Magdalo soldier weds fiancée at Camp Crame church

Neither prison walls nor the presence of heavily armed security personnel stopped a detained Magdalo junior officer from exchanging wedding vows with his long-time girlfriend yesterday afternoon.

Marine 1Lt. Jonel Sanggalang and Jane Molino tied the knot in the St. Michael Parish Church at Camp Crame, with personnel from the Special Action Force and the Special Weapons and Tactics unit surrounding the church. Since Sanggalang is a detainee, the couple will have their honeymoon inside his cell.

Prior to the wedding, which was held at 3 p.m., the Philippine National Police issued an advisory yesterday morning that Camp Crame would be without electricity from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. due to scheduled repair and maintenance of some of its power transformers.

Only a handful of guests were allowed to witness the wedding, which were co-officiated by Camp Crame chaplain Fr. Tito Oliva and Fr. Robert Reyes.

The couple had been separated following Sanggalang’s arrest and detention over his alleged involvement in the failed Oakwood mutiny in 2003. He is still on trial. – Jaime Laude