Before the Civil Code outlawed divorce in 1950, married couples in the Philippines were allowed absolute divorce on the grounds of adultery or concubinage. According to the Philippine Commission on Women, divorce was only excluded by the Code Commission due to “overwhelming pressure from conservatives.”
The Philippines’ lack of policies permitting and regulating divorce can undoubtedly be pinned on the large presence of Roman Catholics in the country, whose faith disallows them from severing marriages. The 2020 census says that 78.8 percent of the population is Roman Catholic. Notwithstanding, a Social Weather Stations survey from March 2024 states that 50 percent of its Roman Catholic respondents expressed favor for divorce legislation.
As for the rest, divorce lobbyist Cici Leuenberger Jueco tells Rolling Stone Philippines that religious conservatives need to read the Bible.
“Hindi ba nila binabasa ‘yong Bible?” says Jueco, the convenor of the lobbyist group Divorce for the Philippines Now (DIPi). “Hindi ba nila naintindihan kung bakit nasabi ng Panginoon [na] He permitted divorce?”
Jueco cites Malachi 2:16 in the Old Testament, where God said, “For I hate divorce and covering one’s garment with violence. So take heed to yourselves and do not be faithless,” according to the New Revised Standard Version. (The New International Version (NIV) translates the same verse as: “The man who hates and divorces his wife… does violence to the one he should protect.”) In fact, the larger part of Malachi 2:10-16 appears not as a blanket statement against all forms of separation, but a condemnation of unfaithfulness and violence enacted towards one’s spouse.
Matthew 19:3-19 also illustrates Jesus’ teachings about divorce, stating that it is permissible on the grounds of “sexual immorality.” When the Pharisees asked why Moses told a man to divorce his wife, Jesus said, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery,” according to the NIV.
@rollingstoneph A divorce advocate believes Christians may have the Bible's stance on divorce wrong. Link in bio to read more about what the Old Testament verse really says. #GuerillaReport #RSPH #RollingStonePH #divorce #easter #bible ♬ original sound – Rolling Stone Philippines
In January 2025, DIPi took to the Senate in Pasay City to campaign for the passage of the Absolute Divorce Bill, which had hurdled the House of Representatives in May 2024 but lost momentum in the Senate.
Congress is currently adjourned to make way for the midterm elections, but 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 the divorce bill.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was updated on April 19, 2025, to add crucial context regarding the divorce in the Bible. The original version did not include Matthew 19:3-19, which details on which grounds Jesus believed divorce was allowed. These details have now been incorporated for clarity and accuracy.
