NorMin marriages, what does emerging pattern tell?

SHERI and Bob Strit’s article on Philippine marriages painted a very good picture of the Philippines, when they wrote: “If you assume that getting married in the Philippines is an easy process, you are mistaken.”

This implies that the legal aspects of Philippine marriages  have fully protected our people. They advised those who are not citizens of the Republic of the Philippines to take note of the required documents which would include a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage.

   This means that any foreigner who wishes to marry in the Philippines is required by the Philippine Government to obtain from his/her Embassy a “Certificate or Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage” before filing an application for a marriage license.

This certification affirms that there are no legal impediments to the foreigner marrying a Filipino, which is indeed a very good protection especially for Filipinas who are to be married to foreigners.

Speaking of marriage, statistics show an emerging new trend for the month of most marriages.

Contrary to the practice which dates back to the ancient days of the Roman Empire which considered June as the popular month for weddings in honor of the month of Juno, the goddess of marriage, statistics show that the month of February topped with almost 3 thousand marriages in Northern Mindanao in 2010 according to the Vital Statistics Report of the National Statistics Office.

Not surprising  though, because February happens to be the LOVE month. However, the national figure showed that most of the couples opted for summer to get hitched. The month of April recorded the most number of registered marriages at 55, 705 or 11.5 percent of the total. The month of February followed closely at 11.1 percent.

            The marriage month of the Filipinos have shifted slightly as in the previous years. Aside from June, the month of May had been the most popular choice to tie the knot. Climate change might be the apparent reason for such shift, since May has turned out to be a rainy season.

However, the preferred month for weddings is not that vital. What is alarming to consider are the early marriages which have become a societal challenge in the contemporary era. It has been historically associated with a variety of undesirable results in the economy and family relationships, among  others.

Preliminary results of administrative – based data of the NSO show that in Northern Mindanao there were 21 marriages registered in 2011 to both male and female who were still teenagers and demographers see an increasing number in the succeeding years as premarital sex in the country is strongly opposed by moral standards.

Teenage marriages subsequently lead to teenage pregnancies. As discussed in earlier article, births to teenage mothers in the region are seen at approximately 5.2 percent of the country’s total. There were births also recorded to mother who were below 15 years old at the time of delivery. Consequently, as revealed by the Department of Education in their Basic Education Information System, 3.22 percent of the High School drop outs were due to early marriages/pregnancies.

Having a strong tradition of canon law, the country maintains marriage as  the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution. While it is true that Filipinos cherish marriages and believe on its sanctity, statistics speak otherwise. Results of  the 2007 Census of Population show that for household population 10 years old and over for both sexes 30,224 or approximately 1.0 percent of the region’s total was either divorced or separated. The results also reveal that 754 teenagers reported that they are divorce/separated.

What is more alarming is another emerging development which shows that in the 2010 Census 11,262 teenagers reported that they are in “live – in” status. Median age at first marriage in the region according to the results of the National Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the NSO in 2008 was at 21.6 years old.

All these findings will not only be taken from the perspective of economics but also from its interplay with various social science perspectives, with the objective of highlighting implications for policy decisions.

Posted in: Press Release