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A recent survey shows that 50 percent of the Filipino population supported the legalization of divorce among "irreconcilably separated couples" in the country.

The Social Weather Survey (SWS) conducted this year's first quarter face-to-face interviews among 1,500 Filipino adults nationwide from March 21-25, 2024.

The result of the survey shows that half of the Filipino adults agreed while 31 percent disagreed and 17 percent are undecided about the test statement that "married couples who have already separated and cannot reconcile anymore should be allowed to divorce so that they can get legally married again."

"This gives a net agreement score (percent agree minus percent disagree) of +19, classified by SWS as moderately strong. This is down from the moderately strong +27 (55 percent agree, 27 percent disagree, correctly rounded) in June 2023 and the record-high very strong +44 (65 percent agree, 21 percent disagree) in March 2023," the survey noted.

The bill that seeks to provide absolute divorce as a legal remedy for irreparably broken marriages was approved on third and final reading in the House of Representatives on May 22, 2024.

The bill's transmission from the House of Representatives to the Senate has been deferred pending the questions on the final vote count when it was passed by the lower chamber last month. Robina Asido/DMS