To the Honorable Members of the Philippine Senate:

I am a Filipina revert to Islam. A mother of three — a son and two daughters.

I have been separated since 2019, with no contact from my former husband.

He fails as a provider, protector, and leader.

I am their sole provider, sole protector, and sole parent in every sense.

In May 2023, I returned to Allah and began living by the laws of Islam — but I remain trapped in a civil marriage that no longer exists in spirit, in function, or in safety.

I cannot remarry under the law. I cannot reclaim my name. I cannot start over — not because I don’t want to, but because my own country makes it impossible unless I can afford an annulment that costs over ₱300,000.

I am not alone.

There are millions of us: abandoned, abused, or simply bound to a marriage that has long since ended in everything but paperwork.

We are not asking for divorce to be easy. We are asking for it to be possible.

The House of Representatives has already passed House Bill No. 9349 — The Absolute Divorce Act. We now urge the Senate to pass it without delay.

Below are actual provisions from the bill, as passed by the House:

🔍 Section 4: Grounds for Absolute Divorce

“The grounds for absolute divorce are the following:

(a) physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner;

(b) psychological incapacity as provided under Article 36 of Executive Order No. 209;

(c) any of the grounds for legal separation under Article 55 of the Family Code;

(d) separation in fact for at least five (5) years at the time the petition is filed;

(e) legal separation by judicial decree for at least two (2) years;

(f) when one of the spouses undergoes a sex reassignment surgery or transitions from one sex to another;

(g) irreconcilable marital differences;

(h) mutual agreement duly signed by the spouses and submitted to the court;

(i) other forms of domestic or marital abuse; and

(j) a final decree of absolute divorce validly obtained abroad by a Filipino citizen.”

🛡 Section 5: Effects of Absolute Divorce

“An absolute divorce shall have the following effects:

(a) The marriage bond is severed and the former spouses may remarry;

(b) The custody of minor children shall be decided by the court;

(c) Spousal and child support shall be enforced;

(d) The liquidation, partition, and distribution of the assets, properties, and liabilities of the absolute community or conjugal partnership of gains shall be decided by the court.”

⏳ Section 6: Cooling-Off Period

“No petition for absolute divorce shall be filed within one (1) year from the celebration of marriage.

Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall impose a mandatory six (6)-month cooling-off period. During this period, the court shall initiate interventions to reconcile the parties.”

🔒 Section 7: Exceptions to Cooling-Off Period

“The cooling-off period shall not apply in cases involving acts of violence against women and their children under Republic Act No. 9262, or attempted or frustrated parricide under Articles 246 and 297 of the Revised Penal Code.”

This is a measured, ethical, and protective bill. It is not liberal. It is not lawless. It is a humane remedy for people who have already exhausted every attempt to reconcile.

Yet despite this, the bill remains stalled in the Senate, not because of its contents — but because of religious pressure.

“The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.” — 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article II, Sec. 6

Senators, you were elected to serve the people — not the bishops.

You were sworn to uphold justice — not fear dogma.

And you were sent to the Senate to legislate hope, not enforce guilt.

Let the people go. Let women go. Let families heal. Let those who have already suffered enough move forward.

Pass the Divorce Bill now — and restore dignity to the millions living in limbo.

 

🔚 Final Call-to-Action:

SIGN THIS PETITION IF YOU BELIEVE:

✅ That no one should be forced to stay in a toxic, abusive, or loveless marriage

✅ That the law should serve justice — not religious pressure

✅ That divorce must be accessible, not just for the rich

✅ That the Senate must act before the 19th Congress ends in June 2026

📢 We demand justice. We demand dignity. We demand the Divorce Bill.