MANILA: Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros on Thursday asked her colleagues to support Senate Bill 147, or the Dissolution of Marriage Act, after the House of Representatives passed the Divorce Bill on second reading.
In a statement, Hontiveros said it is high time that Filipinos be given a “second chance in love.”
“Hinihintay ko lang na mailagay sa agenda ang pag-sponsor ko ng bill (I am just waiting for my sponsorship of the bill to be listed in the agenda). I do hope my colleagues can support this important measure,” she said.
In a previous interview, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality said she already signed the committee report “months ago” but it has not yet been scheduled for plenary deliberations.
“We vow to continue to work in the Senate to pass necessary, though contentious, legislation despite the challenges we face,” she added.
In 2017, a Social Weather Stations survey showed that 53 percent agreed to legalize divorce,
while a Catholic Radio Veritas survey in 2018 showed that 52 percent ‘strongly agree’ or ‘somewhat agree’ to the measure.
Source: Philippines News Agency