“Coming Attractions”

In sickness or in health; the Battered Woman Syndrome; a Christian guide to fighting for your marriage; dreary divorce statistics and sexy lingerie to create better marriages in Australia …

Sorry, men and women, but except for this rambling piece, I really don’t have a well thought out article for you this week. Mainly because I have been busy and have been sick … Let me recount my week for you.

One, I was busy this week judging the photojournalism contest for the Division Young Writers’ Conference for grade school students from Pasig City and San Juan.

Two, I acted as guest panelist for a group report in the Psychology 118 class of UP Diliman. Great reports, guys!

On my way to UP Diliman, a former co-teacher and his brother gave me a ride and on our way there, I counseled the brother on his marital woes and legal problems. He told me that his estranged wife (who once nearly choked him to death while he was suffering from asthma) now controls all their conjugal properties and he couldn’t get his share which he needs to get medical treatment.

Three, right after that sortie into UP Diliman, I took the LRT from Katipunan to SM Centerpoint in Sta. Mesa. I spent about an hour or two uploading some pictures for my Campus Connection blog and a primer on sexual harassment for my Legal Updates blog. I went home after 7 PM, troubled after reading an e-mail from a young woman in great emotional and spiritual distress, and seeking counseling from me over the betrayal of her trust by a person she had held in high esteem.

Four, Wednesday, after uploading pictures for my “Baptist Churches in the Philippines” blog, I talked with the president of the Asia Baptist Bible College about an Internet ministry and PDF newsletter that could possibly help the college.

Five, late Wednesday afternoon, I began feeling sick with fever and headaches. Since that time, I have been house bound and bedridden, down with … I don’t know what exact illness I have. Maybe I should consult Wikipedia. (I must have been hexed by the women who were offended by my article on Jang Geum!) And yesterday morning, I began to have some sneezing and a runny nose.

Thursday morning, I was feeling well enough to entertain a pastor from the province who visited me. But after listening to his personal problems and that of his church (unpaid amortizations for their lot for the past several months), the headaches and fever came back.

Last Friday night was the Music Fest of Bethany Makati’s Bible College with the special participation of the students from L.D. Woosley Bethany Colleges. I wanted to go and take pictures but you probably have heard that Biblical description – a willing spirit but a weakened flesh …

So I spent Friday night, covered up in a heavy T-shirt and jogging pants, watching the news, alternating between “24 Oras” and “TV Patrol.” A news item on “24 Oras” caught my attention and I thought that it would be a good article for my blogs. The news item (announced at the start of the program and repeated as “crawlers” at the bottom of the screen from time to time) said that the estranged wife of a popular host of a daily TV program on Channel 2, was suffering from “Battered Woman’s Syndrome.”

But I didn’t get to see and hear that particular news item since by 7 PM, my cute niece Chloe wanted to turn the TV to the Disney Channel so she could watch her favorite show “That’s so Raven.” Being the good and gracious and loving uncle that I am, I turned over the remote to Chloe.

Anyway, I will write one of these days a lengthy article on the “Battered Woman Syndrome.” RA 9262 or the “Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004” defines BWS as “a scientifically defined pattern of psychological and behavioral symptoms found in women living in battering relationships as a result of cumulative abuse.” Section 26 of RA 9262 discusses the “Battered Woman Syndrome” as a defense, to wit,

Victim-survivors who are found by the courts to be suffering from battered woman syndrome do not incur any criminal and civil liability notwithstanding the absence of any of the elements for justifying circumstances of self-defense under the Revised Penal Code.

In the determination of the state of mind of the woman who was suffering from battered woman syndrome at the time of the commission of the crime, the courts shall be assisted by expert psychiatrists/ psychologists.

Did you get that? If an abused woman kills or inflict physical injuries on her abusive husband or live-in partner, once the court determines that she is suffering from the “Battered Woman Syndrome”, the court will declare her not guilty. Wowowee!

Even before the passage of RA 9262 into law last March 2004, the Supreme Court had already applied the “Battered Woman Syndrome” in the case of Marivic Genosa, a Leyteña convicted of killing her husband. The Supreme Court, taking BWS as a mitigating circumstance, reduced Genosa’s penalty, and for time already served, Genosa was released from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong sometime in January or February 2004.

I will also be writing for you an article on preventing the sexual abuse of children. Once I get well enough, I’ll start doing the research. That’s a promise.

One bit of good news I had last week was when I received as a gift some books from Bro. David Witta and his family, residents of Massachusetts, USA. Bro. David and his family are planning to retire here in the Philippines next year. These books are “A Lasting Promise: A Christian Guide to Fighting for Your Marriage” by Scott Stanley, Daniel Trathen, Savanna McCain and Milt Bryan; “Who Moved the Goalpost?” by Bob Gresh; and “Pursuing the Pearl: The Quest for a Pure, Passionate Marriage” by Dannah Gresh.

“A Christian Guide to Fighting for Your Marriage” is based on materials, research and a program from the University of Denver known as Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP). This program has been extensively reported on by CNN and MNSBC, and by programs such as 20/20, 48 Hours, Good Morning America, Fox News, The Today Show and Oprah. The book’s authors claim that it can be predicted with 80 to 91 percent accuracy which couples will have a good, stable marriage and which couples will end up in divorce. In page 4, the authors say, “For many couples, the seeds of distress and a future divorce are there early in the marriage and, in many cases, before the couple even says, “I do.”

I have previously written, based on a Probe Ministries article, something about PREP. Please surf over to my article entitled “Why marriages fail: he said, she said …” Anyway, once I get through reading the book, I will write a longer review for you. It’s just too bad that “A Christian Guide to Fighting for Your Marriage” is not available in local bookstores.

Maybe, men and women from Australia should begin importing thousands of copies of “A Christian Guide to Fighting for Your Marriage” from the US and applying its proven principles. Last Sunday, the Bulletin carried an article about the dreary statistics on marriage breakups from Down Under. The article, datelined Sydney (dpa), cited the following statistics:

[1] Forty percent of marriages in Australia end in divorce

[2] The Australian government spends billions in supporting single-parent families and the social consequences of family breakdown.

[3] There are twice as many single mothers living on welfare compared to 20 years ago.

[4] One third of adult Australians are without a partner.

[5] Single parent households today comprise 10% of Australian families, double the rate 30 years ago.

So, what’s one of the solutions being offered to change this dismal state of marriage in Australia? Believe it or not, the article said that “a government subsidy on sexy underwear would cut divorce rates, boost birth rates and make Australia a happier nation.” This suggestion came from Gail Lee, proprietor of Leethal Fashion Accessories from her interview with Australia’s AAP news agency. Lee said, “We need something to help people to overcome these traumatic problems and subsidized lingerie would mean women would feel a lot better and their husbands will feel a lot better.”

Wowowee! Sexy lingerie, subsidized by the government, as a means of fighting divorce and creating stronger marriages … I think I’m beginning to feel a lot better now.