A total of 53 couples heartily and solemnly swore to tie their knots in front of their officiating official Mayor Emiliana Villacarillo, last April 19, 2012, in the midst of the soaring heat of the sun, at the plaza of Brgy. Gap-ang, Jicontol Valley, Dolores Eastern Samar. Mayor Villacarillo also stood as their principal sponsor.

The said couples are the recently identified eligible members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the department of Social Welfare and Developmenmt (DSWD). The municipality of Dolores now belongs to the Set 5 of Pantawid Pamilya who signed Memorandum of Agreement last March 15, 2012 at the Oriental Hotel, Palo, Leyte.

During her talk, Villacarillo emphasized how being officially wed would help shape the future of their children, because to whatever extent it is necessary to acquire legal documents to support transactions pertaining to Pantawid Pamilya. Eligible households need to present proofs for them to be able to comply with the conditionalities of the program.

She added that if it’s not for Pantawid Pamilya, these couples would not be encouraged to at least make themselves official partners in raising a family. Yet, for most of the newlyweds, it somehow made them more confident and comfortable to stick with one another,being officially married, and being witnessed by most of her townfolks.

The mass wedding took off at high noon, right after the launching of the DSWD-Iraya Farms Partnership Project, held at the same venue. Even with the heat these couples stood still with unfading smiles waiting to experience to say “’I do” to their partners. 

“Maupay ha pamati ngan malipayon ako,” (It feels good and I am happy) teary-eyed Teresita Candito, 56, expressed her feelings of joy. She and her significant other, Alfredo Amidao,46, have been together for 18 years and had two kids. She said, she’d never thought she’ll be able to experience being married at her age, and saying “I do”, would somehow helped uplift her morale as a woman.