They have been married for 15 years but they have never set eyes on each other.
Emmanuel Dyguaso, 57, and his wife, Alejandra, 41, are both blind, a couple seen frequenting Cebu City Hall where they offer massage sessions to employees.
“We have faith in the Lord. Whatever are the challenges that we can’t avoid, our faith and belief remain strong,” Emmanuel said in Cebuano.
The childless couple live by themselves in a rented house in barangay Mabolo.
Alejandra had two miscarriages.
A third child died 12 hours after birth in 2011.
“With God’s mercy, we don’t have problems with our food. We’re still okay since we have huge faith in the Lord. If we don’t believe, we don’t have hope,” Emmanuel said.
They hear mass at the Mabolo church or the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on Sundays.
On Fridays, they go to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño for thanksgiving Mass.
They celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary on Thursday by visiting Alejandra’s 80-year-old mother in Talisay City and shared a simple snack of bread and pastries with her.
Today, they plan to visit Alejandra’s relatives in Boljoon town in southern Cebu, and visit the Nuestra Señora de Patrocinio Parish Church where they were married.
Emmanuel and Alejandra said they met in 1999 when they were both training as massage therapists in the government-run Area Vocational Rehabilitation Center (AVRC) of the regional Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-7.
Love at first sight didn’t apply in this relationship.
They got to know each other better through conversations.
“During our training, we were introduced to each other. If we didn’t have classes, we talked with each other,” recalled Alejandra.