Love – and the coronavirus – is in the air!

A total of 183 Filipino couples, all contract workers, have tied the knot at the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) since the mission resumed consular services on April 26, after it followed a 24-hour disinfection program by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government.

The number of marriages are expected to rise in the coming months, officials said.

Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes said this proves love knows no barriers.

“The pandemic [has] strengthened couples’ resolve to spend their lives through crisis and through good times,” he said. “These 183 couples have decided to live their dreams together…with the pandemic, hoping for a silver lining [and] a brighter future [that] they could lead their new families to.”

Social Welfare Attaché Judith Bacwaden, who provides the required pre-wedding counseling as per the Philippines’ New Family Code, said that indeed, love conquers all.

“COVID is not a hindrance,” she said. “I try to use webinars kung marami sila (if there are plenty of them).”

In compliance with the Guidelines and Protocol for Reopening of Establishments issued by the Dubai government on April 23, the PCG conducts weddings two couples at a time on Thursdays. In contrast, during pre-COVID days, they would do an average of 25 weddings in one day, or a total of about 1,200 a year.

Long distance relationships

Several newlywed couples came from long distance relationships, where one of them went ahead to Dubai, saved money, and sponsored his or her soulmate’s visa so they could follow.

Among them are Jamille Domingo and Louise Marasigan, both of Quezon City, who dated long distance for a little over a year.

“He went to Dubai in April 2018; I followed him and moved here in July 2019,” Domingo said.

So far, she added, all they want to do is “try to survive this crisis and get out of it alive and well.”

“We’re still religiously saving up for our plans, like buying a lot. But we also know that those plans will get delayed, and we’re trying to come to terms with it. What’s important is to stay alive and safe from all this,” she said.

Domingo, a media practitioner, shared that she got engaged in February. “Right there and then, we decided to have our civil wedding within 2020, so that it would be easier for us to prepare for our church wedding in 2021,” she said.

The couple had planned to have their civil wedding in May. “But then because of the restrictions and temporary suspension of consular activities, we weren’t able to process it in time. Even our church wedding was delayed…although we are targeting to hold it sometime in 2022,” she said.

Domingo said they had their share of learnings from the pandemic: “We realized that we don’t have all the time in the world, and that we need to do what we want to do while we still can.”

“We didn’t [obsess over] grand weddings anymore, unlike how we were a few months back. We just wanted to be husband and wife and we got scared that if we waited a little longer, we may never get the chance,” she added.

Among the basic requirements for a civil wedding is a Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Following the solemnization, the couples are given an official marriage certificate from the PSA in 4 months.

Group weddings are also held at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi. – Rappler.com