BACKGROUND
The Philippines is the only country in the world, aside from the Vatican, where divorce
is not legal. Despite the lack of divorce law in the country and the high costs of
obtaining an annulment, recent data shows that a growing number of Filipinos dissolve
their marital unions, either legally or informally.
OBJECTIVES
I document the rise of union dissolution cases in the Philippines, and investigate the
different factors associated with Filipino women’s experience of union dissolution.
METHODS
Data is drawn from the two most recent rounds of the Philippine National Demographic
and Health Survey (NDHS), conducted in 2008 and 2013. Descriptive statistics and
logistic regression models are used in the analysis.
RESULTS
Results reveal that education, type of first union, and childhood place of residence are
significantly associated with being divorced or separated among women in the
Philippines. Filipino women with higher levels of education, those who were cohabiting
without ever marrying in their first union, and those who were raised in urban settings
have higher risks of experiencing union dissolution than their counterparts. Religion
and ethnicity are also associated with union breakdown among Filipino women.
CONTRIBUTION
This paper demonstrates that the rise in union dissolution in the Philippines has not
happened in isolation. It has to some extent been influenced by the changing character
of union formation in the country, the prevailing legal system, a growing acceptance of
divorce, increasing education for women, and increasing urbanization.