51% of Filipinos against legalizing divorce —OCTA survey

A survey conducted by the OCTA Research Group showed 51% of Filipinos were against the legalization of divorce in the Philippines.

The "Tugon ng Masa survey," meanwhile, showed that 41% of the respondents approved the legalization of divorce in the country, while 9% are undecided.

Majority of Filipinos who supported the divorce law were from Mindanao with 48% followed by NCR with 46%. The region with the highest percentage of disapproval was Visayas with 59%.

Most Filipinos who were in favor of the law were aged 18 to 24 while respondents aged 67 to 74 have said they were not in favor.

Meanwhile, the highest support for the law were recorded from respondents belonging to Class D with 42% and Filipinos with college or postgraduate education with 47%.

Filipinos who belong to Class ABC placed highest among those not in favor of the divorce law with 70%, while the Filipinos who showed lowest support for the law were recorded to be Filipinos without formal education to only elementary education at 35%.

The survey was conducted from September 30 to October 4 through face-to-face interviews of 1,200 respondents.

It has a ±3% margin of error at a 95% confidence level.

The House of Representatives, on March 21, approved the divorce bill with a unanimous 12-0 vote from the panel provided that the divorce undergoes a proper judicial process providing a cause for divorce and no possibility of reconciliation between the couple.

An approval from the Senate followed on September 19, stating that the state was duty-bound in safeguarding the dignity of every person and uphold the fundamental equality before the law in the best interest of children.

Under the approved divorce bill, five years of separation, rape by the respondent-spouse before or after the marriage, abusive conduct, marital infidelity from both spouses, a valid divorce obtained from a foreign jurisdiction, irreconcilable marital differences, and a church-recognized annulment as valid grounds for divorce. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/ VAL, GMA Integrated News