Senatorial bet Angelo de Alban wants to raise legal marriage age to 24

Independent senatorial candidate Attorney Angelo de Alban pushed for amendments in the Family Code of the Philippines, including raising the legal marriage age to 24.

Among his proposed changes were to raise the requirements for marriage, including a higher age requirement, financial literacy, age-appropriate sex education, and psychological tests.

“Napakadali ng kasal ngayon para ka lang nabili ng SIM card, 18 years old, may consent, tapos na. Siguro, gawin nating 24 or 25. May scientific na basis po ito. Yung ating pre-frontal lobe, dito sa bunbunan po natin, yan po yung gumagabay satin para sa mature decisions… Dapat itaas mo ng konti yung requirements mo sa kasal,” said the lawyer-professor.

(Getting married is so easy that it’s just like buying a SIM card, you just have to be 18 years old with consent and it’s done. I think we should make it 24 or 25. It has a scientific basis. Our pre-frontal lobe or the top of our head is what guides us to make mature decisions… We need to raise the requirements for marriage a little bit.)

“Napakadali magpakasal, tapos pag naghiwalay sila after two years sasabihin ay dapat may diborsyo sa Pilipinas. In the first place, bakit papayagan na magpakasal nang maaga?” he added.

(It’s so easy to get married, then when they separate after two years they would say that there should be divorce in the Philippines. In the first place, why would we allow them to get married this early?)

He also said that protections for the LGBT+ families should be part of the Family Code, and not distinct under the SOGIE bill.

“Itong mga bagay na ito, dapat ilagay ito sa Family Code. Wag natin ilagay sa SOGIE bill [or] sa separate bill, kasi I consider members of the LGBT+ community as co-equal. Kapareho natin silang tao, dapat equal ang treatment sa kanila,” he added.

(These things should be put into the family code. Let’s not put it in a SOGIE bill [or] a separate bill, because I consider members of the LGBT+ community as co-equal. We are both humans, so they should be treated like equals.)

De Alban also said that the Family Code was outdated.

“Yung ibang provisions niyan pwede pa po pero tandan natin na 1987 po ang Family Code. Before niyan, yung Civil Code na 1950s pa po. Almost 37 years, kailangan na ng pagbabago,” he said during the dzRH interview.

(Other provisions are still okay, but we should remember that the Family Code was from 1987. Before that, the Civil Code was from the 1950s. After almost 37 years, there needs to be a change.)

On social media, independent senatorial bet David D’Angelo commented on the latest updates on the war against Israel and Hamas.

“We condemn the latest aggression of Israel on Gaza. The blatant killing of thousands of people and Palestinians is clearly a crime against humanity and genocide. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is unfit and is a threat to peace, and the good of all,” D’Angelo said.

“There are no victors in war... Only losers, death, and suffering,” he added.

1Rider party-list Representative Bonifacio Bosita conducted campaign activities in Silang, Cavite, while former Commission on Audit commissioner Heidi Mendoza recalled a story of her youth and likened it to her platform against corruption.

“Lumaki akong may Black Magic—hindi aswang, kundi isang lata ng tsokolate na naging aral sa katapatan. Dito iniipon ang baon naming magkakapatid, pero kahit walang nakatingin, ni singko hindi ako kumuha nang hindi para sa akin. Bakit? Dahil may kapatid akong mawawalan ng pamasahe o meryenda,” she said in a Facebook post.

(I grew up with Black Magic—not aswang, but a can of chocolate that became a lesson in honesty. This was where us sublings gathered our allowances, but even if no one was looking, I didn not take even a cent that was not supposed to be mine. Why? Because I have a sibling that would have less allowance.)

“Ngayon, sa gobyerno, ganito rin dapat. Kapag may kinuha kang hindi sa’yo, may pamilyang mawawalan ng ayuda, may estudyanteng hindi makakapasok, may kalsadang masisira. Ang pera ng bayan, hindi para sa bulsa—para sa mamamayan,” she said.

(The government should be like this too. If you take someone that’s not yours, a family will lose their ayuda, a student will not be able to go to school, a road will break down. The people's money should not be pocketed—but should be for the public.)

Retired Marines officer Ariel Querubin spoke before graduating college students preparing for the Licensure Examination for Teachers on Tuesday and said that they were the future of the country.

“Sa totoo lang, kayong mga guro dito ngayon ang tunay na bayani,” Querubin stated.

(Truth be told, teachers are the true heroes.) —LDF, GMA Integrated News

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