A celebration of Day of Love, even among ruins

OUT IN THE OPEN A couple becomes the center of attraction during the “Casamiento de Cagsawa,” a free mass wedding held at Cagsawa Ruins in Daraga, Albay province, on Friday. The event was organized by the local government in partnership with Pag-Ibig Fund during the celebration of February as Love Month and the Cagsawa Festival. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA / INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

DARAGA, Albay—With a quiet Mayon Volcano as a witness to their eternal love, 94 couples tied the knot in a mass wedding at the historic Cagsawa ruins in this town on Friday.

Nelson Ramirez, 53, and his wife, Mary Jane, 32, both residents of Mayon village here, said they could not ask for more after their 11-year relationship was solemnized by marriage.

They joined other couples in availing themselves of the free wedding sponsored by the local government—the perfect gift they said they could offer each other on Valentine’s Day.

It was a different Valentine’s Day for the officials and employees of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). They distributed goods to the people displaced by the Jan. 25, 2015, fighting in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, between government forces and Moro rebels.

“We call this Yakapayapaan,” ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman told the Inquirer on the phone from Mamasapano. “Let us love each other.”

Free weddings for poor

The mass wedding—dubbed “Casamiento de Cagsawa”—was a highlight of the Cagsawa Festival, where the local government organized free weddings for poor couples, according to the municipal tourism officer, Agapita Pacres.

“We never thought we would be married since we have been living together for 11 years now,” Ramirez told the Inquirer, holding back his tears.

As a farmer with already four children, Ramirez found it difficult to spend money for a church wedding. He’d rather spend his earnings for his family’s basic needs.

Jordan Madelar, 25, a delivery boy, and his partner, Helen Aban, 20, both residents of Barangay Pagasa, heaved a sigh of relief after tying the knot.

Madelar said he traveled all the way from Metro Manila for this special day.

“Even though we had many merchandise to deliver in Metro Manila, I made sure to prioritize our wedding as it only happens once in a lifetime,” he said.

Strength of the people

The Home Development Mutual Fund, or Pag-Ibig, provided the rings, bouquets, meals and tokens for the newlyweds and their guests.

Pacres said the local government chose to hold the ceremony at the Cagsawa ruins to add meaning to the weddings. The area symbolizes the strength of Albayanos for having overcome challenges posed by Mayon’s eruptions, she said.

“Receiving the sacrament of matrimony is a big blessing from God as it guides the couples to a healthy relationship in which God is the center of their love,” said Rev. Fr. Ricky Bermas, one of the priests who celebrated the Mass.

Phivolcs warning

It was indeed an auspicious day for the couples to get married as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) had lowered to zero the alert level at the volcano.

This means no magmatic eruption is foreseen in the immediate future, said Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum.

In a bulletin, Phivolcs said the frequency of volcanic earthquakes had declined in the last six months and there had been a consistent absence of crater glow at the summit.

But it reminded the public against entering the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone due to hazards of rockfalls, avalanches and sudden steam-driven eruption at the summit, which may occur without warning.

Threat of magma

Eduardo Laguerta, resident volcanologist of Phivolcs in Legazpi City, said there was still a threat posed by magma being pushed out of the volcano.

“The [lava dome] can be pulled down by gravity or earthquake. Its surface has been solidified but since it is a poor conductor of heat, it can collapse anytime,” Laguerta said.

Down south, ARMM officials, workers and their spouses mingled with the displaced residents to make them feel they had not been forgotten, amid perceptions that national attention had shifted away from them in the wake of the Mamasapano fighting that killed 67 people—44 of them elite policemen.

“I personally requested them to spend their Valentine’s dates with those in need of human care to help them move on,” Hataman said.

The ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Assistance Response Team was the core group that led the employees’ journey to the clash site in Barangay Tukanalipao.

There they visited displaced families and the heirs of civilians killed in the bloody encounter. The heirs received cash assistance.

Fear remains

Relief packs were distributed among the residents while the Department of Agrarian Reform handed over two corn shellers for the use of the communities.

ARMM Agriculture Secretary Makmod Mending Jr. said the regional government wanted the town’s farmers supported with their needs for the cropping-season and help them recover from the Mamasapano fighting.

Experts from the United Nations Children’s Fund and social welfare and education departments held psychosocial counseling sessions with the children of displaced families.

Hataman said the Mamasapano fighting had left fear, especially among children, who continued to refuse to go to school, fearing more violence.

“We are spending our Valentine’s Day here wearing our black T-shirts emblazoned with ‘Truth, Justice and Peace.’ There will be no justice without truth. No peace without justice,” said Assistant Secretary Pearl Dans of the ARMM’s interior department.

ARMM Secretary Anwar Malang also met with municipal and village officials, who briefed them on the security situation in Mamasapano, a mostly Muslim community.

“This is our version of a meaningful Valentine’s Day,” Hataman said.

Weddings in Pangasinan

It was also a day of hearts up north.

Twenty-five towns held mass weddings in Pangasinan province but the ceremonies were for a different reason.

The Pangasinan weddings were part of the “global advocacy of getting everyone registered and of promoting awareness on the importance of civil registration in the lives of Filipinos,” said Edgar Norberte, Pangasinan statistics officer of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The towns of Binmaley and Bani held the ceremonies on Monday and San Manuel on Tuesday. With reports from Ma. April Mier, Inquirer Southern Luzon; Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao; and Johanne Margarette Macob, Inquirer Northern Luzon