Mother-of-three Stella Sibonga is desperate to end a marriage she never wanted. But divorce in the Catholic-majority country is illegal, and a court annulment takes years.
The Philippines is the only place outside the Vatican where divorce is outlawed, with the Catholic Church— which holds great influence on Philippine society—opposing the practice as against its teachings.
“I don’t understand why it has to be this difficult,” said Sibonga, who has spent 11 years trying to get out of a marriage that her parents forced her into after she became pregnant. Sibonga said she requested the Court of Appeals to reverse its ruling, but is still waiting for an answer. And in 2018, majority and opposition parties in the House of Representatives approved a divorce bill that later stalled in the Senate. It was the first time such a proposal had got that far.
The burdensome process for getting a court order to end a marriage has spawned online scams offering to secure a quick ruling without time-consuming court appearances.
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