Tree-planting seminar for couples gain support

MAKING tree-planting a requisite for couples who want to get married will reduce the applicants for marriage licenses in the city.

Cebu City civil registrar Evangeline Abatayo gave this observation during the public hearing on the draft ordinance of Councilor Nida Cabrera.

The proposed ordinance requires couples applying for marriage license to plant five seedlings before granting them the document.

Abatayo said this is an additional layer to the bureaucracy in the issuance of marriage licenses.

She also finds it unfair for city residents as other local government units do not require tree planting in granting marriage licenses.

“The application for marriage license is supposed to be as simple as possible,” Abatayo said.

Abatayo however said if Cabrera insists on passing her draft ordinance, the tree planting requirement should not be made mandatory and sanctions should not be imposed on any couple who failed to comply.

Aside from tree planting, Cabrera’s ordinance also requires couples to attend a lecture on solid waste management.

A fine of P1,000 to P2,500 will be imposed on those who fail to plant seedling and attend the seminar and their marriage license will not be issued.

Abatayo and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources (CCENRO) head Rey Pacres appeared in a public hearing which the council called yesterday to discuss Cabrera’s draft ordinance.

Pacres said they have identified barangays Guba and Taptap as the site for the tree planting requirement.

Abatayo said imposing additional requirements forces couples applying for marriage license “to seek avenues to go around the requirements”.

Abatayo said most couples don’t take Pre-Marital Counseling (PMC) seriously while others even resort to paying a fixer in order to get a PMC certificate without actually attending the seminar.

“How much more if you include another prerequisite to marriage license which is not even related to marriage?” she said./Chief of the Reporters Doris C. Bongcac