Republic of the PhilippinesHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVEQuezon CityFIFTEENTH CONGRESSFirst Regular SessionHouse Bill No.

1799 Date Filed: July 27, 2010 Introduced by GABRIELA Women's Party Representatives LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN and EMERENCIANA A. DE JESUSEXPLANATORY NOTE Underpinning this proposal is a commitment to the policy of the State to protect and strengthen marriage and the family as basic social institutions, to value the dignity of every h u m a n p e r s o n , t o g u a r a n t e e f u l l r e s p e c t f o r h u m a n rights, and to ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men. In the Filipino culture, marriage is regarded as a sacred union, and the family founded on marriage is considered as a fount of love, p r o t e c t i o n a n d c a r e . Philippine society generally frowns upon and discourages marital break-ups and so provides cultural and legal safeguards to preserve marital rel ations. Cultural prescriptions and religious norms keep many couples t o g e t h e r d e s p i t e t h e breakdown of the marriage. But the c u l t u r a l p r e s c r i p t i o n s f o r w o m e n a n d m e n differ. Women are traditionally regarded as primarily responsible for making the marriage work and are expected to sacrifice everything to preserve the marriage and the solidarity of the family. While absolute fidelity is demanded of wives, men are granted sexual license to have affairs outside mar r i a g e . Y e t w h e n t h e marriage fails, the woman is blamed for its failure. Reality tells us that there are many failed, unhappy marriages a c r o s s a l l Filipino classes. Many couples especially from the marginalized sectors, who have n o a c c e s s t o t h e c o u r t s , s i m p l y e n d u p s e p a r a t i n g w i t h o u t t h e b e n e f i t o f l e g a l processes. The sheer number of petitions that have been filed since 1988 for the declaration of the nullity of the marriage under Article 36 of t h e F a m i l y C o d e (commonly known as "annulment") shows that there are just too many couples who are desperate to get out of failed marriages. Even when couples start out well in their marriage, political, economic and s o c i a l r e a l i t i e s t a k e t h e i r t o l l o n their relationship. Some are not prepared to handle the intricacies of the married life. For a large number of women, t h e inequalities and violence in marriage negate its ideals as the embodiment of love, c a r e a n d s a f e t y a n d e r o d e t h e b a s e s u p o n w h i c h a marriage is founded. The marital relations facilitate the commission of violence a n d p e r p e t u a t e t h e i r oppression. Official figures in 2009 showed that

nineteen women were victims of m a r i t a l v i o l e n c e e v e r y d a y . A m o n g t h e d i f f e r e n t f o r m s o f v i o l e n c e a n d a b u s e against women committed in 2009, wife battery ranked highest at 6,783 or 72%according to the Philippine National Police (PNP). The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) likewise recorded marital violence as highest among different forms of violence against women at 1,933. Previous reports of the PNPabout three of ten perpetrators of violence against women were husbands of the victims. Husbands accounted for 28 per cent of the violence a g a i n s t w o m e n crimes. Given these realities, couples must have the option to avail of remedies that will pave the way for the attainment of their full human development and self-fulfillment and the protection of their human rights. Existing laws are not enough to guarantee and protect these rights. To quote the Women's Legal Bureau, Inc., a legal resource NGO for women: T h e p r e s e n t l a w s r e l a t i n g t o s e p a r a t i o n o f c o u p l e s a n d termination of marriage are inadequate to re s p o n d t o t h e m y r i a d causes of failed marriages. Particularly, the remedies of declaration of nullity and annulment do not cover the problems that occur during the existence of marriage. Legal separation on the other hand, while covering problems during marriage, does not put an end to marriage. Though both divorce and a declaration of nullity of a marriage allow the spouses to remarry, the two remedies differ in concept and basis. A declaration of nullity presupposes that the marriage is void from the beginning and the court declares its non-existence... Beyond [ t h e ] g r o u n d s s p e c i f i e d [ i n t h e l a w ] , d e c l a r a t i o n o f n u l l i t y is not possible.