A "crying bride" whose partner arrived late, interrupted the rites officiated by Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia at the mass wedding of 373 couples, that he solemnized on Valentine's Day at the Bays Center in Bacolod City.

As the ceremony was about to end, and Leonardia was asking the couples to kiss each other, Bernadette Tocama, 27, of Brgy. Punta Taytay tapped the Mayor's shoulder, saying, "Mayor, my partner and I have not yet been married."

Leonardia cheerfully officiated at a special ceremony for Tocama and her husband, Jee-R Villaluna, 24, on the stage of the Bays Center, when the mass weddings was over.

Tocama later said that she cried because, if they are not married, the church will not release the baptismal certificate of their 9-month-old daughter Daisy. She said Jee-R left for Hinigaran Monday to go fishing and was not able to wake up early yesterday, and failed to come on time.

Meanwhile, the oldest couple during the ceremony yesterday were George Zolaybar, 73, and Lilia Flores, 63, of Zone 6, Brgy. Handumanan, who also had the most number of children.

The wedding coincided with George's 73rd birthday. George, a retired employee of the Bacolod Murcia Milling Co., said he and Flores have been living together since Feb. 14, 1956 and were celebrating their own "golden anniversary" yesterday. He said they have 12 children, four of whom are in the Philippine Army. The couple received a free overnight stay at Alhambra Hotel as their wedding present.

The youngest couple were Lito Barbon and Mayrin Atienza, of Barangay 13. Both are 18, and have a one-year-old daughter named Honeylyn. Barbon said he earns a living by selling bananas, while Atienza is a housewife. They have been living together for more than two years.

Several prizes and gift packs were given away to the newly-weds yesterday, while Taculing resident Jonna Gangozo, 21, was chosen as the one with the best wedding gown. She married Dondie Layan, 26, also of Taculing.

Leonardia said that if the basic unit of society is the family, it should be stable and founded on commitment.

The mass wedding of 373 couples yesterday is a record for Bacolod City as it was the biggest number solemnized at one time by Leonardia.

The ceremony, which was free of charge, was witnessed by family and friends of the wedded couples, National Statistics office Regional Director Norman Julag-ay, Bacolod MTCC Judge Napoleon Diamante, and City Registrar Evelyn Legaspina.

Julag-ay said Leonardia gifted the couples with a service that would have cost them more than P200,000 as each couple would have paid P500 for a private service. He said should the couples decide to get married in the church, they are free to do so, but they need not register their documents again at the Local Civil Registrar's Office.

The mass wedding is one of the activities for the celebration of February as the Civil Registration Month.*CGS

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