CARIGARA, LEYTE -- In time for the Love Month, at least 63 couples exchanged ‘I dos’ in a civil mass wedding sponsored by the local government here on Thursday, Feb. 9.

Mayor Eduardo Ong Jr., who officiated the wedding, said the local government shouldered most of the expenses for the ceremony except for the Certificate of No Marriage that the couples had to get from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
"Most of these couples have been living together for years, most of them already have kids and have already stood the test of time. So it is only right and deserving to make it official," the mayor said.

Aside from the free lunch, each of the couples received a special gift from the local chief executive.
Nineteen-year-old Joy Bayani and Joshua Rondina, the youngest couple in the group, were teary-eyed when they were finally pronounced as husband and wife.
Joy said they waited for the mass wedding since they have been together for almost four years with two children.
"We're thankful to the mayor for accommodating us even if we were late. We thought we could not make it because of some setbacks but now we're finally here and married," the couple said.