Do Filipinos still say ‘I do’? The rise of non-marriage and cohabitation in the Philippines
In the recent conference Emerging Dimensions of Marriage in Asia, organised by Professor Wei-Jun Jean Yeung and Professor Gavin Jones, I presented a paper on non-marriage and cohabitation in the Philippines. In this essay, I summarise the main findings of my research and provide some implications and directions for future research.
I focus on non-marriage and cohabitation, two phenomena that have been enduring features of the Philippine nuptiality system but have taken different meanings and have assumed greater importance in recent years due to their growing prevalence.
Based on the 2015 census, the Philippines has a population of nearly 101 million, an overwhelming majority of whom are Roman Catholic (80 per cent). The country has a relatively young population age structure, although it is slowly ageing. The predominance of younger people in the country is mostly the result of high fertility in the past decades.
In the past decades, almost all births in the Philippines were within marriage, but this has drastically changed in recent years.
Although the fertility rate in the country has declined from 6 children in 1973 to 2.7 children in 2017, it is still one of the highest in Southeast Asia and is still above the replacement fertility level of 2.1 children. In the past decades, almost all births in the Philippines were within marriage, but this has drastically changed in recent years. Data from the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) indicate that the share of illegitimate or out of wedlock births increased from less than 1 per cent in 1960 to more than half (54 per cent) in 2018.
Not when to marry but whether to marry
The Philippines can be characterised as a pronatalist and highly familistic society in that everyone is expected to marry at some point and expected to have children immediately after marriage. Over time, the average age at marriage in the country increased from 25 years in 1960 to 27 years in 2015 among Filipino men and from 22 years to 24 years among Filipino women. Filipinos who remain unmarried beyond these ages, particularly those in their 30s, are often asked when they are getting married.
For most Filipinos, this is a valid question, but for some, the more appropriate question is not when to marry but whether to marry at all. The proportion of Filipinos for whom the latter question is more applicable is quite substantial and has recently increased. Based on the 1970 and 2015 census data, the proportion of never-married Filipinos in their 40s increased from 4 per cent in 1970 to 11 per cent in 2015 among men and 7 per cent to 9 per cent among women.
My study shows that non-marriage is highest among Filipino men who are not gainfully employed.
The proportion of those unmarried in their 40s is usually used as an indicator of non-marriage because marriage is less likely to occur around these ages. Given the importance of economic stability before getting married, particularly for men, the economic crisis in the past several decades may have impacted men’s chances of getting married and contributed to the sharper increase in non-marriage among men compared to women. My study shows that non-marriage is highest among Filipino men who are not gainfully employed.
‘Marriage squeeze’ in the Philippines
Non-marriage in the Philippines is more common among low and highly educated men and highly educated women. The high non-marriage rates among low-educated men and highly educated women indicate the presence of a 'marriage squeeze' or the imbalance of available partners for both men and women.
Men usually 'marry down' or marry someone with lower education than them, while women are expected to 'marry up' or marry someone who is better educated than them. It is worth noting that the proportion of Filipinos aged 35 to 54 who completed university education increased from 10 per cent in 1990 to 14 per cent in 2010 among men, and from 12 per cent to 17 per cent among women.
Given the higher proportion of Filipino women than men with higher education levels, the available pool of potential partners that match their educational requirements is reduced, resulting in greater difficulty for low-educated men and highly educated women to find partners.
The decline of formal marriage and the rise of cohabitation
Concomitant with the rising proportion of Filipinos who never marry is the decline in the proportion of legally married and an increase in the share of those who live together or cohabitate.
For example, data from the Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) show that the proportion of Filipino women of age 15 to 49 who are legally married dropped from 54 per cent in 1993 to 42 per cent in 2017, while the corresponding proportions who are livingtogether more than tripled from 5 per cent to 18 per cent The increase in the percentage of Filipino women who are cohabiting is more prominent in the younger age groups, particularly those in their 20s.
Why do so many Filipinos live together and do not formally marry? Data from the 2013 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (YAFS) reveal that close to half (46 per cent) of Filipino youth of age 15 to 24 cited economic concerns as the main reason they lived together and did not formally marry. Previous research suggests that these economic reasons could refer to the cost of the actual marriage ceremony, including securing the marriage licence and other requirements.
