BACOLOD CITY – The Army 79th Infantry Battalion held a mass wedding for three couples who were former members of the New People’s Army on Thursday, September 5, in Barangay Bato, Sagay City, Negros Occidental.
The event was attended by the families and friends of the newly-weds.
THREE couples who were former members of the New People’s Army tie the knot in a mass wedding organized by the Army 79th Infantry Battalion in Sagay City, Negros Occidental on Thursday, September 5. (Photo courtesy of 79th IB)
Lt. Col. Arnel Calaoagan, 79th IB commander, and other Army officers served as secondary sponsors during the special event.
Capt. Dan Carlo Samoza, 79th IB civil-military operations (CMO) officer, said preparations took three months and they came up with the event after they learned from their assessment that most of the rebel returnees have no documents and some of them are living together but not married yet.
They have been living together for five to eight years but could not get married because of difficulty obtaining official documents for their identities, thus, the Army helped them facilitate their requirements, he added.
The couples are residents of Escalante City who held key positions in the revolutionary movement, Samoza said.
Their eight children were also baptized during the mass wedding.
“We do not want programs made to comply as requirement or because of photo opportunities. We want to genuinely help them,” Samoza said.
The 79th IB said that the occasion emphasized the importance of strengthening family bonds and promoting sacredness of marriage and peace in the community as the family is the basic unit of society, particularly individuals transitioning from a life of conflict.
The event is also their commitment to sustain support towards the normal reintegration of rebel returnees to mainstream society with their families, Samoza said.
“We have taken that solemn pledge together as family and we will not abandon you like what your former comrades in arms have done to you,” Calaoagan said in his message to the newlyweds.