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By William B. Depasupil, Reporter
A senior member of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) wants the age requirement for
marriage raised so as to better prepare couples on the
responsibilities of married life.
Lingayen-Dagupan Arcbhishop Oscar Cruz, head of
the CBCP National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal, brought up the
idea before Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. and House Speaker
Jose de Venecia Jr. during the third Bishops’-Legislators’
Caucus held in Pasay City this week.
The caucus was an initiative of the CBCP. The
bishops and lawmakers agreed to meet once every two months to assess
pending bills in Congress that may have impact on the family.
Cruz said marrying at too young an age almost
always ends up in separation because couples are still
“psychologically unprepared and emotionally unstable.” He had
been working at the marriage tribunal of the church since 1971.
The bishop asked leaders and members of both
Houses of Congress to amend the law on marriage, raising the
existing legal age of 18 years old to remedy “broken marriages.”
“Getting married at 18 could be
disadvantageous since a person at such an age is still unripe or
incapable of raising a family,” Cruz said.
Under Philippine law, the legal age for marriage
is 18. If the contracting parties are between the ages of 18 and 21,
they must present written consent to the marriage from their parents
or legal guardian.
On the other hand, any contracting party between
the ages of 22 and 25 must present written parental advice, an
indication that the parents are aware of the couple’s intent to
marry.
Cruz, however, did not mention his preferred
minimum age requirement for people to get married.
He said they receive about 150 marriage
annulment cases every year.
When asked for his practical advice on marriage,
Cruz replied that teenagers should defer marriage. That, he said,
also applies to those who still depend on their parents, those
unconvinced of marriage as a lifetime commitment, those incapable of
observing marriage obligations, and those having preference for
single life.
The bishop noted that much is being pushed by
lawmakers to remedy broken marriages but nothing is proposed to
fortify marriages and prevent marriage failures.
“Marriage is never a simple relationship that
everyone could just go into. It entails many responsibilities that
require physical, emotional and spiritual preparedness,” he said.
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