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| From What the eyes cannot see |
Last year the Reproductive Health Bill or the RH Bill was the main subject of debates and disagreements amongst the Filipinos. It was all over the place – in schools, newspapers and even the blokes on the streets were talking about it! People kept on sharing and sometimes imposing their stand towards this plan for the government to have adequate reproductive education and modern means of family planning for the Filipino. And I can still remember how politicians would cringe whenever they are asked about it – it was the most dreaded question of each presidential candidate at that time too. They knew that whatever their personal stand was, it will have to step back and also consider how many votes it will generate for them.
Now, divorce has been one of the hotly contested topics in the most recent months especially within the confines of the House of Representatives. Apparently, we are the only country in the world – yes the only country in the whole world that does not have a law for this, unless you count the Vatican. Currently, marriage in the Philippines can only be voided thru annulment and this requires a very long winded process. Not to mention there has to be either a proven physical, mental or moral incapacity before this can even be considered as an option for broken families. From what I heard, this would cost around $ 7,000 US dollars, definitely something that most of us cannot afford; you can already buy a good brand new car at this amount!
A statistic just came out last year showing that in this country, 2 out of 10 Filipinas no longer live with their husbands because they just could no longer bear doing so. Where does the teaching of the Bible come into play here when it said, “What God has joined, no man should divide.”? And yet we are proud to say that we are a Roman Catholic nation? Do we keep this pride thru its distinction alone? And remember, this does not even account for all the single mothers out there that never got married in the first place. And let us not even get into the talk about domestic violence! It is starting to be evident that religion alone has not really made its mark when it comes to the adherence to its teachings.
I would rather have 100 families legally broken up and living their new happy lives with their new partners. Than have 100 families still remain officially married, stick together but keep a family that does not know of love. I’ve seen for myself how step-sons and step-daughters have grown to love their new step-dads and step-moms. This shows that it is possible for not just for the separated spouses to be happy again, but for their kids too! The essence of marriage should always be at the crux of this argument, it is not just a religious vow, but it is a vow of love – for your partner and for the entire family. What good is a family that lives for the conformity of marriage? It’s like having a heart that does not feel, a brain that does not think, senses that cannot experience the world – an empty shell, just stone-cold. Beautiful and shiny, but stone-cold.
