Advocacy groups are continuing to lobby for the divorce bill even as the 19th Congress adjourns this February 8. In an interview with Rolling Stone Philippines, Cici Leuenberger Jueco, who founded Divorce For The Philippines Now (DIPi) in 2014 — which has since amassed 33,000 members on Facebook — detailed her pro-divorce group’s campaign efforts with senators.
Jueco says that Senator Pia Cayetano asked to schedule a meeting with DIPi members on January 30 through a video conference call, only to be met by three of Cayetano’s staffers. The call was also attended by DIPi members from abroad, many of whom were overseas foreign workers. Jueco says that staffers raised how Cayetano filed a bill recognizing foreign divorce in the Philippines, which was granted by the Supreme Court in September 2024. Currently, foreign divorce is the only form of divorce recognized by the Family Code, under Article 26, paragraph 2.
@rollingstoneph "Do you really want divorce? If so, where are you?" A pro-divorce advocate calls out her peers, urging stronger support to pass the divorce bill into law. Link in bio to learn more about how advocacy groups are continuing to lobby for the bill despite despite Congress adjourning on February 8. Guerilla Report is our new video series featuring real-world perspectives from real people. #RSPH #ReinventTheRules #ReframeCulture #interview #streetinterview #divorcebill #divorce #philippines #fyp ♬ original sound – Rolling Stone Philippines
But that’s not what Jueco or her members are looking for, she told Rolling Stone Philippines, saying that Filipinos with Filipino spouses also need options for absolute divorce.
“I’m very angry sa mga kapwa kong pro-divorce,” Lou Baltazar, a DIPi member, told Rolling Stone Philippines. “Kung nakikita mong marami kami, sabi pinagmamalaki 33,000 members. Saan?”
Delays and Roadblocks
There are currently two versions of the bill awaiting action in the Senate, one having been filed in the House of Representatives.
The Senate’s version of the bill, more formally referred to as the “Dissolution of Marriage Act,” seeks to amend the Family Code, which only permits legal separation and annulment. Authored by Senator Risa Hontiveros and filed in September 2023, grounds for divorce include at least five years of separation or two years of legal separation, commission of rape before or after the celebration of marriage, irreconcilable marital differences, and other grounds for legal separation under the Family Code like physical violence and infidelity, but excluding homosexuality or lesbianism.
The House’s version of the bill, the “Absolute Divorce Act,” was authored by the late Albay Representative Edcel Lagman early in 2024, and was approved in its third and final reading in May that year. Lagman’s bill covers grounds for divorce similar to those of Hontiveros but also includes homosexuality and the partner undergoing gender-affirming procedures. Other provisions include the care, custody, and support of children.
The Absolute Divorce Bill’s transmission to the Senate was delayed due to an error in the vote counting. On May 22, the Office of the Secretary General’s staff announced that 126 voted for the bill’s approval while 109 voted against it and 20 abstained. The following day, they corrected the results to 131 affirmative votes, 109 negative, and 20 abstentions. The bill was transmitted in June and underwent its first reading in July 2024.
Since then, however, the bill’s progress has lost momentum at the legislative branch, but advocacy groups like DIPi continue to campaign to lawmakers despite the narrow window between now and the midterm elections. Jueco believes the resumption of the Congressional session between June 2 and 13 still offers some chance for advocacy groups to reach key legislators in expediting this bill.
In June 2024, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said that the divorce bill was not a priority of the Senate. “Kahit may divorce bill o walang divorce bill, hindi makakatulong sa kumakalam na tiyan ‘yan,” Estrada said during the Kapihan sa Senado forum.
Religious groups, which continue to have a strong foothold in the country, have also expressed opposition to the divorce bill, saying that divorce threatens the sanctity of marriage and family. In July 2024, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) released a statement warning that the Philippines must be careful joining the “divorce bandwagon.”
“While it is true that some marriages might indeed be beyond repair already, isn’t it just as true that going through times of marital crisis is almost a normal thing for all married couples and need not end too quickly in a parting of ways?” the statement read.
The Philippines remains the only country in the world — aside from the Vatican — without divorce legislation.
