MORE Filipinos are against the legalization of divorce in the country, the latest survey of OCTA Research showed.
Last May, the House of Representatives passed the absolute divorce bill on third and final reading.
In OCTA's second-quarter survey, conducted from June 26 to July 1 and published on Friday, 57 percent of respondents do not favor passing a law to legalize divorce, a 6-percent increase from 51 percent last year.
The percentage is highest in Balanced Luzon, with 61 percent. Mindanao ranked next with 57 percent, followed by National Capital Region (NCR) with 50 percent and the Visayas with 49 percent.
The percentage of those in favor of passing the divorce bill is highest in the Visayas at 50 percent, followed by the NCR (46 percent), Mindanao (35 percent), and Balanced Luzon (35 percent).
Among those supporting the legalization of divorce, 94 percent agreed that "married couples who have already separated and cannot reconcile should be allowed to divorce so they can legally remarry," while 3 percent disagreed.
The survey also found that 95 percent agreed that divorce should be made available for spouses who were abused or subjected to violence, with 2 percent disagreeing and 90 percent of those agreeing coming from major areas.
The highest percentage of undecided respondents is in Mindanao, at 7 percent.
Among the socioeconomic classes, the percentage favoring a divorce law ranges from 36 to 53 percent, the highest being in Class ABC at 53 percent.
Classes D and E are tied at 58 percent as not in favor of a divorce law. The highest percentage of undecided respondents is in Class E at 6 percent.
"Across major areas, agreement that separated married couples should be allowed to divorce so they can legally remarry ranges from 88 to 96 percent, with the lowest deal from Mindanao," OCTA said. "In terms of socioeconomic class, all classes have the same level of agreement (94 percent) that married couples who have separated should be allowed to divorce so they can legally remarry."
The survey also showed that 55 percent will not vote for a candidate promoting the legalization of divorce, 39 percent will vote for, and 5 percent are undecided.
Six out of 10 respondents in Balance Luzon (57 percent) and Mindanao (58 percent) will not vote for a candidate promoting the legalization of divorce.
Visayas respondents are split (50 percent) on whether they will vote for a candidate who promotes divorce, while 44 percent of NCR respondents said they would vote for a pro-divorce candidate.
In Class ABC, 53 percent will vote for a pro-divorce candidate; while Classes D and E (56 percent) will not vote for a pro-divorce candidate.
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