The Iloilo City Government, through City Population Office (CPO), will hold a mass wedding for 62 couples on June 19.
The mass wedding will be officiated by Mayor Jose Espinosa III at Ker & Co. building located beside the City Hall at 3pm.
“The primary objective of this event is to legalize and strengthen the union of unmarried couples in Iloilo City and at the same time promote family, spiritual, and environmental preservation and protection. The latter because these couples need to plant a tree prior to the wedding as part of our requirements,” City Population Program Officer II Rachelle Lapascua said.
The couples have undergone pre-marriage counseling at CPO to educate them on responsible parenthood and family planning, she added.
The wedding is for free and the City Government will provide the rings.
“These couples who are living together and have children already find it hard to have their children enrolled to school because they have no marriage certificate to present. Some find it hard also to have their children baptized because of lack of marriage certificate,” City Population Program Officer II Florence Galanto said.
The City Government will also hold another mass wedding in August as part of the Iloilo City Charter Day celebration.
“For those who were not able to avail of the mass wedding this June, we invite you to visit our office and register for the next,” Lapascua said. (Merianne Grace Ereñeta/ Iloilo City PIO)
