Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday, June 21, called for a comprehensive and simultaneous discussions on legalizing divorce, annulment, and strengthening of marriages to ensure a balanced approach that would address marital challenges in the Philippines.

In an interview, Cayetano said it is important to discuss the significance of the family as the cornerstone of the nation amid calls for the passage of House Bill No. 9349 or the proposed divorce law.

“We have to talk about strengthening marriages, together with the talks about divorce and annulment. We need to talk about it simultaneously because the family is still the fundamental unit of our nation,” Cayetano said.

While there is the reality of “impossible marriages” where abuse or other irreconcilable issues make continuing the union unsustainable, he said there is a necessity of discussing these topics collectively.

“There are those who have been abused by their spouses. But if we resort to discussing divorce, annulment and strengthening of family, we won’t understand each other.

Thus, he said, a unified approach that would tackle all three would help achieve a consensus regarding these issues and finding the best solutions.

“How do you deal with those who are being abused? Do you do it by annulment or do you do it by divorce? If we talk about it simultaneously, I think we can reach a consensus,” the lawmaker said.