Fewer Filipinos marry due to poverty — NSCB

MANILA, Philippines — Fewer Filipinos have been tying the knot in the past decade as marriage has taken a low priority for courting couples because of rising poverty.

The recent National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) report on the declining number of marriages from 2001 and 2010, particularly church weddings, was “only a manifestation of [the] poverty and helplessness of the majority in our country today,” said Pangasinan Rep. Kimi Cojuangco.

In a report released last June, the NSCB reported that the number of registered marriages had dropped by 13 percent from 559,162 in 2001 to 482,480 in 2010. The NSCB said this represented an annual compounded decline rate of 1.5 percent during the period, in contrast with the estimated 2 percent population growth rate during the period.

“Family units are saddled with severe problems of providing for their children and making ends meet, so unfortunately marriage is the farthest [thing] from their minds, much less divorce,” said Cojuangco.

The NSCB survey showed that church weddings were the hardest hit by the decline with only 169,034 marriages in 2010, down by 14 percent from 197,413 in 2005.

Church weddings accounted for only 35 percent of total marriages in 2010, down from 38.1 percent in 2005, behind civil weddings with a 44.4 percent share.

“Majority of Filipinos are poor and they don’t have access to Catholic churches. Many in the poor municipalities just walk to their municipio and can ask their local officials to legalize their union as husband and wife. This could be one factor. The cost of having a church wedding could be another factor in the rise of civil marriages,” said Cojuangco.

“Worse yet, I have encountered many couples with children that don’t even [want to] consider getting married,” she said.

Cojuangco, a reproductive health (RH) bill advocate, said this has made it an imperative for the state to help alleviate this situation.

“The principles in the RH bill can have a profound effect in helping couples, families and future generations live a decent life,” she said.