Some 20 couples from the town of Tubajon in Dinagat Islands’ are set for the Kasalan ng Bayan on Valentine’s Day, February 14.
For this year, the Kasalan ng Bayan gives priority to life partners who have been cohabiting or living together for five years or more.
To ensure impartial allocation to the nine barangays of the town, Malinao and Sta. Cruz with the highest population share received three slots respectively, while remaining seven barangays were given two beneficiary couples each to tie-the-knot.
Mayor Simplicia P. Pedrablanca wanted to sustain this heartwarming initiative as she was inspired by last year’s couples who finally got married through the Kasalan ng Bayan after years of staying in one roof as husbands and wives.
“Remember Mario Arena and Rosie Onate from Purok 5, Barangay Mabini who were wed in last year’s Kasalan ng Bayan? It was only then that they got married after 48 years of living together,” Mayor Pedrablanca recalled.
Witnessed by the solemnizing priest and Mayor Simplicia P. Pedrablanca, Mario Arena and Rosie Onate finally got married last year during the Kasalan ng Bayan, after 48 years of living together. Photo courtesy of MIO-Tubajon.
“For this year, we wanted to have more of them to avail of this program of the local government unit. We want to help those couples to get married for free because this is our obligation to the community to strengthen the basic unit of society - the family,” the mayor added.
When asked, Arena cited poverty as the primary reason why they set aside getting married, saying, “Tungod sa kalisod mao amo na nalimtan ang magpakasal kay amo sa giuna ang panginahanglan sa akong pamilya labi na sa unom nako ka mga anak [Due to poverty we forgot to get married because we needed to prioritize the needs of my family especially my six children].”
“We thank our beloved mayor and the LGU for the grand wedding. We had a big cake, wine, lechon and delicious food. The beach reception was full of decorations and we were dressed beautifully. They made it special and memorable to us,” Arena said.
The generosity even extended after the wedding ceremony when six of the spouses received livelihood assistance to start their own poultry business, while the rest benefitted from the ‘negosyo’ package under the Gagmay'ng Abag sa Panginabuhian (GAP) program of LGU – Tubajon. (RLE/PIA-Dinagat Islands)
