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[av_heading heading=’ABOVE THE LAW ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY AYIN DREAM D. APLASCA
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Wednesday, December 6, 2017
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ON MONDAY, I had the chance to give a talk in front of housewives from Leganes, Iloilo. My talk was about Republic Act 9262 also known as the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children (VAWC) Act.
The said talk was part of the anniversary celebration of Tilipunan organization under the wing of the Social Advocacy and Community Engagement Office of the University of San Agustin. The purpose of the said talk was to help and enlighten women on their rights and on how to end violence against women and children.
There was an open forum at the end of the talk. The audience got the chance to ask questions.
I was glad to hear that most of the women have a good relationship with their husbands and other family members. According to them, there was unity and love in the family.
However, the main concern of my audience was regarding the status of their marriages. They asked a lot of questions regarding legal separation, annulment and declaration of absolute nullity of marriage. Of course, there were loads of questions and I could not discuss the answers for each. But let me just share to you my discussion on the first question.
The person sitting in front of me was the one who asked first. It was about the difference between divorce and annulment. Here is my answer:
Divorce is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. It allows the cancellation or reorganization of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage. This process is also known as dissolution of marriage.
Annulment is a court proceeding of severing a marital union between a husband and wife. It is filed when the marriage is considered voidable or if the marriage is valid but is vulnerable of being voided pursuant to the grounds provided by law.
The first difference between divorce and annulment is that the former ends a legally valid marriage while in the latter, the spouses are treated as though they were never married in the first place.
The second difference is that the legal status of the couple after an annulment is “single” while in divorce, it is “divorced.”
Lastly, the difference is that mostly in divorce, the couple is allowed to dissolve the marriage without proving that one spouse is engaged in misconduct.
In annulment, on the other hand, the spouse should have a reason beyond irreconcilable difference to justify the end of marriage.
When a marriage breaks down, spouses may consider options of dissolving their marital union. However, soon-to-be husbands and wives should always remember that when entering a marriage they should believe that their relationship is always worthy of holding on to.
All couples should attempt to maintain and reinvent their bond. At the end of the day, marriage is worth fighting for.
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(Atty. Ayin Dream D. Aplasca practices her profession in Iloilo City. She may be reached thru ayindream.aplasca@gmail.com/PN)
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