MASS WEDDING. Municipality of San Remigio Mayor Margarito Mission, Jr. (center) signs the marriage certificate of a newly married couple witnessed by Antique board member Rony Molina (second from left) and his wife Elena (fourth from left) on Wednesday (Oct.4, 2023). Mission said the ceremony is free for couples who have not yet been legally married due to accessibility and financial constraints. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – Seventy-one couples from far-flung barangays got married in the biggest mass wedding ever held in the Municipality of San Remigio on Wednesday.
Mayor Margarito Mission, Jr. said the municipal government saw the need for the ceremony that benefitted couples who had been together for several years but were not legally married due to accessibility and financial constraints.
“The municipal government has set this day for you to also experience the excitement and joy during a wedding,” Mission told the couple during the ceremony.
The municipal government prepared a cake and a gift for each couple to make the wedding day extra memorable.
“There was also wine toasting for the couple and free lunch including their sponsors,” Mission said in an interview.
Edgar Roquero, 55 years old, and his wife Jocelyn, 45 years old, from Barangay Panpanan walked for six hours from the town proper to the San Remigio Evacuation Center in the remote barangay of San Rafael, the venue of the ceremony. They had been together for 11 years.
“We did not have money for our wedding; it took us 11 years to get married,” Edgar said.
With the wedding, they could have their marriage certificate and have their children legitimized.
Raffy Raytos and his wife Rhonalyn said they had to set aside their wedding to take care of Rhonalyn’s sick father until his death only a few months ago.
“When we learned about the mass wedding, we immediately had ourselves enlisted for it was an opportunity for us to get married for free,” Raffy said.
“Finally, I am making my most coveted dream a reality,” Rhonalyn said. (PNA)
