“It’s unfortunate that some legislators would rather focus on breaking marriages than fixing them or strengthening marital bond,” Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the public affairs committee of the bishops’ conference, said after the filing of a bill that would legalize divorce in the Philippines.

“We see from Western countries how divorce affects the children and leads them on paths to brokenness,” added Xavier Padilla, spokesman for the Council of the Laity of the Philippines. “We instead should work on marriage preparation, counseling, and stronger support systems for couples and families,”