Mass wedding slated

The culmination of Family month is a civil mass wedding that takes place on Sept. 28, with the venue still to be decided on.

This was announced by City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWD)) worker Ellen Dayag in a family month steering committee meeting August 12 at the Sr. citizen building, Salud Mitra barangay.

Accordingly, the wedding venue depends on the number of applicants. A garden wedding is also considered, or an open-air venue to comply with health protocols.

To join the activity, interested couple-applicants should submit the complete requirements on or before Sept. 5 at the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) at Upper Session Road. 

A. For applicants needing a marriage license:

a. A copy of Cedula (Community Tax Certificate) or any valid ID government should be presented;

b. Certificate of no marriage (CENOMAR) from the Philippine Statistics Authority with the applicants’ birth certificates;

c. Tree planting certificate from the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO);

d. Original copy of the Pre-Marriage Counseling Certificate, from the Health Services Office (HSO);

e. Marriage license with parents’ consent for those aged 18-20, and parents’ advice for couples 21-24 years old.

B. For applicants who have lived-in for more than five years:

a. Applicants should present community tax certificate or a valid government ID;

b. A Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) issued birth certificate and with it, a certificate of no marriage (CENOMAR) from the PSA;

c. A tree planting certificate from the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) should be presented; and an       

d. Affidavit of cohabitation should be submitted, for couples more than 23 years old.

Applicant couples need to apply at the CEPMO at least two days before the scheduled tree planting as the schedule is on Mondays or Wednesdays from 9:30 to 10:30 AM.

For the affidavit of cohabitation, this may be acquired from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), or any legal officer. The document is required, in place of a marriage license.

For this occasion, Council chair on Health and Sanitation, Ecology and Environment Protection, Atty. Betty Lourdes Tabanda is offering her office’ services for free; a couple applicants just need to apply in her office at city hall. The couple should present valid government identification cards, birth documents of their child/children, if there is/are.

The mass wedding is an institutionalized activity in celebration of family month, and to lessen the expenses for couples in celebrating and legalizing their union. –  JGF