Talisay to sponsor free mass wedding in June

CEBU, Philippines - Unmarried indigent couples will get the chance this June to have their relationships legitimized at no cost at all.

The Talisay City government will again sponsor a free mass wedding.

Councilor Eduardo R. Gullas III, who chairs the committee on Women, Children and Family, has asked Mayor Socrates Fernandez to grant free licenses, permits, and CENOMAR to indigent couples.

“There are hundreds of children born out of wedlock to parents without impediments to marry each other,” Gullas said, adding that one of the main goals of the project is to give couples living together the chance to get married.

Gullas said it is the intent of Talisay to erase the stigma of being illegitimate, especially those children of indigent parents, and allow them to grow normally and establish their legal rights as legitimate offsprings. 

But due to financial constraints, indigent couples cannot afford to pay the cost of the certificate. 

“This noble intention will be realized by affording an opportunity to indigent couples having illegitimate children to have them legitimated by a valid marriage,” he said.

In Talisay, a Cenomar costs P400 per couple while the marriage license is P175.

But with this project, the only thing that the couples will do is attend the church’s ceremony and to be there at the reception, where all expenses for food and wine will be shouldered by the city.  (FREEMAN)