(The Citizen) Philippine 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.
Pro-divorce advocates argue the ban makes it harder for couples to cut ties and remarry, and escape violent spouses.
People wanting to end their marriage can ask a court for an annulment or a declaration that the nuptials were invalid from the start, but the government can appeal against those decisions.
Divorce expensive
The legal process is slow and expensive — cases can cost as much as $10,000 or more in a country plagued by poverty — with no guarantee of success, and some people seeking a faster result fall for online scams.
“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… Read More