Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on Thursday, September 21, said he is not inclined to support the measure seeking to make absolute divorce legal in the Philippines.
According to Villanueva, he still prefers annulment and declaration of nullity of marriage instead of making divorce or absolute dissolution of marriage legal in the country.
“Divorce is a big no for me! Yes to making annulment accessible to the poor,” Villanueva said in a statement.
The senator issued the statement after the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality approved Senate Bill No. 2443 or the proposed “Dissolution of Marriage Act,” which expands the grounds for dissolution of marriage, and institutes divorce in the Philippines.
The consolidated version of the measure were authored by Senators Risa Hontiveros, Raffy Tulfo, Robin Padilla, Pia Cayetano, and Imee Marcos.
Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, and Senators Grace Poe, and Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito also signed the measure under Committee Report No. 124.
“The approval of the divorce bill or any proposed law in the committee leve is part of the legislative process,” he said.
“All members of the Senate is free to conduct a hearing after a bill is referred to their committee,” he said.
Villanueva pointed out the measure, failed to muster majority of the senators’ nod as only nine of them signed the measure.
“Many of our colleaggues just signed the report so that it can be tackled in the plenary,” he said.
But even though his personal take on the issue remains unchanged, Villanueva acknowledge that there are unions that end up in violence and should be ended.
“This is where annulment and declaration of nullity of marriage comes in. It would be best to just expendite the process and at the same time make it more accessible for everyone, no matter what their status in life is,” he said.