W@W Editor

Women’s Party-list group pushes 10-year validity on Marriage Contract

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(PNA photo | Jess Escaros Jr.)

(excerpted from GMA News) The proposal of the women’s party list group 1-Ako Babaeng Astig Aasenso (1-ABAA) to place expiration dates on marriage contracts raised a ruckus. The controversial proposition was brought to light at the Daungan ng Balita news forum held at the Danarra Hotel in Quezon City last Thursday, January 7, 2009.

1-ABAA, which represents separated and abandoned women, proposed the enactment of a law that would mandate a 10-year limit on the validity of a marriage contract. Its purpose is “to spare incompatible couples the expense of lengthy legal proceedings before their marriages are annulled.”

After all, the marriage license, which the couple obtains before they can get married, has a “built-in” expiration date. Article 20 of the Family Code of the Philippines stipulates that a marriage license is only valid “for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue” and is deemed automatically canceled if the contracting parties have not made use of it by the end of the mandated period.
As 1-ABAA president Margie Tajon put it, “[A marriage contract] should be just like a passport or driver’s license. If we are not interested to renew it, then it expires.” This, of course, seems like a pragmatic solution to toxic unions. These days, as Tajon pointed out, “Those who can’t afford an annulment just suffer forever.”

Bottom line: 1-ABAA wants to amend the Family Code so that marriage will no longer be treated as a special contract. To date, the marriage contract, is defined by the Family Code as “a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.”

When it comes to the legal definition of marriage in the Philippines, you have to pay attention to two crucial words: “special” and “permanent.” It is “special” because, unlike in other types of contracts, the parties involved cannot stipulate on whatever pleases them. The word, “permanent,” is self-explanatory. As such, a Pinoy marriage is pretty much built to last—at least in legal terms.

It goes without saying that the Catholic Church would be at the forefront of parties opposing the 1-ABAA proposal. “Bago naming napag-isipan yan, alam na naming na Church ang number one [na mag-po-protesta],” stated Tajon.

Though the Philippine Constitution mandates the separation of Church and State, the Church’s pronouncements still hold sway over many Filipinos. The 1-ABAA proposal, by the way, would not affect Muslim marriages, since they’re already allowed to divorce and governed by the stipulations of the Islamic religion. [READ MORE…]

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