A TikTok video claims that divorce has been legalized in the Philippines after a bill allowing it was passed by the House of Representatives. This is misleading.
While the House did pass an absolute divorce bill, it is not yet a law as the Senate has not approved a similar measure.
Posted on Jan. 7, the video showed a clip of a House session on May 22, 2024 where the divorce bill was passed in the plenary. It bore a superimposed text that read:
“Finally approved na ang DIVORCE dito sa Pilipinas (divorce is approved in the Philippines). House Bill 9349.”
Divorce remains illegal in the Philippines. Both chambers of Congress — the House and the Senate — must pass a bill for it to become law.
It is only the House that passed the absolute divorce bill on third reading back in May 2024. As of writing, its counterpart bill in the Senate is pending second reading.
An approved bill by Congress would then be submitted to the president who could either sign or veto it. If the president does not act on a legislative measure for 30 days, it automatically lapses into law.
Uploaded by TikTok user @teachershine, the video has received 2.8 million views, 51,000 likes, 2,877 comments and 27,200 shares.
