The law on maintenance and marital property may need to be reviewed if a divorce law is passed

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According to a legal expert, the law on maintenance and the division of marital assets may need to be reconsidered if the proposed divorce law is passed in the Philippines.

The division of marital assets stems from the traditional arrangement that the wife stays at home so her husband can earn a living for the family, says Jemy I. Gatdula, dean of the Law School at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

Nowadays, more women are working, he emphasized in an interview on July 3.

“In terms of maintenance … it is assumed that the woman is not working, but this needs to be verified as it could also be that the woman earns more than her husband,” Mr Gatdula said.

“Some people might say that the wife should pay child support to her husband,” he added, “but why should the wife pay child support at all when they both earn money at the same time?”

The Philippines is the only country in the world where civil divorce is not yet legalized. ends a valid marriage through a legal process and a court order.

Currently, married Filipino couples who wish to separate have the following options: nullity (which renders a marriage void ab initio for reasons such as bigamy), annulment (which renders a valid marriage null and void for reasons such as compelled consent), and legal separation (which allows married couples to live apart while their marriage continues to exist legally).

A 2020 government census found that although 39.2% of the population was married, more than 400,000 people (or 1.9%) were either divorced, separated, or had their marriage annulled between 2015 and 2020.

“In the case of annulment, the idea would be that there was no marriage to begin with, so the assets go back to where they were,” said Mr Gatdula Business world.

“In divorce law that would probably be the default position, but there is also the possibility of encouraging people to enter into prenuptial agreements,” he said.

Whether the spouses are allowed to keep their respective assets in the event of a legal separation depends either on the circumstances or on what they agreed before the marriage.

Bill No. 9349 (An Act to Reinstate Absolute Divorce as an Alternative Form of Marriage Dissolution) was forwarded from the House of Representatives to the Philippine Senate on June 10.

It lists marital infidelity and domestic violence as valid grounds for divorce. It also lists all grounds for legal separation, annulment and declaration of nullity of marriage under the Family Code.

Articles 96 and 124 of Executive Order No. 209, or the Family Code of the Philippines, deal with the management of community property and the marital partnership. Both articles state that although management and enjoyment are jointly owned by both spouses, in case of a disagreement, the husband's decision prevails. The wife's only option is to the matter before the court.

In the 18thth Senator Pia S. Cayetano of Congress wanted to amend Articles 96 and 124 in her presidential proclamation. Instead of the husband's decision taking precedence in the event of a dispute, the court would only decide the case if the spouses have tried to reach an agreement but have not succeeded.

The most harmful thing we can tell children are fairy tales in which people get married and then live happily ever after, says Mr Gatdula.

“Real life goes on after the marriage vows,” he said.

“A better courtship culture – one that enables our young men and women to understand each other better so that when they do get married they know what they are getting into – is far better than a divorce law,” he added.