maybe i could help here in some way. there was a DEBATE in ABS last Sunday about the Divorce bill. in fairness kahit magulo yung debate, may natututunan din ako.
annulment is different from null and void. there's a big difference actually.
ground for annulment:
pagpapakasal ng 18-21 years old na walang tamang pahintulot
shotgun wedding
fraud- ex. wife is pregnant by some other man
mental illness
STD
infertility
grounds to call a marriage null and void:
those who solemnized the wedding is not legit or doesn't have the authority
psychological incapacity
incest
bigamy and polygamy (the second wife is not considered legal)
madami pa for null and void but for annulment, it will still recognized that you are married but has the grounds to nullify it while grounds to call a marriage null and void is walang naganap na marriage at all pero kelangan dumaan sa proceso for the purposes of remarriage.
if i remember it correctly, yung kay ruffa guttierez, her case was to call the marriage null and void because she was still married to an american guy a long time ago d ba?
so that's the thing why divorce law is needed here in the philippines; kasi ang mga kagaya ni amy perez ang kawawa. besides, the divorce law "philippine style" as they call it will define yung division ng properties and rights ng mga bata with all the assets after the divorce. with the annulment kasi, parang malabi ito.
while the others say oo nga naman bakit magkakaroon pa ng divorce law eh kung may annulment naman. sabi nga ng husband ko, he will have a GO on divorce law as long as everybody including the poor ones have access to this. kasi, ang mahal ng annulment.
but, others will say, especially the church, that this will become a precedent of other laws that will lose the morals and biblical teachings. mamaya niyan, papasok na abortion bill, etc...
ako naman, i'm a GO on this. but let this be not an option to every marriage. dapat very strict ang specific sila sa mga pamatayan ng divorce bill. according to my husband, if at any case, a situation will affect violation against women's rights, automatic na daw yang divorce bill.
others are just afraid of the word divorce. agree ako that marriage is also a social reality. all of us, who are in a marriage will do our very best to stay in that marriage. d ba who wants to live in a crappy relationship? at the end of the day, if you are confident and happy with your marriage, the divorce bill will not threaten you. but, if in case, worse comes to worst, your husband will hit you, at least may protection ka. in fact, sabi ko nga, the divorce bill will strengthen my marriage. kasi the couple will try their very best to stay in the marriage knowing that there is a legal option for them to part ways.