A multi-sectoral organization claims divorce is not the answer to marital problems in the country.

In a statement, Alliance for the Family Foundation Philippines Inc. (ALFI) said that contrary to claims of proponents of divorce who insist that it is better for couples to divorce than to stay together unhappily, research said that most couples who are very unhappy with each other but remain married are happy five years later, while most of those who divorce are still unhappy five years later.

Luz Palmero of ALFI said in a statement that “marriages where one or both spouses feel unhappy is not a rational reason for divorce as this is a normal condition of humanity.”

“Studies have also shown repeatedly that children of divorced couples are on the receiving end of the negative effects of divorce,” Palmero said.

ALFI also debunked Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman’s claim that the Bible cites instances when Jesus allowed divorce. “It is directly contradicted by what is recorded in more than one passage in the Bible,” they said.

“Since he raised the issue, it should be pointed out that this is not true, as it is directly contradicted by what is recorded in more than one passage in the Bible, with Mark 10:2-12 as perhaps the most compelling example. Jesus says: “Whoever puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if the wife puts away her husband, and marries another, she commits adultery.” Shianna Geraldine Manuel