Bernardo Villegas’ defense of Mr. Duterte is nonsense (“Why the President is against divorce,” Opinion, 4/28/18).
He makes no mention of the fact that the President is himself separated from his lawful wife, though he may have gotten an annulment — something that ordinary Filipinos cannot afford. So for the country’s leader to declare himself against divorce is sheer hypocrisy.
Villegas relies on US statistics that do not apply to a poor country like ours. The United States and other Western countries (and even China) allow their citizens to pursue better lives with other partners. It’s not a matter of morality but of common sense — of which there is a great lack among Filipino politicians.
Finally, Villegas hasn’t taken into account our countless broken families caused by women who work overseas and leave their children behind.
Many of the migrant Filipino women contract liaisons abroad, and some do not return to the Philippines. The children left behind are prone to grow up with myriad problems that trouble them into adulthood.
I suggest Villegas considers all angles.
CELESTE T. CRUZ, celestetcruz@gmail.com