Roman hopes House will OK changes to pro-men Family Code provisions
Bataan 1st district Representative Geraldine Roman. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of Geraldine Roman
MANILA, Philippines — Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine Roman has urged the House of Representatives to tackle proposed amendments to the Family Code of the Philippines in its remaining session days, so that provisions giving undue priority to men are changed.
During a press briefing on Monday, Roman was asked about the House’s achievements during the 19th Congress in terms of pro-women legislation, in time for the celebration of Women’s Month.
The lawmaker said that while the third reading passage of the proposed Absolute Divorce Act is a win for women empowerment, there are measures that they want passed before the 19th Congress ends.
READ: House approves divorce bill on final reading
“For other pieces of legislation, yes we are still hopeful. Do you know that under the Family Code there are 11 articles that actually give priority to the husband? It’s always the male spouse who has the say. Property issues, you want to sell a house, maybe the entire family is already okay with it as you need money. But if the husband says he does not want to, he will be followed,” she said in Filipino.
Article continues after this advertisement“Your 21-year-old child will be wedded off and the family has agreed because the woman is pregnant. But if the father says he does not want it, that’s it. So there’s something intrinsically unfair about these 11 articles in the Family Code,” she added.
Article continues after this advertisementAccording to Roman, she and other members of the House committee on women and gender equality, which she heads, fully support House Bill (HB) No. 11218 or the proposed amendments to Executive Order No. 209 which established the Family Code.
In particular, HB No. 11218 wants the amendment of Articles 4, 96, 124, 211, and 225 of the Family Code.
The bill seeks changes to Article 96, which tackles the administration and enjoyment of communal properties of spouses. Originally, the Family Code states that “in case of disagreement, the husband’s decision shall prevail, subject to recourse to the court by the wife.”
If HB No. 11218 is enacted, Article 96 will now read as “any act of administration by either spouse without the consent of the other shall be unenforceable until it is subsequently ratified by the non-consenting spouse.”
Disagreements can still be settled in court, but the bill proposes that the wordings be changed into gender-neutral terms, like “In case of disagreement, the spouses shall make earnest efforts to settle their differences: provided, that should the spouses fail to enter into a compromise, either spouse shall have recourse to the court for a proper remedy in a summary proceeding, which must be availed of within five years from the date the contract was entered into, by the parties or upon knowledge of the non-consenting spouse, whichever comes later.”
Currently, the bill is still at the House plenary, and it is still in the period of sponsorship, which means it has not been approved on second reading yet.
Roman said that while she is aware that the bill may no longer be signed into law during the 19th Congress, approval of the measure on third reading before the session ends means the proposal would be forwarded to the committee during the 20th Congress.
“For the longest time, we in the committee on women and gender equality, unanimously, all of the women legislators of the House of Representatives, we want this changed. Because this is a remnant, a vestige of the old regime that always gives men priority over women. As if all men have good behavior,” Roman pointed out
“What we’re asking for is just equal standing within the family. So we are pushing for this. I hope the rules committee listens to us, we have already made our sponsorship speech, we have six working days left, that’s why we hope it will pass through the period of interpellation and third reading so that during the 20th Congress, it would not have to go through rigorous processes at the committee level,” she added.
According to Roman, she understands that the proposed Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, or Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality Bill has faced difficulties, but something as basic as the Family Code must be fair to both sexes.
“With the SOGIESC Equality Bill, we are facing difficulty in passing it into law, but something as fundamental as the Family Code, even if we ask and survey the women here, I think it is correct for us to amend the Family Code,” she added.
READ: SOGIESC bill reaches House plenary after almost a year
Despite advances in society, several women’s rights advocates still see many points for improvement in the Philippines.
Last February 3, several pro-women groups gathered to call on corporations to take a stand against violence against women and children (VAWC), launching a policy framework as businesses remain silent on the proliferation of domestic violence cases.
According to the Zero VAWC Alliance, the framework outlines nine key principles for organizations to address domestic violence, including survivor support, accountability measures, and workplace policies that promote safety and equality.
READ: Women’s rights group: End corporate silence on domestic violence
