65 couples, some elderly, tie the knot in Cagayan de Oro mass wedding

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Senior citizen Nico Daayata and his bride Crestina Aceron had a whirlwind romance and were among 65 happy couples who tied the knot in a heartwarming ceremony in Barangay Mambuaya, a hinterland village some 24 kilometers from downtown Cagayan de Oro on Saturday, January 21.

Emotions ran high as Cagayan de Oro Mayor Rolando Uy officiated the mass wedding for the couples who all came dressed for the occasion with their families.

“Maybe it was love at first sight. We just met a couple of months ago,” Aceron said.

Daayata, 64, said his first wife died in August 2022 and by that time he met the 58-year-old Aceron in November that same year, he thought it was time to move on.

Aceron lost her husband to cancer and has been a widow for a year.

“Our children are already old, and they did not pose any objections to our marriage,” she said.

Daayata and Aceron won the P5,000 prize for the longest kiss contest among the couples.

Each couple went home with a lechon, bag of groceries, 10-kilogram bag of rice, cake, and P5,000 in assistance from city hall, which has been organizing these mass weddings.

Uy said he supports this program because families are the foundations of a stable society.

“A good family becomes productive unlike broken homes,” said Uy, who has been supporting the program after he was first elected chairman of Barangay Carmen in the city in the 1990s.

The local government’s mass wedding program aims to help low-income couples who may not have the means to afford a traditional wedding ceremony. 

The program also provides counseling and support for the newlywed couples to help them strengthen their relationships and build stable families.

Uy said the city government plans to hold more mass wedding events in the future, as part of its efforts to promote family values and build stronger communities. – Rappler.com