Divorce VS Legal Separation

Divorce vs Legal separation

Do Filipinos even know the difference between the two? In fact, what is truly the difference? From what I understand, legal separation, from its own name, is the legal separation of a married couple with the due process of law. In legal separation, couples are not allowed to marry again. The law still considers them to be married and still considers the bond to exist. Whereas in divorce, the law allows the couples to remarry and the law considers the marriage as it never existed.

As mentioned in the previous articles, my stand on this issue is not permanent. My stand could very well change through the course of my writing. So technically speaking, does our present 1987 Constitution prohibit Divorce? From what I understand from reading Article 15, I do not see any prohibitions against divorce stated in our constitution. The constitution states that it shall promote the welfare and development of the family and it (the constitution) shall protect and defend it at all times. It does not say anything that it does not allow divorce.

It’s really hard to take a side on this matter since situations where in married couples are considering divorce vary from couple to couple. I think the whole question here is whether we should allow people to remarry after being legally separated. Because in legal separation, the law recognizes still the couples to be married but they are not living together anymore. But in divorce, the law will allow couples to remarry.  

In my humble opinion, we should not allow people to marry again. We all are familiar with the ceremonies of marriage. There is a part in the ceremony where couples promise or vow to each other in front of God and the law to stay together for better or for worse. I believe that’s the most important promise a person will make. Spending the rest of your life with only one person and one person only is the best promise you can give to your partner.

Another thing that I wonder why people are thinking about legalizing divorce is that, why are they considering divorce to be legal in the first place? Are they thinking that they can just get a divorce if their marriage doesn’t work out well? In that case, they weren’t sure of their reasons for getting married from the start. But like I said above, it’s really hard to take a stand in this issue because different circumstances arise from case to case. Different situations call for different solutions. Who are we to say what’s good for someone else’s marriage. But I believe in the sanctity of marriage and marrying the right person. In my opinion, the moment we make that promise, we should never take it back. I know that relationships face problems which will lead them to part ways but I don’t believe in an irreconcilable problem. I believe that as long as you married the right person, you will find ways to come to an agreement and fall back on the right path.