A measure proposing to legalize divorce in the country has divided the lawmakers in the House of Representatives in which some have expressed strong reservations about the measure.

Though House Bill No. 1799 or the Divorce measure seeks to free women from a bad marriage, Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said that the government should prioritize to consider its effect on families, the basic unit of society. [If we were to have a divorce law, we will become like other countries where people would just get married and not take it seriously because they know there is a way out in divorce. This can have an affect on children and spouses,” Angara said.

“This may also encourage the number of gold diggers or those who only marry for money, trying to get settlement through divorce, resulting to more broken families,” he added, as he urged the authors of the bill to just resort to annulment and amend the Family Code.

But Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello expressed support to Divorce Bill that was filed by Gabriela Reps. Luzviminda Ilagan and Emerenciana de Jesus, who said that divorce will give options for couples trapped in failed and irreparable marriages.

“Couples must have the option to avail of the remedies that will pave the way for the attainment of their full human development and self-fulfillment and have protection of their human rights. Existing laws are not enough to guarantee and protect these rights,” the legislators explained.

Ilagan and De Jesus added even when couples start out well in their marriage, political, economic and social realities take toll in the relationship and some are not prepared to handle these, which lead to violence.

Citing 2009 figures, Gabriela revealed that 19 women become victims of marital violence every day, saying that wife battery ranked the highest among different forms of domestic violence with 6,738 cases or 72 percent.