ETERNAL LOVE | Retired teacher Valeriana Turingan, 70, finally took the name of 94-year-old Ponciano Tiglao, her partner of 31 years with whom she has two daughters, at a mass wedding in the City of San Jose del Monte in Bulacan on Sunday. (Photo by CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE / Inquirer Central Luzon)
CITY OF SAN JOSE DEL MONTE, Bulacan, Philippines — A 70-year-old retired public school teacher finally tied the knot with her 94-year-old partner of over three decades during a mass wedding held here on Sunday, proving that getting on in years is no barrier to legalizing a union.
The exchange of marital vows of Valeriana Turingan and Ponciano Tiglao, who lived and raised two daughters together in the last 31 years, became the highlight of the mass wedding initiated by the provincial government of Bulacan.
Fondly called “Ma’am Valerie” when she taught at Dr. Juan G. Nolasco High School in Tondo, Manila, the retired educator said she would take on her husband’s family name and was preparing to go through the process of changing all her records, including her senior citizen identification card.
Turingan was a 39-year-old widow when she found a second chance at romance with Tiglao in 1991. Tiglao, then 63 years old, was also a widower.
They were among the 120 couples who participated in the “Kasalang Bayan” (community wedding) project of Gov. Daniel Fernando and San Jose del Monte Mayor Arthur Robes. They were married by a local pastor.
“Ayoko na rin sana ngang magpakasal kami kasi matanda na kami pero kailangan din ng mga anak namin lalo na may properties ang mister ko. Kailangan iisa ang apelyido namin (I really didn’t want to go through another wedding because we have become too old but we had to do this for our children. My husband has properties and we all needed to have the same surname so the children can inherit without problems),” the new Mrs. Tiglao confided to the Inquirer.
‘Very happy’
Tiglao is in the construction business. The couple resides in Sitio Paculis, Barangay Gaya-gaya, with daughters age 30 and 20 years old.
“Maligayang maligaya po na ngayon ay kasal na kami. Iba pa rin po ang pakiramdam (I am very happy that we got wed. It gave me an exhilarating feeling),” he said.
But the bride said she was embarrassed that their godparents for the wedding were younger than them, including Fernando, who gave each of the 120 couples a P1,000 “pakimkim” (wedding gift).
Last week, 250 couples from Norzagaray town also benefited from Fernando’s Kasalang Bayan project, raising the number of government-assisted newlyweds to 1,000 this month, according to Rowena Tiongson, Bulacan social welfare and development officer.
—CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE
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