Atienza: No to divorce
FORMER Deputy Speaker and BUHAY Partylist Congressman Lito Atienza has admonished the Senate not to join the Congressional bandwagon and reject the Divorce bill for the following reasons:
1) “It will destroy the Filipino family which is the genuine strength of our nation. We have been through such political and economic trials and have always survived because of the Filipino family. The separation of some couples should not affect the welfare of the entire nation.
2) “They should study the Constitution, which will be violated if this bill is made into law. It is enshrined in the Constitution under Article II, Section 12, the State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family. They should read the Constitution thoroughly before they start facing cases which will surely be lodged in the Supreme Court. Likewise, the Constitution under Article XV, Sections 1 and 2 recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation and that Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State. Children should be protected from the negative impact of having separated or divorced parents. The damage on their lives will be permanent. They should consider that we have survived so far as a strong nation because of the strong family. We should continue protecting it by not going in the wrong direction that this bill will lead us to.”
Atienza, a staunch pro-life and pro-family advocate, made the statement after the Lower House passed House Bill 9349 or the Absolute Divorce bill on third and final reading on Wednesday night.
“Even the counting of the votes on such a crucial and controversial bill couldn’t be done properly, with the House Secretariat correcting itself as to the total number of votes cast for and against the measure. What was earlier announced as only 126 yes votes would not have been enough to get the bill passed, following the rule of half of the majority plus one voting in favor of the bill. But the Secretariat issued the correction that the yes votes was actually 131!” Atienza, who has consistently opposed the divorce bill, said.
As a former lawmaker, Atienza observed that those who voted for the divorce bill did not even want to identify themselves, that’s why they voted via viva voce on such a critical issue. The voting should have been done individually and properly and not through ayes and nays.
