Police, Pag-ibig spread the love with free weddings

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

CEBU CITY – Police Officer 2 Leah Vanessa Labrador said she ran out of answers for her eight-year-old daughter, who kept on asking her why they could not take the Holy Communion.

“I told her that I married her father in a civil wedding,” she said in Cebuano. The Roman Catholic Church doesn’t allow a couple who were not married in church to join the communion rites.

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But the policewoman’s daughter, Joleannah Vanessa, who attends a Catholic school, wouldn’t stop asking.

CEBU. Police Officers 1 Alain Abellanosa and Rechel Abellanosa kiss while surrounded by colleagues in the Philippine National Police, after a mass wedding at St. Ignatius Chapel within the Police Regional Office 7 headquarters in Cebu City. (Amper Campaña)

So, 12 years after they married each other in civil rites, the police officer and Philippine Army Sergeant Jorge Labrador joined the Valentine’s Day mass wedding sponsored by the Police Regional Office (PRO) Central Visayas.

The couple was joined by 16 other pairs from the different police units as they tied the knot (again) at St. Ignatius chapel Tuesday. The chapel is part of the PRO Central Visayas compound.

In another part of the city, Rosemarie Dimpas and Renante Looc walked down the aisle arm in arm, a David Pomeranz song playing in the background.

Her sister, a middle-aged woman wearing a silky yellow dress, walked close by, making sure they didn’t stray from the red carpet.

The blind couple, both wearing shades, joined the others in a long table, just as “On This Day” gave way to a Sharon Cuneta song.

Long march

Eight love songs later, the wedding march ended and all 236 couples settled at their tables inside the packed SM Trade Hall. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, the mass civil wedding’s solemnizing officer, went to the stage and read a passage from the Book of Genesis, about how God took a rib from a man and turned it into a woman.

A few moments later, the couples started exchanging their vows.

At the PNP-sponsored mass wedding, Supt. Jaime Sereña, the PRO Central Visayas chaplain, encouraged the couples to always “cling to God.”

“It would be good to see if all of you will go to church together every Sunday,” he said in Tagalog.

He advised police officers not to taint their service, so they can keep providing for their family. The chaplain also told the couples to be faithful to each other.

“Make your bed holy,” he said, quoting an author he did not identify.

In an interview with reporters, Chief Superintendent Marcelo Garbo Jr., the PRO Central Visayas director, said the activity was part of the “moral and welfare program” of the Philippine National Police.

‘Overwhelming’

The police official said the couples should be contented with what they have and share their blessings with other people.

“(They should) put Christ in the center of their lives. Secondly, (they should) communicate with each other, respect each other, and support each other,” he said.

Police Officer 2 Labrador, who is assigned at the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) finance division, said they are ready to sacrifice for their daughter and five-year-old son, Julian Kristoff.

“‘Til death do us part gyod,” said Sergeant Labrador, who met his wife while he was still working with the team of Police Officer 2 Labrador’s father.

When asked if she is glad that her parents have now been married in church, Joleannah Vanessa shyly answered, “Yes.”

At the mass wedding sponsored Tuesday afternoon by Pag-ibig Fund, Dayday Custodio, manager of Pag-Ibig Fund Cebu’s North Branch, described the event a success.

“The result was overwhelming,” she said.

Their initial target was only 150 couples, but more couples pleaded to join Pag-ibig Fund’s “I Do, I Do! Araw ng Pag-Ibig.”

“Some went to our office crying because they want to be included in the mass wedding,” said Custodio, who wore a red dress, just like all Pag-ibig Fund employees who attended the event.

Mingling

The Pag-ibig Fund shouldered the expenses for the wedding reception. They also provided the couples with symbolic rings. Dayday said they spent more than P300,000 for Wednesday’s mass wedding, which was also held in other parts of the country.

Old and young couples joined. Some brought with them their children. A few brides walked with bulging stomachs.

But Rosemarie, 31, and Renante, 32, stood out. Most cameras were trained on the blind couple from Tipolo, Mandaue City.

They have lived together for 11 years, and were blessed with four children. They met in the Area Vocational Rehabilitation Center, a DSWD-operated training facility for persons with disabilities in Labangon, Cebu City.

While working in a massage parlor, their colleagues made them a subject of matchmaking. “Sige sila ug sungog-sungog unya ako na lang gitinuod (They kept teasing us until I took it seriously),” recalled Renante.

When they heard of Pag-ibig Fund’s free weddings, they grabbed the opportunity.

Families

“Pasalamat gyud ko og dako sa Ginoo. Dugay na ni namo nga pangandoy (I’m very grateful to God. This has been our dream for so long),” said Rosemarie, dressed in a simple white wedding gown and a long veil.

The two shared they wanted to get married for the sake of their children, ages seven, five, three and two. Because of poverty, they were forced to let other families take care of two of their children.

Both of them work in massage therapy booths, she in a mall in Mandaue City and he in Pier 4. Rosemarie said their marriage will motivate them to work harder and make their family whole again.

Custodio, the Pag-ibig manager, said they organized the mass wedding to promote the family as “the most important unit of society.”

Organizing mass weddings every year, she added, is one way for the Pag-ibig Fund to exercise corporate social responsibility and help the community.

“Beginning this year, Valentine’s Day will be Pag-ibig Day,” she said.

At the wedding ceremony, cameras went flashing when Mayor Rama asked the grooms to kiss their brides. Renante missed Rosemarie’s lips; his kiss landed on her right cheek.

Later, as Mayor Rama sang “How Did You Know,” Renante placed his hands on Rosemarie’s waist and she placed hers on his shoulders. They danced quietly, looking into each other’s eyes. (Sun.Star Cebu)