ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Parang mag-jowa lang?' Divorce law will downgrade married couples, says solon 

'Parang mag-jowa lang?' Divorce law will downgrade married couples, says solon 

Published Mar 21, 2024 10:25 am

At A Glance

  • Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre opposes the proposed institutionalization of divorce in the Philippines, for the simple reason that it would practically downgrade married couples to just "mag-jowa" or boyfriend-girlfriend couples.

afif-ramdhasuma-mv38TB_Ljj8-unsplash (1).jpg(Unsplash)



Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre opposes the proposed institutionalization of divorce in the Philippines, for the simple reason that it would practically downgrade married couples to just "mag-jowa" or boyfriend-girlfriend couples.

Acidre gave this hot take during a press conference Thursday, March 21 at the House of Representatives, wherein he was asked about his thoughts on the absolute divorce bill.

"Well, okay, my personal opinion, I am against divorce. I am against divorce because I think, I believe that the constitution considers marriage as an inviolable constitution. I believe that societal order and instability in our country is founded upon the fact that marriage is lifelong," he said.

"I’m against divorce kasi I believe the fact that marriage is for life, is not something accidental to marriage. Pag sinabi mong kasal, in its most basic definition, pang habambuhay iyon. Eh di anong pinagkaiba ng kasal sa mag-jowa kung may way out di ba?" added Acidre, a House deputy majority leader.

(When you say marriage, in its most basic definition, it's lifelong. If there's a way out then what's the difference between marriage and a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship?)

This "way out"--divorce--is seen as the solution for Filipino couples who are in unhappy, and oftentimes abusive, marriage.

Divorce is a touchy subject in the Philippines--a predominantly Catholic country. It is among the last few nations in the world that does not recognize divorce.

ALSO READ:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/11/is-till-death-do-us-part-in-the-bible-lagman-marcoleta-debate-in-plenary



Acidre says he is aware that not all couples that enter marriage get a happy ending.

"Ako hindi naman ako oblivious to the fact that meron talagang mga tao na nahihirapan sa kanilang married life. That’s why I’m pushing for a radically simplified annulment process," said the lawyer-solon.

(I'm not oblivious to the fact that there are people who experience hardships in their married life.)

Acidre said he is just waiting for the House plenary debates on divorce to wind down.

"Yes, we are the only country that [doesn't] have divorce in the whole world, but are the countries [that have] divorce any better?" he asked.

"I mean whether I agree or do not agree with divorce, the moment we agree to have divorce in the country, we effectively redefine marriage as we know it," Acidre said.

Related Tags

mag-jowa jude acidre Divorce
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.