Implication of Divorce to the Values and morals of Filipinos

INTRODUCTION
Divorce has implications on the values and morals of Filipinos which can be shown by giving the positive and negative effects of divorce on the family affected by the process. Divorce (or the dissolution of marriage) is the final termination of a marital union, cancelling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties. The legal process of divorce may also involve issues of alimony (spousal support), child custody, child support, distribution of property, and division of debt. In most countries monogamy is required by law, so divorce allows each former partner to marry another; where polygyny is legal but polyandry is not, divorce allows the woman to marry a new husband as what is said by Wikipedia.
According to about.com there are three primary causes of divorce laziness, lack of communication skills, and high expectations. Divorce also affects the relationship of the entire family. It has an effect to the children’s relationship with their parents. As a child matures he or she may suffer from trauma and other negative effects of divorce.
What is the Implication of Divorce to the Values and morals of Filipinos? Divorce is a long time issue in the Philippines as it affects the values, morals, and even psychological means of everyone involved in that situation. The researchers would like to give information about what would be the effects of divorce on the values and morals of Filipinos. In the Philippines, people value close family ties. Parents impart to their children their values and morals. By implementing divorce in our country there will be a conflict on the values and morals of Filipinos.

Values are ideals that we believe are important as individuals. They are subjective, and vary as a result of our culture, beliefs, and experiences. Morals are a set of guiding principles or rules that help differentiate our behavioural choices between right and wrong or good and bad and are exhibited through our intentions, decisions, practices and actions. Divorce can affect all people with failed marriages. If a couple ends their marriage their family will also be affected. The children of the divorced couple will also be affected mentally and emotionally by the divorce of their parents. People undergoing the process of divorce have a chance to change their perspective on marriage and love. Relatives can also be affected by divorce because after the couple ends their marriage they will have to make a decision to choose sides or to remain neutral. Fully knowing the implications of divorce is very important for people undergoing the process. They should know how divorce can affect their morality and value system. Although these characteristics may vary from one person to another, there is a large chance that there will be a pattern on the change in behaviour of couples getting divorced. If people see the implications of divorce then they will know how to use it in the right way.
The scope of this study is on articles and topic about divorce and definitions of divorce from other people. The data gathered will be coming from the internet and newspaper articles. The researchers will not anymore tackle the grounds of divorce and the divorce bill.

DISCUSSION
The Philippines is the only country in Asia that does not practice Divorce, because as a Catholic country, we respect, believe and follow the words of God. If divorce will be practiced in our country, it will take over the Filipino values and culture. Filipinos have a high regard for marriage but if divorce is implemented in the country, there is a possibility that the value of marriage will be degraded. Divorce will just make people more irresponsible in making decisions, like deciding who to marry and when to marry, because they know that if their marriage doesn’t work, divorce is there to help them end their marriage. Divorce is known to be as the “easy-exit” because among the other ways of ending a marriage, it has the simplest grounds
A. Primary Reasons of Divorce
Based on Fisher (2010), Luzviminda Ilagan and the women of the Gabriela Party list have been pushing for a twice-failed legislation to legalize divorce because of physical abuse from the spouse that can cause a unhealthy relationship with other family members.
In the study of Arthur (2007), communication is about understanding each other clearly and learning more about each other. A relationship without good communication is like a bomb waiting to explode. According to Jain (2010), one of the major reasons of divorce is the infidelity of the partner.
As mentioned by Ortega (2000), Marriage exacts a heavy burden in terms of demands, duties and responsibilities on the partners. Worse, many married individuals find themselves subjected by their marriage partners to physical violence, grossly abusive conduct and other acts and offenses that impair, debase or destroy the legitimate ends of the marriage relationships.
B. Positive and Negative Effects of Divorce
In the study of De Leon (2008), Couples in their fifties who had separated and had given up their children are well established but they still want to know what is happening to their children. Studies comparing families of multiple divorces with families of single divorce have found that children with more family descriptions report higher levels of anxiety and depression, bad academic records and troubled marriages on their own.
According to Rasul (2001), Live-in partnership is an exit and a somewhat “play-safe” situation where in there is no contract that can hold them down. Divorce is a way to formally divide custody, properties and other aspects in marriage.
As mentioned by Chua (2010), At best, it is the liberation from a miserable relationship and the opportunity to start life over-as though it were even truly possible.
In the study of Luci (2005), Divorce can be a means to end all the unbearable sufferings that the couple experience. It may be a possible answer to all their problems.
As mentioned by Luci (2010), at worst it is the failure of the most basic social institution, a source of trauma for the spouses and for their children and the trigger to unleash the ugly sides to human nature-bitterness and vindictiveness among others.
Based on the article (2012), if the child is too young to understand the situation of his/her parents, he/she might think that they were the reason why the divorce happened. It can be possible that when they grow, they might have a tendency to be violent or uncooperative. There is also a large possibility, when they get married, their marriages won’t work.
As you can see, if the divorce bill in the Philippines will be implemented, it will affect every aspect of our lives and it will cause so many traumatic experiences for the rest of the people involved
C. Effects of Divorce Bill on the Values and Morals of the Filipinos
According to Pastor Vince, Divorce in the Philippines is planning to take over Filipino values and culture. It will open a highway for immortality and degradation of Philippines culture and religious standard and beliefs.
Based on Martin (2000), he said that a man can break the bond the creator joined. But for him, the choices we make depends upon ourselves, hence, we may forgive what doesn’t satisfy our needs from our spouse.
As mentioned by Katigbak (2012), It will be a change for sure, but not for the worse. To give people freedom to divorce their spouse will not make them cavalier about marriage. I think we have to give our people a little more credit than that.
In the study of Rubeza (2012), Divorce will not be a very good development. It will further divide our country. Bacani said the harm of divorce would bring us clear in statistics not just in social costs. It will also destroy the very sacred nature of marriage.
As mentioned by Mabutas(2004), The state recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protects and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution.
Based on the article, Children of divorced parents are reported to have a higher chance of behavioural problems than those of non-divorced parents. This only says that as the couple is still married, they tend to interact with violence which can greatly affect the minds of the children. This is where divorce can be very effective as it can change the personality of the child completely for the better.
According to Baklinski (2010), Archbishop said that legalizing divorce is something that is immoral. The Sacrament of Marriage is something that is meant for a life-long commitment, for the good of the children and the community. It is no longer just an individual kind of freedom, because marriage itself is a social contract. Legalizing divorce is another way of saying that the life-long commitment of marriage is no longer viable.

