Twenty couples exchanged marriage vows at a mass wedding officiated by Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez at the lobby of the Bacolod City Government Center on Saturday, August 27.
Benitez, in coordination with the Bacolod City Office of Civil Registar, solemnized the civil union of the couples from Brgy. Handumanan.
During the ceremony, the newlyweds were represented by the oldest couple, Adonis Abriel Bagaporo, 46, and Jennifer Mendoza, 42. The youngest couple who tied the knot were Jonna Freias, 24, and Emerson Padilla, 28.
Office of Civil Registrar head Hermelio Paoyon and former Barangay Captain of Handumanan Ma. Febe Legaspe were present at the mass wedding.
The wedding signifies the “legal standing” of the couples’ relationship and for their “children to be legitimized formally,” Paoyon said.*