By Leslie Ann Aquino
A survey conducted by Church-run Radyo Veritas revealed that many Filipinos agree with the legalization of divorce in the country.
Based on the Veritas Truth Survey (VTS) which was released Tuesday, of the 1,200 respondents surveyed from urban and rural areas nationwide, 39 percent said that they “strongly agree” to the legalization of divorce compared with the 35 percent who "strongly disagree."
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Thirteen percent of those surveyed said they "somewhat agree” while another 13 percent said they "somewhat disagree.”
The survey also revealed that 43 percent of the female respondents "strongly agree” with the legalization versus 35 percent saying that they “strongly disagree.”
For the male respondents 34 percent said that they “strongly agree” while 35 percent said that they strongly disagree.
As to ge grouping, those who “strongly agree” to the legalization of the divorce seems to appeal more towards the younger age group with the following results: adolescence (13-20 years old) at 43 percent; young adults (21-39 years old) at 34 percent, adults (40-60 years old) at 38 percent; and elderly (61 years old and above) at 19 percent.
By economic grouping, respondents within a higher economic class seems to be more favorable (“strongly agree”) to the legalization of divorce in the Philippines whose breakdown is as follows: Class E at 31 percent; Class D at 40 percent, Class C1 at 48 percent, Class C2 at 55 percent, Class B at 62 percent and Class A at 46 percent.
Father Anton Pascual, president of Radio Veritas, said the result of the survey is a wake-up call to the Catholic Church.
"This is a wake-up call and a big challenge to the Catholic Church especially since many of the faithful are in favor of the legalization of divorce here in the Philippines, the only country aside from the Vatican without a divorce law," he said.
The priest said that the church should preach more on the beauty of marriage.
Pascual said the church is opposed to the proposal to legalize divorce in the country as this would further weaken the bond between the husband and wife who are encountering problems in their marriage instead of helping them fix it.
The Veritas Truth Survey (VTS) was conducted by the Research Department of Radio Veritas 846 from December 2017 to January 2018.