BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance declaring February 7-14 every year as Marriage Week in Baguio City.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Elmder Datuin stated that it is a declared policy of the city government that February 7-14 of every year will be the Marriage Week in the city and the City Social Welfare and Development Office is tasked as the lead office of the celebration and shall formulate programs and activities that would include events encouraging positive focus on marriage, such as, but not limited to, marriage and pre-marriage counselling, mass weddings, reaffirmation of vows, recognition or awarding of the longest married couple, romantic couples date, film showing, marriage seminars and workshops, couples parade, concerts and articles on marriage in print and social media.
Under the proposed events, the special events division of the City Tourism Office shall assist OCSWADO personnel in the preparation of the programmed activities to make it an institutional event in the city.
The ordinance mandated all barangays to actively participate in the week-long event and shall nominate couples among their constituents with the longest marriage while OCSWADO shall set the criteria in selecting the longest married couples.
Further, a citywide information dissemination of the event will be conducted by OCSWADO through mass media, social media and posting of advertisements in all conspicuous places in the city’s 128 barangays and in the central business district to encourage all couples living in the city to actively participate in lined up activities.
The ordinance provided funds for the week-long event shall be included in the annual appropriations of the local government to sustain the regularity of the events to be prepared by the concerned agencies.
The Family Code of the Philippines provided marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life and it is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by the code.
The ordinance stated marriage promotes the common good by building families and nurturing children and that it is also recognized as the foundation of family life and that preservation and promotion of such institution are vital for the survival of a nation.
According to the proposal, in many marriages nowadays, couples tend to forget each other along the way because they get caught at with career, children and other commitments and statistics would show that there is a decline in marriages registered every year in the country, yet an increase in annulment cases every year.
Further, the local legislative measure claimed fewer people see the importance of marriage today, and willingly resort to de facto relationships.
Datuin pointed out there is a need to strengthen the Filipino family by promoting and strengthening the value of the marriage that can lead to a productive family, hence, a transformed society. By Dexter A. See
