Silay City Mayor Mark Andrew Arthur Golez married his girlfriend of 16 years at the Virgen Sang Barangay Chapel at Sta. Clara Subdivision in Bacolod City, Wednesday, May 16.
Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon officiated the wedding of Golez, 51, to Anna Maria Fe Piccio Azcona, a dialysis nurse who worked in Long Island in New York State, USA.
The mayor said he proposed to her on her birthday on a bridge in New York’s Central Park on Aug. 5, 2019.
“I chose a bridge without water beneath it so if she rejected me and threw the ring away I could still pick it up,” the mayor joked.
They were supposed to get married last year but it was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
His wife retired and came home in November 2020 so they were able to plan their wedding, Golez said.
He met his wife on a blind date arranged by his cousin in November of 2004 and they maintained a long distance relationship where he visited her in New York every six months and she came home to the Philippines every six months.
At their wedding reception, the couple danced to their theme song – “This Guy’s in Love With You” by Burt Bacharach.
“My priorities are different now, when you’re married it’s not me, I, myself, it’s me and her,” he said.
Golez is the son of Jamie Garcia Golez and Ma. Teresa Jison Golez, and Anna is the daughter of Eduardo Jalandoni Azcona and Cecile Piccio Azcona.
Their principal sponsors were former Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Rudy Concepcion, Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer, Eric Antonio Golez, Mark Jalandoni, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, Antonio Pastelero, Susana Ortigas, Rosario Cuaycong, Guia Gomez, Xenia Jison, Dolores Lopez, Ma. Regina Piccio, Carmen Paterson and Josephine Regalado.
Secondary sponsors were Hernan Lopez III and Sylvia Golez – candle, Jose Ma. Gerardo Salvador and Georgina Lorilla – veil, and Arsenio Jison and Cristina Poblador – cord.
The best men were Jose Vincent Aguila, Joseph Victor Ejercito and Jose Vincent Peralta, matron of honor was Therese Tolentino and the bridesmaid was Maria Imelda Isabel Piccio.
The groomsmen were Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez, Talisay Mayor Neil Lizares, EB Magalona Mayor Marvin Malacon, Victorias City Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca and Murcia Mayor Victor Gerardo Rojas.*