Philippine ring icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao and Senator Franklin Drilon became ninongs (godfathers) to 2,013 couples Saturday afternoon at an event dubbed the biggest mass wedding in Philippine history.
?Marriage is a lifetime commitment, it has no expiration date,? Pacquiao told his 4,026 godchildren gathered at the grounds of the Bacolod City Government Center for the mass wedding officiated by Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
The boxing icon told the couples whose ages ranged from 18 to 82, that marriage is no joke, one has to work on it, and that patience is important.
Pacquiao then asked the grooms to hold their bride?s hands and say: ?Our marriage certificate has no expiration date.? He then told the women to tell their husband: ?Palangga indi ka na puede mag atras (my, love, you cannot back out now),? eliciting laughter from the crowd.
He said that, in the years that he has been married to his wife, Jinkee, he has learned that love is not just an emotion but a commitment to each other to stay together in good times and in bad.
Asked what his gifts were for his godchildren, Pacquiao said, prayer. ?I will pray for them that they will be inspired in their marriage,? he said. ?It is a great honor to be godfather at the mass wedding,? he added.
BRIDE 82, GROOM 44
Pacquiao called on the couples to kiss after Leonardia administered their marriage rites and the pair most applauded was Florcespida Tolentino, 82, and her 44-year-old groom Edwin Diaz, who kept kissing each other.
Diaz said he hauls cargo on ships and his bride runs a little store in Barangay 13 in Bacolod. He said he loves her because she takes good care of him, and never in his wildest dream did he expect that Manny Pacquiao would be their godfather.
MOST BEAUTIFUL CITY HALL
Pacquiao also told the couples how he admires the accomplishments of Leonardia saying ?You have the most beautiful City Hall in the Philippines because of your Mayor.?
He said he and Leonardia also share their plans for their constituents and that Bacole?o should be thankful for having a leader who cares for them.
Other godfathers at the mass wedding were former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis ?Chavit? Singson,PLDT Community Relations head Evelyn Del Rosario, and businessman Ricardo Yanson (who was not present).
Drilon, who congratulated the couples who were wed, in behalf of President Aquino, said many times he had become godfather to a number of couples in his 25 years in public service, but this is the biggest mass wedding he had attended.
He called it the biggest mass wedding in the country and in the history of Bacolod City.
Drilon said many of the couples who joined the mass wedding had been living in sin and legalized their relationship in the eyes of the law and God.
P5M FOR BACOLOD PLAZA
As a gift to them, Drilon said he is allocating P5 million for the improvement of the Bacolod City Public Plaza so that these couples can have a place to visit and relax.
Also present were Liberal Party senatorial candidates Jamby Madrigal and Risa Hontiveros Baraquel who congratulated the newly weds.
This year?s mass wedding called ?2013 in 2013? is an annual event in Bacolod City initiated by Leonardia when he took over as mayor in 2004.
?We are amazed at the very enthusiastic response of this very big number of applicants, but we feel it is a positive indication that our people in Bacolod would like to put their lives in order. This unprecedented ceremony is a tourist attraction by itself,? Leonardia said.
The mass wedding ended with a party at the Bacolod Government Center Grounds.
Meanwhile, the youngest couple during the affair were Jason Voluntate and Lee Amor Managa, both 18 years old, and the oldest couple were Pepito Malacad and Remedios Celis, both 70.
Joel Vigilar, 42, came in a wheel chair to marry his bride, Magdalena Rabadillo, 28, because he has become disabled since 2010.*CGS
