Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday batted anew for a bill that will protect the rights of "ugly" spouses whose partners may have married them just for their wealth.

Under the civil union bill, the property of couples will stay separate even after the wedding ceremony. This will abolish the system of absolute community of property, where spouses are co-owners of all their possessions, even those acquired before marriage, Alvarez told DZMM.

"Marami kasi ngayon e gumagamit ng itong tinatawag na 'mahiwagang teleskopyo.' Digital pa iyan, automatic na nagko-compute ng net worth," he said.

"Kahit na pangit, 'pag nakita niyang malaki ang net worth, papakasalan iyun. Iyan ang pinoprotektahan natin: iyung mga married for convenience," he added.

(There are many people who use so-called 'magical telescopes.' These are digital [apps] that automatically compute one's net worth... Even if one is ugly, if their net worth is high, their partners would marry them. That is who we are protecting: those who were married for convenience.)

The proposed law,which Alvarez filed with other congressmen, also allows same-sex partners to form civil partnerships.

Alvarez is also pushing for a bill allowing the easy dissolution of marriage, saying the current law on annulment is expensive.

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