PHILIPPINES: Philippine police hold a mass wedding for dozens of its officers who say they rarely have time to plan their own weddings

Record ID: 599020

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: Philippine police hold a mass wedding for dozens of its officers who say they rarely have time to plan their own weddings
  • Date: 14th February 2012
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) POLICEMAN WENZIE DUMENDEN SAYING: "I'm really happy because we get to be married on Valentine's." (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) POLICEWOMAN PILITA DARIA SAYING: "He's officially in my hands now. There's no escape."
  • Embargoed: 29th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines, Philippines
  • Country: Philippines
  • Topics: Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA5BVDMU9D93LITM387S51WROA6
  • Story Text: Police officers took time out from their active duty on Tuesday (February 14) to take part in a free mass wedding on Valentine's Day.
    Dozens of grooms donned their uniforms, while brides opted for simple white dresses as police officers simultaneously exchanged vows in front of a church altar inside Manila's police headquarters.
    The mass wedding was for police officers who did not have the opportunity to plan their own weddings due to financial and work-related constraints.
    Policeman Wenzie Dumendez and his new wife already have two children and had been together for seven years before they tied the knot.
    "I'm really happy because we get to be married on Valentine's," he said.
    His wife, Pilita Daria, said that by tying the knot, her husband was now on a leash.
    "He's officially in my hands now. There's no escape," she joked.
    Policewoman Marilyn Dumbali, she wanted to marry her partner early before he leaves for his assignment in the restive Southern Philippines.
    "It's difficult because we do not get to see each other since he's been assigned in Mindanao Island. I'm afraid for his safety," she said.
    Philippine National Police Chief, Nicanor Bartolome, who spearheaded the mass wedding, said marriage was important in the police force as it establishes a bond between the officers, particularly in working with separate assignments.
    "We know the value of being a family, and it should start under the Church. A wedding in front of Christ," Bartolome said.
    Most couples were middle-aged police officers who had not considered marriage mainly due to financial problems.
    A traditional Filipino wedding usually costs around 30,000 pesos ($700 U.S. dollars), an amount that some workers cannot easily afford.
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