Liberalism vs conservatism

October 1, 2024

MANILA – Our Supreme Court and the Catholic Church—the bulwarks of conservatism and tradition—are moving progressively on a crucial but rocky road to liberalism. In contrast, the Supreme Court of the United States (Scotus), the traditional bastion of liberalism, has turned conservative. Meanwhile, US citizens will face a crossroad between these two philosophies of liberalism and conservatism when they cast their ballots during their coming presidential election.

AN EXAMPLE OF THE COURT’S TREK TO LIBERALISM is Republic v. Ng (Feb. 27, 2024, per J. Japar B. Dimaampao, en banc, 13-2) which ruled that Philippine courts can recognize divorces obtained abroad by a Filipino married to a foreigner whether through legal or administrative process or even by mutual agreement (as practiced in Japan and Korea). The divorce need not have been obtained by a final judgment of a court or an administrative office of the foreign country.

It held that a statute cannot always be interpreted literally; rather it “must be read according to its spirit or intent. Courts ought not to … accept an interpretation that would defeat the intent of the law and its legislators. The legislative spirit animating Article 26(2) of the Family Code is precisely to correct this anomalous situation where the foreign spouse is free to contract a subsequent marriage while the Filipino spouse cannot … For indeed, it would be unjust for a Filipino spouse to be prohibited by [his/her] national laws from something that a foreign law may allow. Clearly, our laws should not be intended to put Filipinos at a disadvantage.”

Another example: Pulido v. People (July 27, 2021, per J. Ramon Paul I. Hernando, en banc, 15-0) declared that an accused may be