Marcos open to studying divorce bill, but says marriage should be preserved
Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro clarified that the President is waiting to review the bill's full provisions before taking a position. She noted that some grounds for legal separation are now being proposed as grounds for divorce.
Castro added that while even the Catholic Church recognizes annulments in irreparable marriages, the President's priority is still to strengthen families, especially for the welfare of children. His decision on the bill will also weigh in on public opinion and religious sentiment.
Two versions of the divorce bill—House Bill 108 and House Bill 210—have been refiled in Congress to provide legal divorce as an alternative to annulment and legal separation, particularly benefiting abused or disadvantaged spouses.
As a 2022 presidential candidate, Marcos said he saw real-life cases where divorce helped families but warned that it should not be made an 'easy out.' He urged couples to work hard on saving their marriage first before turning to divorce as a last resort.
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Gulf Business
39 minutes ago
- Gulf Business
Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill explained
Image: Getty Images In July 2025, the US Congress enacted the sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB): a landmark legislative overhaul combining permanent extensions of Trump-era tax cuts for individuals and businesses with major spending cuts to welfare programmes and a hefty increase in defense and border security outlays. The bill narrowly cleared its final hurdle in the House of Representatives, positioning it to become law following his signature on July 4. According to the add approximately $3.3–$ 3.4 trillion to federal deficits over the next decade and leave 11–12 million Americans without Medicaid coverage, a claim strongly disputed by the White House. 'President Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill delivers on the commonsense agenda that nearly 80 million Americans voted for – the largest middle-class tax cut in history, permanent border security, massive military funding, and restoring fiscal sanity. 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Defense and security sectors, by contrast, are set to benefit from a . Lost in the US-centric coverage, however, are ripple effects in the GCC region, from fiscal and investment flows to energy markets and defense partnerships. Gulf sovereign wealth funds with heavy US bond and equity exposure may see altered yields and investment valuations. A return to robust US fossil fuel production and weaker renewables support could benefit GCC oil exporters, even as geopolitical and military collaboration dynamics evolve. Sector-Wise Breakdown Tax & Corporate Sector Permanent tax cuts : Lowers corporate and individual tax rates, increases Business certainty : Enhanced planning through long-term tax predictability, including 100% Section 179 expensing. Trade & remittance levy : Introduces a 1% tax on remittances—raising potential issues for global fund flows . Healthcare & Welfare Drastic Medicaid/SNAP cuts : Deep reductions could strip about 10–11 million low-income Americans of benefits. Eligibility changes : Programmes now include stricter work mandates and state cost-sharing, potentially straining hospital systems. Defense & Border Security Defense boost : +$150 billion for military, including 'Golden Dome' missile defense, drones, and nuclear upgrades. Immigration enforcement : +$150 billion for border control, ICE expansion, detention capacity for up to 1 million deportees annually. Energy & Environment Clean energy rollback : Repeals IRA tax credits, halts renewables momentum, and favors fossil fuels, nuclear, and gas sectors . Energy dominance push : Positions US around nuclear and gas reliability; delays investment in solar and wind . Infrastructure & Tech ATC modernisation : . Spectrum & R&D incentives : 600 MHz spectrum auction planned by 2034; R&D expensing restored to spur innovation . Agriculture & Rural Support for rural hospitals : $50 billion allocated to support struggling healthcare systems in non-urban areas . Agricultural enhancements : Elevated crop insurance, price supports, and disaster relief totalling approximately $60 billion . GCC Impact Snapshot Sovereign wealth & portfolio returns: The tax cuts and increased US debt may drive higher bond yields, squeezing GCC external debt issuances. A new remittance tax could also slightly dent returns for GCC-based investors in the US. Energy market ripples: Rollbacks in clean energy tilt US fuel demands back to oil and gas, supporting GCC hydrocarbon export prices in the short to mid-term . Defense & security ties: Expanded US defense budgets open avenues for GCC collaboration on advanced military and border technologies. Investment climate: Tax clarity may attract more GCC foreign direct investment into US infrastructure and technology sectors, though uncertainty in welfare and fiscal policy might temper risk appetite. Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' epitomises a high-stakes gamble: it locks in permanent tax relief and certainty for corporations and the wealthy, while significantly slashing social safety nets, primarily Medicaid, potentially leaving nearly 12 million Americans uninsured. Although fossil fuel industries benefit from revived incentives, the rollback of clean‑energy credits casts a shadow over green energy's momentum, even as targeted investments in technology, defense, and research & development open long‑term growth pathways, assuming fiscal discipline and stable global trade persist.
The National
3 hours ago
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Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' is a boon to Democrats, but don't expect them to seize the moment
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The creation of a hard-core immigration police state will be another major step towards American authoritarianism and the bolstering of a "power ministry" closely aligned with the President. The administration hopes to arrest and detain thousands of migrants, most of whom will not have been convicted of crimes, every day in the coming years. Even if that is unlikely to happen, the swarming of masked and armed immigration officials swooping down on everything from school pick up zones, shopping centres, bus stops and houses of worship will certainly metastasise. Republicans are ignoring all other aspects of the legislation, particularly the dire healthcare impact, and emphasising the new anti-immigrant police state apparatus. This is so central to the Trumpian agenda that it virtually defines what it means to "make America great again". Mr Trump has expressed the need for scores of new prison camps for migrants, hoping that they will "morph into a system where you're going to keep it for a long time'. He has also floated the idea of deporting some naturalised US citizens. A similar logic applies to health care. North Carolina Senator Tom Tillis said he couldn't support the bill and won't stay in the Senate (knowing he can't, without Mr Trump's backing) because Republicans are lying to Americans that there will not be massive healthcare loss. He asked what he's supposed to say to the 600,000 North Carolinians likely to suddenly find themselves without any health care after repeated promises that no such thing would ever take place, and warns of a political disaster. Even many, if not most, of the bill's supporters are well aware that it's the height of irresponsibility In effect, Republicans are performing a partial repeal of Obamacare, which they always hated but had been unable to find a workable alternative to and therefore have not been able to repeal. Gutting Medicaid gets them as close as they can under current circumstances. The main beneficiaries are the richest 1 per cent of Americans, who have seen their wealth steadily rise in recent decades as the rest of the country stagnates or declines. The national debt is so huge that servicing it is a greater expense than the vast US military. But making that problem worse – adding up to a staggering $3.4 trillion over the next decade – is apparently a small price to pay to secure additional benefits to those who need it the least. When it's defended at all, this largess is cast as economic stimulus. 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Democrats are going to have to get over their structural problem of essentially being a coalition of diverse interest groups that tend to insist their specific issue is overriding and instead develop a message about Republican hypocrisy and unfairness that speaks to Americans as a unified national constituency. Rather than simply calling Mr Trump a would-be tyrant, they will have to argue he has reneged on key promises or failed to fulfil them. Going to political war on behalf of immigrants, the constitution or rule of law is likely to fail, whereas championing working Americans against a rapacious, grasping and obscenely indulged economic elite could be a tremendous political game changer. They will also need an effective national leader. At present, there's no sign of one. This ghastly bill ought to provide huge opportunities for a Democratic resurgence. But don't hold your breath.
Dubai Eye
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Trump celebrates tax bill victory at Iowa fairground rally
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