Image Credit: Daxx Bondoc
I received several comments on my previous blog post on divorce, so here’s Part 2.
Mostly what I’m seeing is that people have a lot of misconceptions about what divorce is vs. annulment. I myself am not an expert and rely on people to educate me on these things, but I did find this useful link from the Archdiocese of Baltimore: 12 myths about marriage annulments in the Catholic Church. I suggest that readers look at that list to get basic questions answered. Here’s a more detailed discussion on annulments, from Catholic Culture: Isn’t It Just a Catholic Rubber-Stamp on a Divorce?. Beyond that, I’m not an expert, but I will forward any questions to those who know the answer and will be happy to write about them here.
Whether all of these will be applicable to the Philippine situation is unknown. But based on those, and my conversations with people on the ground, here are some additional insights:
- There’s no reason to believe that annulment will be more expensive than divorce if the bill passes. The cost could be more or less, but there are no guarantees. There is nothing in the proposed bill that regulates lawyers’ professional fees. Unless charges are subsidized by the government, the idea that divorce will equalize rich and poor has no basis. One article says the average cost of divorce in the US is $15000-20000. Converted to Philippine pesos that would be PHP600K+. A friend who has gone through the annulment process told me that the average cost comes to PHP300K.
From a lawyer friend: “I don’t know if regulating lawyers’ fees will work. The intent may be good in principle but there might be unintended consequences, such as lawyers deciding not to practice law anymore and going for more lucrative jobs (contrary to popular belief, not all of us lawyers earn that much money), and thus making legal services less available in general. Plus, lawyers may not be motivated to provide quality services if there’s a limit on what they can earn. Definitely lawyers should be encouraged to be reasonable in setting their fees, but to impose an all around ceiling might do more harm than good.”
- On the subject of abuse, note that in the US:
No longer are abuse and infidelity the main reasons given for divorce (although some research suggests infidelity occurs around the time of most divorces). Rather, divorcing spouses routinely claim they have simply “grown apart.”
(Source)
Note also that having had divorce legal since the 18th century hasn’t solved the problem of intimate partner violence in the United States, as shown by a 2014 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which in fact says that married people are less likely to be abused than those who are divorced or separated.
Source: Nonfatal Domestic Violence, 2003-2012 - And of course, in this discussion, we can not afford to forget children, who are the main casualties of divorce.
The question of legitimacy was brought up in one of the comments. The first and second links provided above answer that question as well, but in addition, consider this: If children truly ARE a concern, then that concern needs to go beyond legitimacy. There are more consequences tied to being a product of divorce or annulment than simply that one issue. Helpful reading: Annulments, from the site For Your Marriage
There is more to discuss but it will have to wait until next post. I have a confession to make: I do not enjoy writing about divorce at all, as it is depressing, draining, and exhausting, so I will try to limit myself to one post a week on this matter. Next time, perhaps we can look at things from other people’s point of view.
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