INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
only two states - along with the Vatican - without a divorce law.The prohibitive cost of an annulment means that Dador, who has received no
financial support from her husband since they separated eight years ago, is looking to work as a maid in the Middle East, leaving their two
children behind with her mother."Sometimes I want to end it all," said the 28-year-old, who makes a living washing neighbours' laundry in a
squalid part of Quezon City, the Southeast Asian country's most populous city."This is a risk I'm taking
I want my children to be in school because I was not - and because I want to earn money to pay for my annulment."The Philippines took a step
toward making divorce legal in March with the lower house of Congress passing a law allowing people to dissolve marriages, in the face of
opposition from the president and bishops in the mainly Roman Catholic country.Even though thousands of women want to end failed and abusive
relationships, the bill is unlikely to receive the support it needs from the upper house Senate, which has to draft and pass what is known
as a counterpart bill, campaigners said.The only option for unhappy couples is to seek a legal separation, which does not allow either party
to remarry, or a civil annulment, which rights groups say is lengthy and costly - as Dador found out.Marriage can only be annulled on
limited grounds, such as insanity or contracting a sexually transmitted disease
Abuse and infidelity are not valid reasons."I almost died from my husband's beating and yet I have to convince the courts why I want my
marriage dissolved," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation."The process is too tedious."Only Muslims - about 10 percent of the population
- can divorce under Muslim family laws.Dador said her family forced her to marry after she became pregnant at the age of 18
However the relationship deteriorated rapidly as he repeatedly abused her.After a night of non-stop beatings in 2010, she ran away
But village leaders, police and other officials have been unable to help her end her marriage.Her husband is now with another woman but,
grounds, such as insanity or contracting a sexually transmitted disease
Abuse and infidelity are not valid reasons.And they remained married - on paper at least.TrappedLawyer Clara Rita Padilla said the stories
of women who have turned to her for help are often similar, from the marriage that turned abusive to a long drawn-out court process."In many
situations where the female files for an annulment, it takes years because it was not a joint decision and the husband does not cooperate,"
said Padilla, who heads the women's rights group EnGendeRights.A 2017 survey by independent pollster Social Weather Stations found that 53
percent favoured legalisation of divorce in the Philippines, home to Asia's largest Catholic population.The number of annulment cases
increased to more than 8,000 in 2017 from about 1,000 in 2008, according to figures from the Office of the Solicitor General.But President
Rodrigo Duterte, who is legally separated from his wife, opposes making divorce legal over concerns for the welfare of children whose
parents divorce.The influential Catholic Church said the government should never offer divorce as an option but use other laws to stop abuse
instead."We teach that marriage, once valid, can never be broken," said Jerome Secillano, an official from the Catholic Bishops' Conference
of the Philippines, which represents the country's Catholic leaders."Providing for an easy separation does not help the cause of upholding
and defending marriage."This means that the only Filipinos who can legally end their marriages are those who can are rich enough to do
so.Journalist Mar-Vic Cagurangan said she worked day and night to raise $2,000 for her annulment, while also paying her two children's
The average income in the Philippines is just over $3,500, according to the World Bank."I was trapped
I didn't have a life," she said, adding that legal battle took her a decade.She said court employees asked her for bribes to expedite her
case, making her pay 5,000 pesos ($96) for each hearing."Because I desired to be free, I was compelled to give them more," said Cagurangan,
who now lives with her boyfriend of seven years."Everybody deserves to be happy
edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
