159 couples join mass wedding today

ONE hundred fifty-nine couples will exchange vows Friday in a mass wedding at the New Government Center (NGC) to be officiated by Mayor Evelio Leonardia.

Leonardia said Friday after the record-breaking mass wedding of 562 couples last February 14, “this mass wedding will also mark history in the city, which it’s the first time that it would be held at the NGC.”

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“I am thankful and happy for these couples who are willing to solemnize and legalize their partnerships,” he said.

He also noted that the City Registrars Office registered 159 couples only, noting that there are also some couples who want to join but because of the limited venue they could no longer accommodate big numbers of participants.

Leonardia noted that if there were still big numbers of couples that registered for the mass wedding, the city government will be solemnizing another group of matrimonial vows.

For the first three months of 2010, Leonardia has wed a total of 721 couples in the City of Bacolod.

The mass wedding aims to legalize the common law marriages of couples in Bacolod City in support of the Filipino family.

Leonardia said the program is also based on the principle that if the family is the best unit of the society, “matrimonial vow is one of the stabilizers that could establish the foundation of the family, and for the good of the family.”