NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
4 of lltf Sfi i ct.i rp
23 MAR-7 P2:17
RliCEIVtD BY;
s. No. 1969
Introduced by SENATOR CYNTHIA A. VILLAR
AN ACT
AMENDING ARTICLE 55 OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209, SERIES OF 1987, 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AS AMENDED
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The 1987 Philippine Constitution, under Article XV, Section 2, considers marriage 
as an inviolable social institution that should be protected by the State1. However, 
reality dictates that there are occurrences in the marriage that justify the separation of 
spouses in such sacred union. This is the reason why Article 55 of the Family Code of 
the Philippines (FC), promulgated in 1987, provides that a petition for legal separation 
between married couples may be filed for any of the grounds listed in the said article.
One of the grounds for legal separation mentioned in the said Article is "Repeated 
physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common 
child, or a child of the petitioner". However, as correctly observed in one of the policy 
briefs issued by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), "this ground still requires 
that the petitioner must establish the frequency of infliction of bodily harm or 
demonstrate the severity of the abusive conduct" and that "an aggrieved spouse can 
seek such recourse only when they have experienced several instances of physical 
violence or when the abuse they received is severe". This ground seems to exact a lot 
from victims of domestic violence, who oftentimes are women and who are already in
1 Philippine Constitution (1987), Article XV, Section 2.


misery, maimed, and rendered helpless due to the violence or abusive conduct of their 
respective spouses.
It was also observed in the PCW policy brief that Article 55 of the Family Code has 
not included sexual abuse as one of the grounds for legal separation, when it has aiready 
been settled by jurisprudence that. . marriage is not a license to forcibly rape their 
wives. A husband does not own his wife's body by reason of marriage. By marrying, she 
does not divest herseif of the human right to an exciusive autonomy over her own body 
and thus, she can lawfully opt to give or withhold her consent to marital coitus."2
Moreover, as the Family Code was promulgated earlier in 1987, it has not included 
as grounds for legal separations the acts of violence against women and their Children 
provided in a 2004 legislation - the Republic Act (RA) No. 9262 or the "Anti-Violence 
Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004". The said law was enacted in order to 
protect women and their children, within a family setting (by virtue of marriage or a 
common law relationship), from violence and threats to their personal safety and 
security, typically perpetrated by a family member. One of the reliefs afforded to VAWC 
victims under RA No. 9262 is the issuance of a protection order to prevent further 
infliction of harm by the perpetrator, which include, among others, directing the 
perpetrator to stay away from the VAWC victim and the residence, place of employment, 
or any specified place frequented by the victim. This is an assertion of the need to 
separate the victim from the perpetrator to avoid further violence.
The statistics on vioience against women and children (VAWC) under Republic Act 
(RA) No. 9262 in the Philippines are disheartening. Based on the 2017 National 
Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), one (1) out of four (4) ever-married women 
aged 15 - 49 has experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence by their husband 
or partner.3 The 2020 Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law Annual 
Report cited that the Philippine National Police recorded ten thousand four hundred 
twenty nine (10,429) cases of violence against women and children (VAWC, under
2 People V. Jumawan, G.R. No. 187495, April 21,2014.
3 Philippine Statistics Authority, 2018. One In Four Women Have Ever Experienced Spousal Violence 
(Preliminary results from the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey). 
https://psa.gov.ph/content/one-four-women-have-ever-experienced-spousal-violence-preliminary-results-2017- 
national


Republic Act No. 9262) in 2020.4 Women's rights advocates believe that VAWC cases 
surged as weli when we had a surge in the COVID pandemic, when the VAWC victims 
had to stay home with the perpetrators and were hindered from reporting the abuse due 
to the proionged iockdowns, community quarantine measures and suspension of public 
transportations.5 Legal separation should be a viable and clear recourse for victims of 
VAWC.
The attached bill proposes to include the acts of violence against women and their 
children stated in RA No. 9262 as additional grounds for legal separation of married 
couples. The proposed amendment seeks to include "any physical, sexual, 
psychological violence, abusive conduct, or economic abuse, including threats of such 
acts, battery, assauit, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty directed 
against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner" under the 
enumeration of grounds stated in Article 55, FC.
It is submitted that the attached bill conforms to the provisions of the UN 
Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), RA No. 
9262, and RA No. 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women.
In view of the foregoing, I recommend the approval of this measure.
if i
CYNTHIA A. VILLAR
4 Department of Health (DOH) and Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), 2021. 2020 
Annual Report, Philippine Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012. p. 92.
5 Ibid. p. 91.


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE 
S. No. 1
of til.' & i:
^nuTr
\y
23 mar-7 P2:i7
RliCEIVtD BV;
Introduced by SENATOR CYNTHIA A. VILLAR
AN ACT
AMENDING ARTICLE 55 OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209, SERIES OF 1987, 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AS AMENDED
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled:
1 
Section 1. Grounds for Legal Separation. - Article 55 of E.O. No. 209, otherwise
2 
known as "Family Code of the Philippines" is hereby amended to read as follows;
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
"Article 55. A petition for legal separation may be filed on any of the following 
grounds;
(1) [Repeated] ANY physical, SEXUAL, OR PSYCHOLOGICAL
violence, [or grossly] abusive conduct, OR ECONOMIC ABUSE, 
INCLUDING THREATS OF SUCH ACTS, BATTERY, 
COERCION, HARASSMENT OR ARBITRARY 
DEPRIVATION directed against the petitioner, a common child, 
or a child of the petitioner; x x x"
11 
Sec. 2. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, and issuances, or portions
12 
thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed,
13 
amended, or modified accordingly.
14 
Sec. 3. Effectivity. -This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
15 
in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,