More Filipinos prefer civil rites vs religious weddings - NSO

More Filipino couples prefer civil than religious weddings and most women opt to get married in May rather than in June, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said in a report on Monday. A nationwide survey of marriage certificates registered at local civil registry offices reported that 41.3 percent of recorded unions in 2003 were contracted through civil rites. Marriages officiated by the Roman Catholic church, the largest dominant religion in the country, ranked second with 37.1 percent. All other marriages for the period were solemnized under Islam, tribal rites and other religious rites. The data included marriages that occurred in 2003 and were registered from January 2003 to March 2004. A total of 593,553 marriages was recorded for the period, up 1.8 percent from the earlier year. The NSO did not give comparative figures from earlier years. The report also showed that most couples get married in May. "Riding on the 'fiesta' occasion may be one of the factors that influenced the choice of couples to marry during this month,' the report said. Most of Philippine festivals are held during May. The NSO data said for four consecutive years already, the most number of unions have been recorded in May. In a May day, an average of 2,189 marriages occur. This is higher than the whole year average of 1,626 marriages in a day, the NSO report said. The data debunk the belief that most brides want to walk down the aisle in June, which ranked as the 4th most preferred month of marriage. December was the second favorite month to get married in, while January ranked third. The report also showed that women tend to marry earlier than men. The median age at marriage for brides was 25, while for the groom it was 27. However, the NSO data also showed that men tend to marry even after their golden years. In 2003, there were three times more grooms than brides aged 75 years and older. - GMANews.TV