Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio dispensed some helpful advice on how to cut down the wedding guest list in light of restrictions on mass gatherings.
During her livestreamed segment for the Davao City Disaster Radio on Wednesday, a netizen asked the lady mayor’s help on what to do with her expiring marriage license.
“No. 1, do you still want to get married or not? If the answer is yes, then mag-set ka ng kasal mo. If the answer is no, then wala na tayong dapat sagutin,” Mayor Sara addressed the netizen in a mixture of English, Tagalog and Cebuano.
“The next question is… ‘yes, I already have a groom and I still want to marry him.’ Under general community quarantine, religious gatherings shall be limited to not more than 10 persons until otherwise modified to subsequent issuances of the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force),” she said.
“Ang pagpapakasal ba sa simbahan ay isang religious gathering? Yes, it is a religious ceremony so you can wed in a church with not more than 10 (kayo) Ma’am. Ikaw, ang pari, ang groom, plus two witnesses, plus lima ka bisita,” she added.
Other commenters expressed their disbelief at the 10-person limit, a far cry from how weddings were conducted before the pandemic.
She then offered a tip to achieve a micro-wedding in the time of COVID-19.
“Ayaw mo pag-imbita ug mga plastic na tao. Maka-save mo ug kwarta. (Don’t invite people who are plastic. You can even save money),” advised Mayor Sara.
By adhering to IATF guidelines, the bride and the groom can save themselves from the trouble of feeding 100 people, for example, many of whom the couple might not be close to or was just forced to invite, she pointed out.
Recently, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) released new liturgical guidelines for the celebration of the sacraments in churches such as weddings as part of the new normal measures against the virus.
According to the CBCP, the wedding entourage is scrapped and participants in the ceremony are limited to the bride and the groom, the parents of the couple and one set of sponsors.
Mayor Sara told the netizen that she can also opt for a civil wedding but that requires an even smaller number of attendees.
“Civil weddings may be solemnized, provided the parties, witnesses and guests shall not exceed five, as provided in the Guidelines on the Phased Transition from ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) to GCQ (general community quarantine), and health hygiene protocols and other public medical standards,” read the Administrative Circular No. 39-2020 issued by Supreme Court Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta recently.
