Marriage going out of fashion in Philippines
Marriage is losing its lustre for many in the Philippines, with an increasing number of couples starting families out of wedlock, the government census office said on Friday.
More than 37 percent of the 1.78 million babies born in Asia's Roman Catholic outpost in 2008 had unmarried mothers, it said in a statement, citing results of the latest population census.
This was 12.5 percent higher than the previous year, and compared with a 2.0 percent increase for all births, the census office said.
A growing number of Filipinos now treat marriage as an option, rather than a requirement, for starting families, said Nene Baligad, a member of a unit of the National Statistics Office that licenses people who officiate weddings.
"Nowadays, some couples just live in and only get married after having four or five children," she told AFP.
"You can't really say it's for practical reasons, since you can be married on the cheap. It's more like, we Filipinos tend to follow what is in fashion."
Eight out of 10 Filipinos are Catholic, and the Philippines is one of only three territories in the world, along with Malta and the Vatican, where divorce remains illegal.
However the census showed that many couples were defying the nation's powerful Catholic bishops by not only on having babies out of wedlock, but also by shunning church weddings.
Marriages either solemnised by the church or by government officials fell 0.7 percent to 486,514 in 2008, according to the census.
Just over a third of couples were married in Catholic ceremonies, while four in 10 chose civil rites officiated by a person licensed by the census office.
Manila couple Alvin Ruiz, 24, and his girlfriend, Joann Lopez, told AFP as they visited the Manila Zoo that they started living in together four years ago and now had a three-year-old son.
"Instead of spending for a wedding, we used the money to buy infant milk," said Ruiz, who earns a living by buying used cooking oil from restaurants then selling them to companies that turn them into fuel for motor vehicles.
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WHY DO WE HAVE PHOTOSHOOTS
Hi everyone!
Good morning! Is this question ringing in your ears for quite sometime? Or are you always thinking why in the world are we doing this? Is this a part of something? Or are we boasting and promoting our wedding? Or just plainly "trip" lang namn? The answer to that is none of the above.
The reason why we are doing this is because....YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO US!
Simple.Basic and Deep. Ryane and I have thought of a different concept about our wedding. We wanted everyone to take part in this special event and we want our big day to be full of memories not only for us but to everyone. We believe that God gave us this talent- our creativity and our blessings- and what we are doing is we are sharing this to you, and to let the whole world know that God is the center of everything here. It's not our intention to boast about the things we are doing here...very wrong...and we are sorry if that is your interpretation. What we wanted is your participation in an event dear to us and we will not have the luxury of time to do this after we get married, so since we are still single and able, we are doing this.
Maybe a lot have been asking regarding the purpose of this, actually it is really a surprise but since we felt the need to tell everyone about because its really, really, please excuse me for the term, difficult and frustrating when people don't see the importance of this.The reason why we have photoshoots is becasue we are making an exhibit/gallery and a souvenir program out of this. If you will be asking regarding the expenses , I am proud to say that its really nothing.Thanks to God's goodness , He gave us people to help us in this endeavor. We are so happy to those people who joined us and they said that it's really different, to be part of something that is worth cherising and to be doing something someone dear to them. Now they are already part of the excitement and the anticipation of what lies next...making us more excited for that day, and very much grateful to God all the more.
We have mentioned that our theme for March is about change, and change can have positive or negative...it is up to us on how we are going to perceive it but it would be nice to see change as something positive. Below is a story taken from Bro.Bo's KFam Report. Hope you will be inspired and see the positive side of the sudden changes in our lives:
Ruby’s Dream Is To Build Higher
Many college students like the month of March the way they like pimples or a visit to the dentist.
March is Dracula and Darth Vader and Freddy Kruger and warts rolled into one.
Why?
Because March means final exams. March means deadlines for submission of term papers. March means completion of school projects they’ve been postponing the past 5 months.
But for our friend Ruby (not her real name), March means one step nearer to her dreams. March means another schoolyear taken off from seeing her dreams come true.
Ruby is one of the university scholars being supported by your Pag-asa ng Pamilya Scholarship Foundation Inc, our partner-ministry for helping poor but persevering youths get quality education.
We asked her what her dreams are. She counted off the rather usual young people’s dreams – get a college diploma, find a job paying decent wages, help her parents rise from poverty, have her own family in the future.
And then she added, with a far-away look in her eyes, “I dream of having enough money to build a second floor atop our house near the sea in Infanta, Quezon.”
Then she recounted what happened on that fateful night of November 29, 2004.
That was the night when rampaging floodwaters and mudslides came down from the Sierra Madre Mountain and went straight to the Pacific Ocean, carrying with them hundreds of lives and houses and properties in Infanta, Real and Gen. Nakar towns.
The floods also washed away hundreds of dreams.
“Due to continuous rains, the floodwaters rose to about 4 to 5 inches inside our house around7PM, right after our supper,” Ruby said. “And within three hours, the floodwaters rose up to my chest. Then electricity conked out, plunging the whole town in total darkness. Then the floodwaters rose higher than our windows.
"Before 11PM, the waters reached the level of our rooftop.
“And our house is just a one-storey house.”
In the neighboring houses, the fathers and their adult sons managed to smash their ceiling and forced open one galvanized iron roof where the family members scampered to the rooftop. Those were the lucky ones.
Ruby’s father, a fisherman, was out in the sea at the time. Almost all fishermen do their fishing at night time, not at daytime. The only males in the house were her kid brothers aged 8 and 10. Ruby herself was only a teen-ager in high school at the time. And their mom was just not strong enough to punch a hole in their roof.
While the floodwaters were yet waist-high, the whole family abandoned the house and swam to a neighboring house which had a second floor.
They found sanctuary in their neighbor’s house though the floodwaters went about a foot high on the flooring of the second floor. That was how high the floodwaters rose at its worst.
And that’s why Ruby dreams of finishing her studies and earn enough to build a second floor atop their house.
With God’s grace, your generous support, and Ruby constantly burning the midnight candles, Ruby’s dream will soon become a reality.
You don’t know Ruby.
But your generosity is making a huge difference in her life.
Because of you, her dream will come true.
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
Isn't it nice to embrace change positively? Take for example Ruby, the sudden impact of the floods brought a negative change to their hometown and most especially to her family. But that didn't stop her from achieving her dreams. In fact, that incident became her inspiration to make her dream come true.
Inspired? If you want to read more of these stories from Bro. Bo , kindly log on to http://kerygmafamily.com/. You can subscribe and get free daily inspirations.
We hoped you liked the article and enjoyed reading it. Continue to be updated, please visit our website www.fourlovesandavow.com for the latest updates. God bless!Ü
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What is Love???
Love, love, love...One of the most used words in the history of mankind.The meaning and usage of this word has evolved from a simple definition to a more complex meaning. It could be different from one person to another, from one status to another, from one age bracket to another. The word has been overused and corrupted by our society. It is sometimes confused with infatuation, or with romance and passion.
But what really is love? We only know one meaning of Love... and it is real love that comes from God and no one else. God is Love.
The definition above is correct and no one can surpass that, but for other people who doesn't have a deep understanding about God, the bible gives another meaning:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Isn't it nice to know the real meaning of love?
So sweet.So refreshing.So perfect.So selfless.
True Love.Clearly defined by God.Powerfully explained by God .Beautifully created by God. His gift to everyone. Our commitment to the Mighty One.
