SEVENTY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD Ricardo Tomayao, and his partner, 29-year-old Glaiza Cosme, were among the 200 couples who tied the knot in a mass wedding at the Bacolod City Government Center grounds on Sunday afternoon, February 17.

Tomayao, a mechanic and former public utility jeepney driver, said his first wife died in 1969.

He said he met Cosme, who was collecting plastic or scrap in Barangay Mansilingan, when she was 14 years old.

“She’s sweet, a good person, and I love her,” he said.

Cosme said Tomayao helped her finish high school. “He’s older than me, but age doesn’t matter because he’s a good man.”

Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who officiated the ceremony, said they were happy to hold the annual mass wedding for the people of Bacolod as it aims to promote family welfare.

“We believe that the marriage institution is the basic unit of the society. The marriage life is not going to be always a bed of roses. It’s a reality that once in a while, problems and challenges will come and we should think that it’s not meant to destroy or shake us,” he added.

Also in attendance were Congressman Greg Gasataya, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and Councilors Em Ang, Cindy Rojas, Renecito Novero, Bartolome Orola, Elmer Sy, Ann Marie Palermo, and Ayesha Villaflor.

Also present were Luis Gonzales of the Philippine Statistics Authority in Negros Occidental, and Bacolod Civil Registrar head Hermilo Pauyon.

He said this year’s event is also special because some politicians, including senators, agreed to be the godparents of the 200 couples.

Gonzales said the mass wedding is part of the city’s activity every February in line with the Civil Registrar’s Office’s observation of the National Registration Month.

He said it’s a goal of the PSA to register all the Filipino people.

Gonzales, for his part, said the local government units were conducting a mass wedding to help those couples who are living together but not yet married.

The city government has allotted about P100,000 for the wedding rites.