Dubai: A small gathering of Filipino couples exchanged vows just two days before Valentines Day during a mass civil wedding held at the Philippine Consulate in Dubai.
Ten couples expressed their joy and happiness Thursday after finally receiving their marriage certificates at the consulate, in what they described as a “faster and easier way to cut on costs and other preparations needed to get married at a church in the UAE”
Witnesses and friends of the couples gathered in the room as a consul officer took upon himself the role of officiating the marriages of the couples, who had registered their names with the Consulate a month back.
“We hold mass weddings at the consulate every Thursday because it would be time-consuming and difficult to wed them individually,” said Frank Cimafranca, Consul General in Dubai.
With almost 500,000 Filipinos living in the UAE, Cimafranca said the number of marriages has been increasing a lot over the years, with as many as 10 to 15 Filipinos getting married at the consulate every week.
“In the Philippines, we are authorised by law to officiate these marriages. For those who prefer to have it done at a church, by an imam, or at Dubai courts, they only send us the papers to have them registered.”
Maria Rona Balleser, in charge of the applications received by the consulate, said one of the reasons many Filipinos are opting for a civil marriage in Dubai is because the process of getting the marriage certificate is faster.
“Since they are UAE residents and their vacation periods are short, it makes more sense to get their marriages done here, as they will not have the time to secure their marriage license within a one-month period when visiting the Philippines.”
“They can qualify for marriage within just 15 days here if there are no legal impediments,” she added.
Maria Rona said that civil marriages are usually a choice when the couples are from different Christian sects or when they want to go back and have a Church wedding in the Philippines.
“Many Filipinos choose to have a civil marriage done here and then go to the Philippines for a church wedding. It’s a personal choice, but it’s also because it’s easier to get married at the church there when they already have a marriage certificate from here,” she said.
One couple at the ceremony said they were not able to get the marriage done in the Philippines before because they had to fly here to work. However they still want to and “must” complete a church wedding after this.
Explaining one of the reasons why they chose to get married at the consulate and not the church, Modesto Bugarin said: “The costs, the time it takes, including all the requirements and preparations we need to complete to get a church wedding done here can be very hectic. There are five seminars for marriage counselling that we have to attend, unlike at the consulate where they had just required one.”
Marriage counselling is taken very seriously he said since, by law, divorce is not allowed in the Philippines.
This is why the consul officer spent time explaining that this was a lifetime choice for them and that the couples cannot get divorced unless they got an annulment, which can be extremely costly and difficult in the Philippines.
Another couple, who also said they had a church wedding in mind once they’re back to the Philippines, explained that they were in a hurry to get legalised here because they wanted to move in together, and this is why they chose to get married at the consulate.
“We’ve heard church weddings in Dubai are quite expensive and the preparations take long, so we decided to just wait and do it [church wedding] in the Philippines instead,” said John Michael.
After completing the ceremony, the newlyweds received gift vouchers on behalf of Villa, Rihab and Rimal Rotana, who sponsored the occasion for the first time Thursday.
Kinan Al Ghraoui, general manager of Villa, Rihab and Rimal Rotana said, “We believe people in love should never be denied the chance to marry their soul mate, and we are proud to have taken this opportunity to support this beautiful event here at the Philippines Consulate.”
