‘True love’ at 72 for Soc and Talisay midwife

“He who finds a wife finds happiness, a favor granted by the Lord,” said former Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez quoting his favorite book with a big smile.

The soft-spoken 72-year-old widower yesterday sealed his union with a government midwife in a parish church in Talisay City.

It was a joyful milestone for the city councilor, a Catholic  evangelist, whose wife passed away two years ago.

He said that with 52-year-old Monalisa Dapat, a mother of three teenagers, he found a companion to share his life with.

“Pagkamatay sa akong unang asawa, ako lang usa sa amo. Akoy maglung-ag, laba, og uban pa. Hangtud nahinumdom ko sa nahisulat sa bibliya nga bulahan ang tawo nga makakaplag og kapikas. (After my first wife died, I was alone at home. I cooked, washed the clothes, and did all household chores by myself. I was reminded that the Bible says that blessed is the man who finds a wife),” he said.

For Fernandez, an active member of the Catholic Faith Defenders, nothing but a church wedding would do.

He said he and Monalisa, who works at the Talisay City District Hospital, didn’t want to live together without God’s blessing.

He said it was important to show the value of the sacrament of matrimony, especially since many younger couples take marriage for granted and just move in together.

His adopted son Joavan, a “prodigal son” whose brushes with the law and gun-toting outbursts with Talisay residents had strained Fernandez’s stint as Talisay mayor, was not present during the ceremony.

The middle-aged Joavan, who is still doted on by his father, remains detained in the Cebu provincial jail on a non-bailable offense for illegal possession of explosives.

Fernandez and his first wife, Jovita, were childless when they took home Joavan,  an infant abandoned outside the door of a church.

Yesterday’s wedding was solemnized by Fr. Jay Parilla of the Augustinian Recollects.

The councilor’s political patron former Congressman Eduardo Gullas and grandson Rep. Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas of Cebu’s 1st district were among the guests.

The bride glowed in her white gown as she walked down a flower-lined carpet, escorted by her son, at the Our Lady of Consolation Parish-Recoletos in Talisay City.

Monalisa’s first marriage was annulled. Her two daughters  sat in the front pews of the church yesterday.

When they exchanged marital vows, Fernandez promised to be faithful to Monalisa “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, till death do us part. . . again.”

His improvised ending drew laughter from the crowd of family, friends and supporters.

The wedding reception was held at the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club in Talisay City.

“I have never seen him so happy,” said former congressman Eduardo “Eddiegul” Gullas .

“It’s a good sign. After all, life begins at 40 so he’s still 32 years old,” he said.

Gullas said Fernandez’s remarrying was all legal and aboveboard “because marriage ties are deemed dissolved upon the death of a spouse. He is like a bachelor again.”

Now that he has a new wife, Gullas said the councilor should always find time for his family no matter how busy he is with Talisay city and church activities.

Fernandez took to heart the advice of the Book of Proverbs 18:22 about finding happiness in a wife as a favor from God.

His younger brother and best man, Themistocles, said no one in the Fernandez family opposed the couple’s decision to get married because “we’re thinking of my brother’s happiness.”

“True love gyud ni niya,” said the younger sibling.

“Kaming iyang mga igsoon, dili makahatag sa kalipay nga mahatag sa usa ka asawa. (He’s really in love. We know that none of us siblings can give the same kind of joy he can only find in a  wife).”