Philippines is a predominantly Christian Culture. We are the largest Christian Culture of all of Asia, you can thank the Spaniards for that. Many of us are very religious and follow strict Catholic rules, whether we like it or not. We also follow very strict Catholic inspired laws, one of which is Divorce being illegal. Why you might ask? The reason that many Filipinos will give you is that marriage is sacred in the eyes of God and it's anti-Filipino to do such a thing. The only other option one might take to end a marriage is Annulment which is super expensive and only celebrities can afford to go through such a thing.
“Pro-Lifers” they like to call themselves are those who are against divorce and claim that it's anti-life. They also claim that it isn't all about religion and it's just in the Filipino character to keep the family together. Well it's Culture and of your own beliefs powered by religion that makes you think that way.
They show statistics that a family that stays together have happier and healthier children and I don't doubt that for a second, I totally agree. But those are most likely statistics of happy families. Why would people Divorce if they are happy together?
I think that part is what most “Pro-Lifers” don't understand. They expect all marriages to be happy and they see divorce as ruining the peace that once was there. They have no idea if the peace was ever there at all to begin with.
We also compare ourselves to the United States so much because we're exposed to a lot of their media and we believe if Britney can do it in one day then so will we if we allow Divorce in our country. They look the 50% Divorce rate and they instantly think that it's an easy process that people for piety reasons. What happen to the Filipino character that they talked about? They aren't like us at all we as a culture have different values and have different ways of doing things. We can have legalized divorce here in the Philippines without being reduced to a nation composed of people who marry just because divorce is just around the corner in case it fails.
Have they looked at the statistics of other countries? If it's as high as the United States is?
In Spain where the people who influence much of our culture, their divorce rate is 17% and in Italy where our beloved Pope lives their divorce rate is 12%. Why are we so sure that we are going to follow the path of the Americans? We should learn to love and look at our own culture for what it is.
Divorce doesn't solve the problems of these people, but so is staying in a marriage you've tried hard to save but still failed. What's more painful/unhealthy for the children: having parents who are perfectly fine with each other although they are not married anymore, or having parents who are always at each other's throats for the simplest reasons?
Let people have a choice in what to do with our lives. Not everybody follows your own beliefs and attitudes. I know how to respect your faith, so why don't you do the same with mine. That being said, I strongly believe that divorce should be legalized in the Philippines.
