DUBAI: Some 26 pairs of love birds – all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) – exchanged vows and tied the knot in what was yet again another mass wedding held at the Philippine Consulate General’s Office (PCGO) and this time solemnized by Vice Consul Marianne Bringas.
And as in past similar activities, the most awaited part was the “I dos,” the wearing of the rings and the rousing “You may kiss the bride,” where sponsors and friends take the best spot to capture the moment for posterity with their videophones.
Weekly mass weddings are being held at PCGO in Dubai and the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi with officials taking turns as solemnizing officers. In Dubai, weekly mass weddings are attended by an average of 25 couples. Abu Dhabi usually has a lower number.
The UAE has strict laws against living together without the union of marriage, which is among reasons why the couples go for marriage.
The couples have to meet documentary requirements, most important of which is the Certificate of No Marriage (Cenomar) from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). They also have to undergo prior marriage counselling by Social Welfare Attaché Judith Bacwaden.
The weddings are usually not without dramas as there would always be two or four pairs who had gone through a period of long distance relationship before their love is consummated by marriage.
