20 cops to tie knot in mass wedding

CEBU, Philippines - Twenty police personnel will tie the knot with their significant others in a mass wedding sponsored by the Police Regional Office–7 on Valentines Day.

Superintendent Tito Satera, officer-in-charge of PRO-7’s Police Community Relations, said the mass wedding which will take place in the St. Ignatius Chapel, is just one of their numerous plans for 2012 as they extend their help to all policemen and the public.

He said the activity is very timely because there are still many police personnel with common-law relationships.

“As Christians, each family should be blessed in marriage and we are giving them that opportunity,” he said in Cebuano.

PCR is spearheading this activity to encourage all uniformed men of the PNP to have a family blessed through holy matrimony, he added. 

To prepare, the couples are required to attend a Pre-Cana seminar on February 10 at PRO-7 headquarters before the wedding on the 14th.

PRO-7 chaplain Supt. Sereña will head the Mass which will be attended by Police Regional Director Marcelo Garbo Jr.

Satera assure that they will continue to conduct similar programs for their personnel in the coming years, further expanding their scope to Siquijor, Bohol and Negros Oriental.

“Only few couples registered for this February 14. But we hope that next time more couples would join especially from other areas,” he said.

Most of the participants are only from Cebu.

A similar activity was also done last year at the St. Joseph Chapel in Camp Crame, Quezon City, where the wedding of 24 couples was sponsored by the PNP.

PNP-sponsored mass weddings are done yearly by the PNP to give unwed couples in the police force a chance to be married for free with the top police officials as their godfathers.  (FREEMAN)