MOISES, 54, and Ana Mae Basiga, 53, have been together for 32 years but never got a chance to get married.
Even though they already have a child and five grandchildren, the couple told Superbalita Cebu that they never got a chance to get married in a ceremony since they couldn’t afford to do so.
Moises and Ana Mae eventually got what they wanted after they availed of the Mandaue City Government’s mass wedding program on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.
Moises and Ana Mae were one of 136 couples who tied the knot during the mass wedding held at the Mandaue City Sports Complex on Thursday morning.
Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing served as the solemnizing officer. He advised the newly-wedded couples to always love each other even in difficult times.
The mayor also told the couples to put God at the center of their marriage.
Aside from Quisumbing, Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna, members of the Mandaue City Council and department heads of City Hall were present.
Sponsors such as the Zonta Club of Cebu provided cakes and rings, among others. After the wedding, a reception was held at the venue.
As the wedding reception was going on, the local police serenaded the locals outside.
Led by Senior Supt. Julian Entoma, personnel from the Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) gave out a kilo of rice, Bibles and flowers as gifts to older women on the streets and those detained at their office.
Entoma and his personnel also serenaded flower vendors and even traffic enforcers assigned at the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Joseph in Barangay Centro.
“Chocolates can be bought for P5 anytime, but we need rice more compared to chocolates. It sustains us three times a day. We gave out Bibles to remind them that God is there to help us change for the better, and to prevent us from pursuing things that are illegal,” Entoma said in Cebuano.
Benjie Ruales, a female traffic enforcer working for the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) for five years, said she felt emotional when she was given a rose and a pack of rice by MCPO personnel.
“It felt so good to be appreciated for the work I’ve done. Even if I receive a rose and rice pack. I am happy with the gesture,” Ruales added. (From FMD of SuperBalita Cebu, JKV)