135 couples say ‘I do’ in Cebu

FOR RICHER AND FOR POORER. Newlywed policemen kiss their wives after the mass wedding inside Camp Sergio Osmeña chapel last Friday afternoon. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Nine policemen were wed Friday afternoon inside the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 in Cebu City while 126 couples also walked the aisle in a garden mass wedding in Medellin, northern Cebu last Friday afternoon.

All expenses for the church wedding ceremony of the nine policemen inside the camp and their reception were sponsored by the PRO 7. The expenses for the 126 couples in Medellin, including their cakes, rings and wedding gifts, were shouldered by the municipal government.

The PRO-7 wedding ceremony was held at the Saint Ignatius Chapel inside Camp Sotero Cabahug. The 126 couples in Medellin, on the other hand, took their vows in the open ground at the Rizal Park.

Chief Supt. Danilo Constantino, director of the PRO-7, said policemen should set an example and abide by the law by legalizing their cohabitation with their partners.

Constantino acted as the main sponsor along with the PRO-7 staff. Provincial and city directors also attended the ceremony to show support.

Policemen who took part of the free mass wedding were from the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO), Lapu-lapu City Police office (LCPO) and the Regional Public Safety Battalion.

Some of the couples were already married in a civil wedding and already have children but decided to get married again in the PRO-7’s church ceremony.

Relatives of the nine couples attended and thanked the PRO-7.

In northern Cebu, Mayor Ricardo Ramirez, who officiated the mass wedding attended by officials, employees and relatives of the couples, said the special event was a nice break from all the supertyphoon Yolanda-related activities.

Teachers and students of the Cebu Normal University Medellin Campus assisted the local government in organizing the event.

“Despite the trials and challenges that we have faced since that fateful day in November when it seemed that there was nothing to be hopeful about in the midst of all that carnage and chaos, together we stood shoulder to shoulder and overcame all the odds. Through sheer determination we have slowly but surely restored our town’s beauty that was so suddenly

trampled upon almost four months ago. We still face a lot of seemingly insurmountable mountains ahead but together we shall overcome,” he said.