The prominence of economic constraints as the main reason for the high prevalence of cohabitation in the Philippines, particularly among the youth, supports the pattern observed in other developing countries that living together or cohabitation is a 'poor man's marriage.'
The study results also show that the prevalence of cohabitation is higher among Filipino women with low levels of education; further corroborating previous research that this type of partnership is associated with lower socioeconomic status.
Other reasons cited by the Filipino youth for choosing cohabitation over formal marriage include 'too young' to formally marry (18 per cent), pregnancy (16 per cent), parents did not allow marriage (4 per cent), and trial marriage (3 per cent).
Some mentioned that their partner was already married (0.9 per cent) or that same-sex marriage is illegal (1 per cent) as the main reason they could not legally marry hence deciding to just live together.
Changing attitudes toward marriage and cohabitation
The changing pattern of union formation in the Philippines is also accompanied by changes in attitudes toward marriage and cohabitation. According to data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) survey, Family and Changing Gender Roles, the proportion of Filipinos who believe that 'people who want to have children ought to get married’ remained unchanged at 83 per cent in 1994 and 2012.
In contrast, the proportion who agreed that ‘it is better to have a bad marriage than no marriage at all’ declined from 32 per cent in 1994 to 27 per cent in 2002.
This indicates that although most Filipinos still value marriage as the legitimate avenue for procreation, a significant proportion would rather not marry than endure a bad marriage. This is a significant break from the past when couples were expected to stay together despite marital problems for the sake of their children.
Meanwhile, a high proportion of Filipinos still disapprove of cohabitation, but there is growing approval for this type of partnership. Specifically, the share of Filipinos who agreed that ‘it is all right for a couple to live together without intending to get married' increased from 18 per cent in 1994 to 35 per cent in 2012.
Meanwhile, those who agreed that 'it is a good idea for a couple who intend to get married to live together first’ slightly increased from 31 per cent in 1994 to 36 per cent in 2002. These findings suggest that cohabitation is less frowned upon in the Philippines if it eventually leads to formal or legal marriage.
The stigma against Filipinos who are living together is also waning. Data from the World Values Survey reveal that the proportion of Filipinos who did not want unmarried couples living-together as their neighbours declined from 22 per cent in 2012 to 16 per cent in 2019. Several factors may have contributed to the changes in attitudes toward marriage and cohabitation in the country.
These include the growing number of notable personalities in the Philippines who are in a cohabiting relationship like President Rodrigo Duterte, or those who had been in a cohabiting relationship such as celebrity couple Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid, who admitted to having lived together after they got engaged to each other. The increasing exposure of Filipinos to less traditional values and more liberal views through mainstream and social media may have also played a role in the changing attitudes toward union formation in the Philippines.
Future directions and implications
In light of the economic uncertainties brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the trend of increasing non-marriage and cohabitation is likely to continue in the future. Some have already postponed their wedding due to lockdown restrictions, while others may have to forgo marriage proposals due to sudden income loss.
The current pandemic can also indirectly impact marriage through its effect on education, which is an important determinant of marriage behaviour. During the pandemic, some Filipinos dropped out of school due to financial constraints and the inability to meet the technological demands of online lessons.
This will directly impact their employment trajectory and affect their marriage prospects in future. Given the strong association between socioeconomic status and cohabitation, the prolonged economic instability may lead to more Filipinos turning to the 'poor man's marriage.'
While this essay has highlighted some of the emerging trends in union formation in the country, it also raises some critical questions that need to be addressed in future research. Since marriage and childbearing are still highly intertwined in the Philippines, does the continuing increase in non-marriage also translate to fertility decline? What are the never-married Filipinos' living arrangements, and how do they form and maintain their social relationships? Do the sharp decline in formal marriage and the increase in cohabitation mean that living-together has become an alternative to marriage, or is it just a prelude to marriage?
The answers to these questions will help us understand and appreciate how demographic and socioeconomic changes impact the Philippine society in general, and the Filipino family in particular.
The views expressed in this forum are those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, or the institutions to which the authors are attached.
Jeofrey Abalos
Postdoctoral Fellow
Asia Research Institute
National University of Singapore