If and when constitutional change will happen after the May 2010 elections, I will actively campaign for the removal of many of the existing restrictions against the entry of much-needed foreign equity capital to the Philippines. But I will also actively campaign that the existing provision about the "inviolability" of the marriage institution should not be removed.

The very future of Philippine society rests on the unity and indissolubility of marriage. This principle is based not only a religious belief but is fully supported by abundant empirical evidence from countries in which divorce and the tolerance for cohabitation in place of marriage have wreaked havoc on society.

As reported in a recent article that appeared in Zenit.org, family breakdown is causing social anarchy, according to a speech by an English judge, Justice Paul Coleridge. According to this senior Family Division judge for England and Wales, mothers and fathers who fail to commit to each other engage in a game of "pass the partner" that has left millions of children "scarred for life." He called for a change in attitudes so that the destruction of family life would attract social stigma.

"What is a matter of private concern when it is on a small scale becomes a matter of public concern when it reaches epidemic proportions," he added. His views were strongly supported across the Atlantic in a report by the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada. In a study entitled "Private Choices, Public Costs: How failing families cost us all," the Institute detailed the economic impact of marriage failure. The study made an estimate of the cost of family breakdown in relation to government spending for the fiscal year 2005-2006. The impact on the budget of financial assistance to broken families amounted to about 7 billion Canadian dollars (US$6.1 billion) a year. The report also highlighted how marriage breakdown has a particularly damaging economic impact on women, leading to what it termed "the feminization of poverty."

Although the study concentrated on the economic costs of family failure, it did also acknowledge the impact on children. Not only is divorce linked to poverty, but a large body of research demonstrates that children are better off being raised in a married, two-parent home. "Where families fail, as they so often do today, it is up to the rest of us, via government agencies and institutions, to pay for those failures." Family breakdown is more than just divorce. It includes couples who just cohabit, single mothers who have never married or lived with the fathers of their babies. It has been demonstrated in many countries with rampant divorce and cohabitation that family life is not just a matter of consumer choice.

Given the economic impact of such decisions, it is perfectly legitimate for governments to be concerned about the future of family life. These choices are more than just a private arrangement, but are a vital part of society.

The Institute also commented that when divorce laws were liberalized in Canada, it was generally assumed that what is good for the parents would be good for the kids. Subsequently, empirical research shows this has not been the case.

"Whether couples are married or not is a remarkably accurate predictor of outcomes for children on many social science scales, even when economic factors are excluded." A whole range of social outcomes, such as drug use, academic results, health and happiness, are affected by family structures. Both children and adult fare much better in a stable married situation.

Given all these sad experiences in countries which legalize divorce, the Philippines should make a strong statement against divorce in the very basic law of the land, the Constitution. In my opinion, the existing statement in our Constitution that marriage is an "inviolable institution" should always be retained. It is a guarantee that divorce will never be legalized and that cohabitation will never be considered as equivalent to a marriage between a man and a woman. We should be very proud of the fact that the Philippines is the only country in the world, with the exception of the Vatican, in which divorce has not been legalized. For comments, my e-mail address is bvillegas@uap.edu.ph.