A Facebook reel claims that the long-pending divorce bill has finally been approved in the Philippines. This needs context.
While the House of Representatives did pass an absolute divorce bill in 2024, the Senate had not done so with its counterpart bill by the time the 19th Congress ended last June.
No divorce measure has been passed in the current 20th Congress.
Uploaded on Sept. 1, the reel bore a superimposed text that read:
“Congratulations sa lahat ng nangangarap nito! Divorce bill 9349 finally approved. Mag saya na ang lahat ng kabet.”
(Congratulations to all who are dreaming of this! Divorce bill 9349 finally approved. Be happy all illicit lovers).
Divorce remains illegal in the country as both chambers of Congress — the House and the Senate — must ratify a bill and submit it to the Office of the President to become law.
The House approved House Bill No. 9349 or the Absolute Divorce Act on third reading on May 22, 2024. However, the Senate failed to act on any of the five divorce bills that stalled at the committee level for the entire 19th Congress from 2022 to 2025.
Pending bills are terminated upon the term conclusion of the Congress where it was filed. This means the divorce bill would have to be refiled in the 20th Congress for a chance to become a law.
There are six House bills and two Senate bills legalizing divorce filed in the current Congress, all of which are pending at the committee level.
Some netizens who commented on the post praised lawmakers for allowing divorce in the country and asked where they could file for one.
Posted by FB page BuzzedTv (created May 21, 2025), the reel has so far received 3.2 million interactions.
