeing their parents be consumed by legal wrangling.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who is already separated from his wife, is at the forefront of the campaign to pass the measure, but its enactment is in question as the Senate does not see it as a priority.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who himself has been separated from his legal wife, has expressed his opposition to the measure, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

Robredo also urged parents to start inculcating in their children the need to respect women as she downplayed the incident in Baguio in which Duterte allegedly ogled her during the Philippine Military Academy graduation rites.

“I don’t think so,” she said when asked about the viral photo supposedly showing the incident. “I think it was just timing. I think it’s unfair for the president.”