INTRODUCTION

Marriage is intended to last forever, and the vows generally contain the expression, "till death do us
part These are the words most of us believed in. Marriage is seen as a sacred union between a man
and a woman,and so it must be revered and valued with respect. But what if the passion that a
couple once shared fades away? What if love becomes fragile and unpredictable as time passes?
What if something changes and a person starts to live a life full of misery? Divorce will be one of
their ways to fix these problems. This can be done in the Philippines. The current condition
demands this. Reality tells us that there have been many failed, unhappy marriages across the
country. Love is never as blessed as people expect it to be. Divorce is never such a catastrophic
thing as people think. Divorce gives people a new start to a better life. Living in a marriage where
intimacy, respect, affection, and compatibility have vanished is a life without hope.

As of 2003, it was recorded that 4 out of 25 marriages in the Philippines end up in Legal
Separation. Other couples decide not to legalize their separation simply because they cannot afford
it. This is one of the many reasons why many politicians are pro divorce. Divorce is the legal
dissolution of a marriage by court or other competent bodies ( Oxford ,n d.). It is way cheaper than
annulment and legal separation. Philippines is the only country in the world that does not allow
divorce because the Church is against it. All countries including predominantly Catholic countries in
the world like Spain, Poland, and Mexico permit divorce. Maybe the Church there has opposed it,
but the state has recognized the right of couples to choose the life they want (Wallace, 2013). The
divorce bill has been languished in the Philippine Congress for 13 years. Although the Church is
against Divorce, it should still be legalized in the Philippines because it is beneficial to battered
wives, couples with unsuccessful marriages, and the children of separated couples Divorce is
beneficial to battered wives because in the Philippines, infidelity and physical abuse are not
grounds for annulment.

According to the Philippine Commission on Women, “physical injuries and/or wife battering
remains to be the most prevalent case across the twelve-year period, from 1997–2009, accounting
nearly half (45.5 percent) of all reported violence against women (VAW) cases nationwide” (p.
147). For instance, the marriage worked for 8 years, but later the husband becomes
violent and unfaithful to his wife. These may not be used for annulment under Article
36, unless it can be proved that these are manifestations of psychological inability that
preceded the marriage. The divorce law will provide a solution that Article 36 cannot support. “A
divorce law will provide a straightforward remedy to a marital failure for it does not concern itself
with validity or invalidity of a marriage and it terminates a marriage based on a ground that
occurred during the marriage” ( Ursua, 2013).

Counter Arguments

The Philippines' imposition of divorce law has been the most contentious debate and social
problem for an extended period. First and foremost, the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic
country. Consequently, resulting in an endless back-and-forth debate as to whether its enactment
 would strengthen the country's status in terms of marital separation. Endless cases of
spousal abuse in households have become popular in the Philippines. According to
preliminary findings from the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey, one in four women
between the ages of 15 and 49 witnessed physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from their spouses.
One of the leading causes of this is the abuse of alcohol and drugs, which becomes a significant
problem if the party refuses to rehabilitate and continue to abuse the substance, particularly in a
country like the Philippines where the majority of cases of chronic alcoholism are left untreated,
causing an unceasing problem of violence and domestic abuse in the family that can give rise to
trembling. Both sides should be able to file a divorce or a separation from their partner after a
certain amount of drug abuse has been achieved to rid themselves of such violence or abuse.
Single parents who are unable to meet the family's needs and are separated from their partners
are prevented from obtaining child support because they are already legally married. In a way, this
can be seen but not limited to a “pro-women legislation” that can further protect women and their
children's welfare.

divorce can impact the young and adolescent children. Divorce introduce a massive changes into the life
of boy or girl no matter what the age. Witnessing loss of love between parents, having
parents break their marriage’s commitment adjusting to going back and forth between two different
households, and daily absence on one parent while living with the other all create a challenging new
family circumstances in which to live. Whether a couples goes through annulment, legal or divorce their
children will always be most affected . how does the church view about divorce? The church believes
that the GOD, the author of marriage, establishment it as a permanent union. When two people marry
they form unbreakable bond. Jesus himself taught that marriage is permanent (Mathew 19:3-6). second
marriage is doesn’t guarantee a happy.  A Chicago study revealed divorce has lingering, detrimental
impact on health that even remarriage cannot fully repair. The study added that remarrying only makes
matter worse.

My Argument

divorce can impact the young and adolescent children. Divorce introduce a massive changes into
the life of boy or girl no matter what the age. Witnessing loss of love between parents, having
parents break their marriage’s commitment adjusting to going back and forth between two
different households, and daily absence on one parent while living with the other all create a
challenging new family circumstances in which to live. Whether a couples goes through annulment,
legal or divorce their children will always be most affected . how does the church view about
divorce? The church believes that the GOD, the author of marriage, establishment it as
a permanent union. When two people marry they form unbreakable bond. Jesus himself taught
that marriage is permanent (Mathew 19:3-6). second marriage is doesn’t guarantee a happy.  A
Chicago study revealed divorce has lingering, detrimental impact on health that even remarriage
cannot fully repair. The study added that remarrying only makes matter worse.
 Conclusion

This is our take on why we need divorce here in the Philippines. First impact of divorce is the
opportunity to reset your financial priorities and have greater control over your finances. Second
Legalizing divorce in the Philippines will ease the burden of separated or irreconcilable couples.
They can go on their separate way and be free to remarry a new spouse. Broken homes are
prevalent anyway among families, even without divorce .It is true that you will gain your happiness
back when your marriage fail and divorce is the solution.