Palace hands off in marriage expiration debate

Malacañang on Thursday distanced itself from the controversial proposal to put a 10-year expiry date on marriage contracts. Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said Malacañang would only consider it once the matter is formally brought to its attention. “Whether or not family values are best served by a non-terminable or a terminable marriage should be discussed at length by the parties concerned [before they can] maybe make proposals to the Palace. The Palace will [then] decide if it will take a position or not," he said. Olivar said Malacañang is committed to upholding family values. The proposal came from Isa-Ako Babaeng Astig Aasenso or 1-ABAA, a women’s group that applied for party-list accreditation for the May elections. Margie Tajon, the group’s president, claims it will “save the incompatible couples the trouble of going through a tedious and expensive annulment process." Under the proposal, couples must renew their marriage after a decade. Otherwise, the union would be nullified. Feminist groups have labeled the proposal anti-women. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, however, said the proposal was “not necessarily" absurd, noting there are couples who may want to consider “separating" for one reason or another. - KBK, GMANews.TV