AN official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) says absolute divorce is not the answer to abusive marriages.

Speaking on The Manila Times' Reel Times program, CBCP Executive Secretary on Public Affairs Fr. Jerome Secillano said divorce should not be a "quick fix" to abusive marriages.

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives approved, on third and final reading, House Bill (HB) 9349, or the Absolute Divorce Act.

Secillano reiterated the Catholic Church's opposition to the divorce bill as "anti-family" and "anti-marriage."

He said divorce will be a panacea or a "cure-all" to abusive relationships, and that laws should be crafted to curb physical violence.

Secillano said existing laws against physical violence in a marriage lack enforcement.

"What these legislators have to do is to look into the symptoms, the exact thing that abusive partners are doing ... if there is physical violence, then laws should be crafted in order to curb physical violence that is happening in the marriage," he said.

"We already have these laws, but maybe the enforcement of these laws is lacking; that's why they try to invent more solutions, as they say it, to these abusive relationships."

Secillano said there are many solutions to troubled marriages and called on couples to have more patience, understanding, forgiveness and reconciliation.

"Maybe, you're able to free one partner from that divorce ... once that abusive partner enters into another marriage, the abuse continues, and therefore, it's just going to be another cycle," he said.

Secillano said marriage should be a "give-and-take" relationship, which focuses on love and bringing out the best in each other.

"There are no perfect marriages and relationships because, in the first place, those who are in that relationship are not perfect at all. We don't have human perfections, so therefore, what is very important and essential in such kind of relationship is for them to be open to the flaws, weaknesses, and imperfections of their partner," he said.

In a statement on Friday, former Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza agreed with the church's stance and warned that the divorce law would destroy the Filipino family.

"We have been through such political and economic trials and have always survived because of the Filipino family. The separation of some couples should not affect the welfare of the entire nation," Atienza said.

He reminded lawmakers that in Article II, Section 12 of the Constitution, the State "recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family."

"Children should be protected from the negative impact of having separated or divorced parents. The damage on their lives will be permanent. They should consider that we have survived so far as a strong nation because of the strong family. We should continue protecting it by not going in the wrong direction that this bill will lead us to," he said.

In another interview on Reel Times, House Assistant Minority leader and Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, one of the divorce bill's authors, said the bill is for women who are in abusive relationships.

"This, for all the women who need our help now, they are the ones who need to escape from harmful marriages they entered ... this is their request," Brosas said in a mixture of English and Filipino.

"I'm sure the women who are for divorce are crying tears of joy because we already passed the Divorce Bill on the third and final reading. They cannot believe because they thought this Congress could not pass this bill, because it's very seldom that it happens. Now, the numbers in Congress speak for itself, it's like a national survey."

She said that the opponents of the divorce bill cannot back up their claim that its passage will trigger a surge of divorces in the Philippines.

"To us, they don't have that kind of basis, because we don't know what the effects would be, because this was a law that the women want, according to our consultations," Brosas said. "It is our obligation to do that; as lawmakers, we have to listen to our constituents and listen to what is happening on the ground."

She said the lawmakers opposed to the bill have a right to express themselves, "but then, it is also our right to defend women and also men who want to leave a failed marriage."

Brosas called on the Senate to pass the divorce bill posthaste.

In a statement posted on her party-list's Facebook page on Wednesday, Brosas called the passage of the divorce bill in the House a victory nearly 20 years in the making.

"It is easy to romanticize the Filipino family as perfect and conflict-free. But the reality is that political, economic, and social factors often strain marriages, leading to inequalities and violence," Brosas said.

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