A bishop from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan hit the approval of the divorce bill in the House of Representatives, saying that it "would be perfidious to the reality of the sacrament."

In a statement dated 27 May, Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas maintained that "marriage should be entered into only by those mature enough for a lifetime of consecration and fidelity in wedded life."

"To criticize this as an unreasonable demand is to cast a slur on the hundreds, thousands even, of couples in the Philippines who have remained true to the promises of their wedding day," Villegas said.

"They are the tangible proof that such fidelity is possible. They are the empirical evidence that personality differences notwithstanding, difficulties are not impossible to overcome as long as couple do not give up on love," the prelate added.

Villegas also explained why Catholic faithful should not support divorce.

"The existence of a divorce law will not render divorce a moral option for Catholics for whom it will always remain contrary to the Gospel and to the constant teaching of the Church," he continued.

The bishop added that Catholics who would apply for and obtain divorce and re-marry "are in a seriously, morally wrongful state."

"The Church urges that those intending to contract marriage discern with maturity their preparedness for the duties marriage imposes on them -- and not treat it as some provisional arrangement that can be conveniently set aside when it so suits them," Villegas furthered.

For those with marital problems, Villegas said that the Family Life Apostolate which can be found in every diocese and every parish offers its services of counseling and companionship.

The House of Representatives on 22 May approved on the third and final reading a bill that will legalize divorce in the Philippines.

With a vote of 126-109 and 20 abstentions, the chamber passed the bill seeking to institute absolute divorce as an alternative means of dissolving an irreparably broken or dysfunctional marriage in the country.

The bill stipulates the grounds for absolute divorce, which include psychological incapacity, irreconcilable differences, domestic, or marital abuse when one of the spouses undergoes a sex reassignment surgery or transitions from one sex to another, and separation of the spouses for at least five years.

The grounds for legal separation under the Family Code of the Philippines can also be considered grounds for absolute divorce.

These include:

* Physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner

* Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation

* Attempt of the respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution

* Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than 6 years

* Drug addiction, habitual alcoholism, or chronic gambling

* Homosexuality of the respondent;

* Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage

* Marital infidelity or perversion or having a child with another person other than one's spouse during the marriage

* Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner; and

* Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one year

This is the second time that a measure seeking to legalize absolute divorce in the Philippines was approved in the House of Representatives.

The first time was in 2018 during the 17th Congress, after which it eventually died upon reaching the Senate.

With the House's approval of the divorce bill, it will be sent to the Senate for deliberation.

The Philippines is the only country in the world, apart from Vatican, that has not legalized divorce.