Religious, cultural and legal considerations have made the Philippines earn the dubious distinction of being one of only two countries in the world without a divorce law.

Yes, you read that right. The other is Vatican City, where the Pope resides, but then how many married couples are we really talking about there? So, should the Philippines finally pass a divorce law and join the 21st century, or should it continue to cling to its anachronistic stance on marriage?

Methinks we could all agree that marriage is hard. It’s like a roller coaster ride designed by a committee that couldn’t agree on whether it should be fun, terrifying, or just plain nauseating.

For some, this thrill ride ends in harmonious bliss. For others, it’s a never-ending loop of loops that leaves you dizzy, disoriented, and desperately wishing you could get off. In most parts of the world, if you found yourself regretting this ride, you could simply exit it. In the Philippines, however, you’re strapped in for life, no matter how many times you’ve thrown up.

Proponents of a divorce bill argue that it’s high time the Philippines allowed people to end their marital misery legally and cleanly.

Annulment, the current alternative, is about as straightforward as solving a Rubik’s cube blindfolded.

It’s a process that requires proving the marriage was flawed from the start, involving psychological evaluations, legal battles, and mountains of paperwork.

It’s as if the law is saying, “Sure, you can end your marriage — but only if you can prove it never should have existed in the first place.”

Imagine, for a moment, being trapped in a loveless, hostile, or even abusive marriage with no legal recourse. It’s not just a matter of personal suffering; it’s a public health issue.

Studies show that prolonged exposure to high-stress environments — like a toxic marriage — can lead to severe mental and physical health problems. Allowing divorce could quite literally save lives by providing a legal escape hatch for those in perilous situations.

Critics of the divorce bill often cite the sanctity of marriage and the importance of maintaining traditional family values. They fear that making divorce accessible will lead to a moral decay, where people will treat marriage as a temporary, disposable arrangement.

However, this argument overlooks the fact that forcing people to stay in unhappy marriages doesn’t uphold the sanctity of marriage; it undermines it. Marriage should be a union of mutual respect and love, not a lifelong sentence to misery because of bureaucratic quirk.

Moreover, let’s consider the children. The image of a happy family is wonderful, but the reality is that children thrive in stable, loving environments.

Studies suggest that kids are often better off with divorced parents who are happy apart than with married parents who are miserable together. The current system essentially prioritizes the façade of a stable family over the actual well-being of its members.

Another argument against divorce is the potential for increased breakups. But let’s get real — do you really think that making divorce illegal keeps people together? It doesn’t prevent marital breakdown; it just prevents the legal dissolution of a broken marriage.

In places where divorce is legal, it’s not like people are rushing to get divorced at the first sign of trouble. It’s a last resort, taken when all other options have been exhausted. Legalizing divorce would simply acknowledge reality and provide a humane way to handle it.

In the grand scheme of things, the Philippines’ resistance to divorce seems more like an adherence to outdated norms than a moral high ground. The rest of the world has moved on, recognizing that sometimes marriages fail, and when they do people deserve the right to move on too.

Clinging to a no-divorce stance in modern times is like insisting on using a typewriter in the age of smartphones — it’s quaint at best and absurd at worst.

e-mail: mannyangeles27@gmail.com