CFC eyes party-list partnership vs divorce bill

MANILA, Philippines — Religious group Couples for Christ (CFC) is reportedly contemplating joining a party-list group in time for the May 2025 midterm elections as the absolute divorce bill awaits Senate concurrence.

“There is a possibility that we will not only form a party-list, but we will also affiliate with like-minded party-lists. We have been invited to join one,” CFC president and chairman Jose Yamamoto said on June 22.

“It will provide us (a) representative that can protect the advocacy for strong marriages, family and life and protecting the values of the Filipino family,” he added.

The Philippines, a secular state, is the last country in the world aside from the Vatican that has not legalized divorce.

On May 22, the House of Representatives approved on the third and final reading of House Bill 9349 or the absolute divorce bill, voting 131-109 with 20 abstentions.

The measure has been transmitted to the Senate for concurrence.

The CFC’s international council has reportedly issued a resolution expressing its support.

“What we are just finalizing is the kind of partnership we will have in terms of the party-list,” Yamamoto said.

He argued that the group would not violate the separation of church and state enshrined in the Constitution as only CFC members, not the entire CFC community, would be joining a party-list group.

While the CFC would not be organizing for block voting, Yamamoto believed that members and the public would choose a party-list group that articulates pro-life, pro-family and pro-Catholic values.

The CFC reportedly has around 620,000 members in the Philippines.