CONCLUSION
Divorce has implications on the values and morals of Filipinos which can be shown by giving the positive and negative effects of divorce on the family affected by the process.
The researchers conducted a study about the Implications of divorce on the values and morals of Filipinos. The first part of the study is only about the background of divorce. The researchers defined the meaning of divorce and all the questions in mind that the researchers would like to answer. The researchers gathered data using books, newspaper, magazines, as primary sources of information. The discussion is all about the different views of people regarding divorce which answered all the questions regarding the study. After analysing all the information gathered the researchers were able to come up with a conclusion.
In conclusion, the researchers don’t want divorce to be practiced in the Philippines because of these particular reasons: it will take over the Filipino culture, morals and values, thus, degrade the value of marriage, it brings negative psychological effects on the people involved, and it provokes people, married or unmarried, to make irresponsible decisions. On the other hand, divorce has positive effects such as protection of women, men, and even children against abuse or violence.

REFERENCES
Martin( 2000) “Ineed a moral issue”.
Katigbak( 2012) Divorce in the Philippines
P. Tubeza(Dec 20 2012) Divorce talks risks Church. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Newsinfo.net/32709/divorce-talk-isks-church
T. Baklinski( 2010) Filipino Archbishop: Proposed Divorce Bill will Destroy Society. www.lifesiterens.com/news/archive/ldn/2010/aug/10081704
E. Mabutas(2004) Divorce Deepens our moral crisis
Knox(2012) Choices in relationships
A. Chua(2010) Are we ready for Divorce?
R. Salvado(2011) Divorce the answer to abuse
A. Fisher(2010) Divorce Advocates face tough battle
E. Arthur(2010) Top 20 reasons for Divorce that couples overlook.
M. Ortega(2010) The forum: Legalize Divorce
A. Jain(2010) Adultery: One of the major reasons why do people get divorced. http:anamikos.hubpages.com/hub/Divorce-reasons
P. Vince Divorce in the Philippines is planning to take over. Thediscples.com/divorce-in-the-philippines-say-no-to-it
Single Parent Families: The Effect of Divorce on Children. www.family.jrank.org/pages/1577/single-parent-families-effect-on-order.html
Children of Divorce. http://en.wikipdia.org/wiki/Implications-of-divorce

References: Martin( 2000) “Ineed a moral issue”. Katigbak( 2012) Divorce in the Philippines P. Tubeza(Dec 20 2012) Divorce talks risks Church. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Newsinfo.net/32709/divorce-talk-isks-church T E. Mabutas(2004) Divorce Deepens our moral crisis Knox(2012) Choices in relationships A. Chua(2010) Are we ready for Divorce? R A. Fisher(2010) Divorce Advocates face tough battle E M. Ortega(2010) The forum: Legalize Divorce A