Villar vows to continue opposing divorce bill

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Cynthia Villar will not budge from her position against divorce even as her female colleagues in the Senate are pushing for it, according to the senator herself.

Among the women in Congress’ upper chamber who are in favor of divorce are Senators Risa Hontiveros, Grace Poe, Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos and Loren Legarda.

Sen. Nancy Binay has earlier expressed opposition to divorce.

One ground for divorce in the proposed measure is the violence inflicted on women and children in abusive relationships.

The pro-divorce women senators signed the committee report on the proposed “Dissolution of Marriage Act” that hurdled the Senate women, children, family relations and gender equality panel last year.

“They are not convincing me to do otherwise. And I won’t change my mind,” Villar said in Filipino during an interview with dwIZ radio last Saturday.

She joined the male group of conservative senators opposed to divorce: Senate President Francis Escudero, Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, former Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino and Senators Joel Villanueva and Ronald dela Rosa.

The other senators said that they are still thinking about their position.

Sen. JV Ejercito, however, had said that he is open to divorce to give unhappy couples a second chance at love.

Ejercito and three other male senators – Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel and Raffy Tulfo and Robinhood Padilla – have signed the divorce committee report, indicating their openness to tackle it at the plenary.

Villar said she based her opposition on her personal experience in having a good marriage with tycoon and former Senate president Manny Villar.

“You know, I have a very happy family life, and a happy marriage. So I never once thought of supporting divorce,” she said.

“I don’t want to comment on the opinion of others. We have our own lives and personal experiences. And my personal experience will make me not in favor of divorce,” she added.

For Villar, the chance of the bill getting passed in the Senate is slim.

The House of Representatives recently approved its version of the controversial measure, awaiting transmittal to the Senate for its consideration.

The Philippines is the only country in the world that has yet to legalize divorce, right next to the Vatican, a city-state which is the seat of Catholicism.