By Mario Casayuran
Sen. Richard J. Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, on Tuesday said the passage of divorce law in the Senate is not a priority.
Gordon stressed that there is still no solid vote in the Senate for a divorce law.
Senator Richard Gordon (Czar Dancel / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I think it will violate the Constitution because nakalagay doon (it is provided there that) marriage is a social institution that the government should try and protect,’’ Gordon told Senate reporters after conducting a public hearing on the widespread corruption at the Bureau of Customs and its inability to collect P905 billion in customs duties from importers the past five years.
"At kung talagang irreconcilable na talaga, nakasama lalo na doon sa mga bata, then dapat limited, sinasabi ko. Mayroon na ngayon eh, annulment. (If their marriage has become irreconcilable, and it negatively affects their children, their divorce should be limited as there is such thing as annulment),’’ he said
Asked whether the chances of the divorce being passed in the Senate are dim, Gordon said it was not for him to say whether it is dim or not.
Queried whether the Philippines is ready for a divorce law, Gordon said marriage is a decision made by two people and there should be serious reasons why they should dissolve the marriage.
"The only reason I can think of now is di na sila magkakasundo, magkakasakitan na, magkakamatayan na or yung bata ma-scar," he said. (They can no longer agree that they remain married, they are hurting each other or they might kill each other or the children are getting emotionally scarred.