By PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA — A foreigner who gets married to a Filipino woman must be employed and possess good moral character, said Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu’s 3rd District.
Garcia filed House Bill 2387 to push for the protection of Filipino women who tie the knot with foreigners.
In the bill, she claimed that some foreigners marry Filipinas so they can force them into prostitution.
“The exploitation of our Filipino women through the so-called mail-order or pen-pal, Facebook, and other Internet-made marriages, has not only caused untold miseries but also brought dishonor to the Filipino womanhood,” Garcia said.
Under the measure, coauthored by Rep. Arthur Defensor Jr. of Iloilo’s 3rd District, a foreigner planning to get wed to a Filipina will be required to obtain a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage.
He or she should also get from his or her his consular office a Certificate of Good Moral Character and another certificate proving that “he (or she) has a gainful trade, business, employment, or other lawful source of income,” said the bill./PN
