Imagine being legally tied to someone who hurts you, cheats on you, or simply walked away years ago and having no real way to end that bond. For millions of Filipinos, that isn’t a dramatic “what if,” it’s reality. While most of the world recognizes divorce as a basic legal remedy when marriages fail, the Philippines still refuses to allow it for the vast majority of its citizens. This ban doesn’t preserve families; it traps people in broken and sometimes dangerous relationships, protects only those who can afford annulment, and ignores what Filipino society has already become. Divorce should be legalized in the Philippines.

Divorce is defined as “a process of terminating a marriage or marital union”. There are many reasons why couples divorce, from lack of commitment to infidelity. It should be something allowed in all countries, but sadly, it isn’t the case.

The fact that divorce is still illegal in the Philippines is difficult to justify when you actually think about it. Divorce is simply a process of legally ending a marriage, and there are countless reasons why couples need it. Lack of commitment, infidelity, abuse, or just realizing the relationship isn’t working anymore. It should be available everywhere, but the Philippines remains one of only two places in the entire world (the other being Vatican City) where you can’t get a proper divorce. Just us and the Vatican. And it’s not like Filipino marriages are magically immune to falling apart… they obviously aren’t. People are stuck in broken, sometimes violent marriages with almost no way out, and the system just pretends that’s acceptable.

Technically, the Philippines does have some “alternatives” to divorce: annulment, declaration of nullity, and legal separation. But here’s the problem… none of these actually function like real divorce. Annulment and nullity require you to prove that something was already wrong with the marriage from the very beginning, like psychological incapacity or fraud or whatever. Legal separation (sometimes called “relative divorce”) doesn’t even dissolve the marriage at all, you’re still technically married, you just don’t live together anymore. You can’t remarry. You’re stuck in this weird legal limbo forever (Respicio & Co., “Is Divorce Legal in the Philippines? Current Law and Alternatives,” 2024).

Here’s where it gets particularly inconsistent. Muslim Filipinos can actually get divorced. Under PD 1083, the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of 1977, they can file for divorce in Shari’a courts (though it’s unavailable for Muslims, including converts, who got married under the Civil Code). Article 53 even states that a wife can obtain a divorce if her husband habitually assaults her, regardless of whether there’s physical injury or not (Global Rights for Women, 2023). And it’s not just Muslim Filipinos… several indigenous tribes have always recognized divorce in their marriages too, like the Ibaloi, Tagbanwa, Gaddangs, Kankanaeys, Bontocs, Manobos, and B’laans. The government is essentially saying that divorce is acceptable and necessary to protect women, but only if they’re Muslim or indigenous. For everyone else, there’s no such option. The double standard here is glaring.

The argument that banning divorce somehow “protects families” falls apart the moment you look at actual data. The 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey found that about one in four ever-married women (around 26%) experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence from their husband or partner (PSA NDHS 2017, Inquirer 2018). One in four. That’s not a small number. The 2022 survey still shows nearly one in five women experiencing intimate partner violence, and the Philippine Commission on Women reported 8,055 cases under the Anti-VAWC law to the PNP in 2023 alone. Violence exists. Marital breakdown exists. The law simply refuses to acknowledge it in any meaningful way.

What actually ends up happening is that the system protects the more powerful spouse. If you’re rich, you can afford the annulment process. If you’re poor or being abused? You’re basically trapped. Global Rights for Women literally describes it as keeping survivors “ensnared in marriages” because the legal process is too long, too expensive, and often doesn’t even fully end the marriage anyway.

The cost is the central problem. Respicio & Co. estimates that in 2025, a typical annulment or declaration of nullity costs around PHP 150,000 to 300,000 or more. That’s attorney’s fees, psychological reports, filing fees, publication costs, years of hearings… all of that adds up. Earlier research found attorneys’ fees alone ranging from 20,000 to 1,000,000 pesos in Metro Manila (Abalos citing Lopez, 2006). A million pesos just for the lawyer. And even after all that, the Office of the Solicitor General can still appeal the case to “protect the integrity of marriage.” Someone could spend years and hundreds of thousands of pesos and still not get out.

What’s worth noting is that public opinion has actually shifted. A Social Weather Stations survey from March 2024 asked if married couples who’ve already separated and can’t reconcile should be allowed to divorce. 50% agreed, 31% disagreed, and 17% were undecided (GMA News, June 2024). Half of Filipinos support it. Earlier surveys in 2013 and 2017 showed similar numbers. People recognize that keeping couples legally tied together after they’ve clearly broken up doesn’t “save” anything. It just freezes a legal relationship that doesn’t match reality anymore.

The government is slowly catching up too. On May 22, 2024, the House of Representatives passed House Bill No. 9349, the “Absolute Divorce Act,” on third and final reading. 126 in favor, 109 against, 20 abstaining (PhilSTAR Life, May 2024). The bill isn’t even some “easy divorce for everyone” thing. It has specific grounds like existing legal separation, psychological incapacity, de facto separation for at least five years, irreconcilable differences, and domestic abuse under the Anti-VAWC law. There’s a 60-day cooling-off period for reconciliation. It aims to resolve cases within a year. For abuse cases, there’s no delay required because that would just harm the victim more.

The arguments against divorce in the Philippines just don’t hold up. The “it’s unconstitutional” or “un-Filipino” claim ignores that pre-colonial Filipino societies actually practiced divorce before Spanish Catholicism banned it. Muslim Filipinos have divorce right now and their families aren’t falling apart because of it (Abalos, Demographic Research; PD 1083).

The “think of the children” argument also misses the point. Kids in violent or high-conflict homes are already suffering. A regulated divorce process can actually prioritize their interests through proper custody and support rules. Keeping parents legally bound in a nightmare marriage doesn’t protect kids… it just exposes them to more conflict.

The “divorce will be abused” argument is weak as well. Annulment is already being used as de facto divorce for people who can pay. Poor couples just separate informally and start new relationships without any legal protection, creating exactly the “second families” and legal chaos that opponents claim they want to prevent (GMA coverage of rising annulment cases). A proper divorce law doesn’t create breakdown out of nowhere, it just gives people an honest and more affordable way to formalize what’s already happened.

Divorce should be legalized in the Philippines. The current system is hypocritical. It claims to protect marriage but really it just protects appearances and the interests of those with money. Violence exists. Marital failure exists. The alternatives like annulment are inaccessible and incomplete. Public opinion supports it now. International and historical context shows divorce is a normal civil remedy.

Keeping divorce illegal doesn’t save families. It just abandons the most vulnerable people (usually women, usually poor) to navigate breakdown without a fair legal exit. A regulated divorce law with proper grounds, cooling-off periods, and protections for kids and abuse survivors would actually align Philippine law with reality instead of some romanticized ideal of marriage that many Filipinos, especially the poor and abused, can’t safely live up to.