House Bill 9349: The State's Surrender of the Filipino Family

The line has been crossed. House Bill 9349, the Absolute Divorce Act, has passed the House of Representatives and now awaits the Senate's decision. Let's be clear: this isn't just another piece of legislation. This is a fundamental assault on the bedrock of our nation, and we must confront it with eyes wide open.

For decades, proponents have sold this as a necessary evil, a compassionate release for those in "irremediably failed marriages." They paint pictures of liberation and second chances. But what they are truly selling is a surrender—a declaration that the State is giving up on its most solemn duty to protect the family.

The 1987 Constitution, the very soul of our Republic, is unequivocal. Article XV, Section 2 states: "Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State."

Read those words carefully. Inviolable. Foundation of the family. Protected by the State.

This is not a suggestion; it is a mandate. The State's role is not to provide exit ramps from marital vows, but to strengthen the institution itself. The Constitution commands the government to be the guardian of marriage, yet with HB 9349, our own legislators are crafting a key to dissolve it. This is a profound and dangerous contradiction. It is a dereliction of duty.

Let's dissect the bill itself. It offers grounds like "irreconcilable differences" (Section 5f). This is a catch-all, a vague and subjective escape clause that makes a mockery of the lifelong commitment that marriage is supposed to be. It reduces the sacred vow to a mere contract that can be voided when feelings fade or difficulties arise. Is this the message we want to send to our children? That commitment is optional and disposable?

Furthermore, the bill includes a provision (Section 7) for the civil recognition of canonical dissolutions. Do not be deceived by this apparent nod to the Church. This is intellectually dishonest. A Catholic declaration of nullity is not a "Church divorce." It is a declaration that, after rigorous investigation, a valid sacramental marriage was never present from the beginning. Divorce, by contrast, takes a valid, existing marriage and dissolves it. To equate the two is a legal and theological sleight of hand, designed to placate the faithful while gutting the very meaning of both civil and sacramental marriage.

The bill's authors claim this is to "save the children from the pain, stress, and agony" of their parents' clashes (Section 2). This is a hollow and cynical justification. While we must have profound compassion for children in abusive homes, let us not pretend that the widespread legal acceptance of divorce will create a generation of happier, more stable children. It will do the opposite. It will normalize the breaking of families, institutionalize abandonment, and teach the young that the marital bond is temporary. The solution to family dysfunction is not to make it easier to shatter the family.

This is not about trapping people in abusive situations. Our existing laws on legal separation and annulment, while imperfect, already provide remedies for those situations without destroying the institution of marriage itself. The answer is to fix the broken parts of the system, not to burn the whole house down.

I call on the honorable members of the Senate to look beyond the emotional rhetoric and see this bill for what it is: an abdication of the State's constitutional mandate. An attack on the family as the foundation of society. A surrender to a culture that values temporary feelings over permanent vows.

We, the Filipino people, must be vigilant. We must pray for our leaders, but we must also make our voices heard. The family is the last bastion of our identity and our strength. We must not allow the State to legislate it into oblivion.

#TheBiggerView #NoToDivorcePH #ProtectTheFamily #UpholdTheConstitution #HB9349 #InviolableMarriage