Majority of the Filipinos have expressed support to legalize divorce for "irreconcilably separated couples," according to the Social Weather Stations survey.

Undertaken on March 25-28 and Dec. 8-16 last year, SWS said the survey showed that an average of 53 percent of adult Filipinos nationwide have favored legalization of divorce in the Philippines, which is largely a Catholic country.

The figure includes 30 percent expressing "strong" support and 23 percent "somewhat" support, while almost a third or 32 percent disagreed. Fifteen percent were undecided on the matter.

"This gives a net agreement score (% agree minus % disagree) of +21, classified by SWS as moderately strong," the polling firm said.

It noted that support for the legalization of divorce used to be split when the survey on the issue was first conducted in 2005, with 43 percent agreed, 12 percent undecided, and 45 percent disagreed, for a neutral net agreement of -2.

SWS noted that net agreement with legalizing divorce was "very strong" among women with live-in partners at +44; men with live-in partners, +37; and widowed/separated men, +33.

It was "moderately strong" among widowed/separated women at +24; women who have never married, +24; men who have never married, +21; married men, +19; and married women, +12, SWS said.

SWS recalled that when the legalization of divorce was first asked in 2005, support for it was already very strong among women with live-in partner at +48, and moderately strong men with live-in partner at +23, and among widowed/separated men at +19.

On the other hand, it was neutral among men and women who have never married both at +9, widowed/separated women at net zero, and married men at -3, while was moderately weak among married women at -10, it added.

A bill instituting absolute divorce in the Philippines has been moving at the House of Representatives, while there was no action yet in the Senate. Celerina Monte/DMS