Is June A Wedding Month in the Philippines?

By Joe Espiritu
Columnist
Bohol Sunday Post Newspaper

June, in the Philippines is the month when classes will open. The fiestas are done. Only one last gasp remains and that is the fiesta of Poblacion. Then the action goes to the neighboring town of Garcia Hernandes. Since the rains came early, rain fed paddies have to be planted. This means we have to get things done before the typhoon season comes around the month of September.

There was once a custom, which had been Western in origin but curiously adopted by the Filipinos and that is a June wedding. In the northern temperate zone, the activity start in the spring thaw, as soon as snows melt on March, planting season begins and livestock are let out to range. For those who plant biennial crops, they start early so they could be able to harvest early so they could start another planting for a winter harvest.

This means there is a flurry of activity from March to May and they take a breather in June. During this month people take time to marry. Perhaps this was an ancient custom since this month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, Latin version of Hera, Greek goddess of hearth and home. The courting began perhaps when men and women were working side by side during the planting season.

Courting or wooing, an activity to persuade a female to become a mate is solely a human custom. Male animals just intimidate the female and rape them. It results in a slam, bang thank you madam mating routine. The male then runs off looking for another conquest leaving the joys and burden of motherhood to the female. Some male birds try to attract a mate by trying to attract her attention or building a nest with decorations.

Formerly humans regard courting is only for the birds. Cavemen bang the heads of the females enough to stun them and drag them unconscious to their caves. It was only when the females took evasive action when negotiation - er - courting began. At first, preferences of either party were disregarded. Pairing was regarded as a business, economic or political arrangement. As the female became emancipated, this custom was left to the upper class.

Courting comes in many forms. Some whisper sweet nothings, mouth flattery, lies or even threats to obtain acceptance. Some send love notes, flowers and chocolates anything the girl fancies. Anyway, when the chap wins, he will acquire a maid, laundress, cook, personal attendant working indeterminate hours, no pay, no retirement and a slim chance of resignation.

After the acceptance the pair has two options. The simplest is to run off and come back with the girl pregnant, a viable option when either or both is not acceptable to the parents. The other is to undergo a formal wedding. This is a ceremony where the couple will sweat under layers of formal clothing, kneel endless minutes, mumble forgotten prayers and repeat promises upon prompting.

In some cultures wedding do not happen until the girl could produce an offspring.

Middle Eastern cultures require that the girl must be a virgin before the wedding. A white cloth stained with fresh blood is to be displayed on the first night as proof of virginity. However if the girl has seen previous action before the main event she keeps a chicken handy. The shocking part is that it is not the bloodstained cloth that flew out of the window but the fluttering chicken.

Now, a June weddings is a thing of the past. Some insist on a wedding after courting lest a contending party makes a getaway. Shotgun weddings are of the past we in Jagna marry all the year round of our own free will. Thus religious or civil authorities expecting a surge of marriages in June will be in for disappointment. Or are they?
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Update on Panglao Bohol Airport Project

Instead of the earlier planned 2.3 kilometer airport runway, the length is assured to extend up to 3 kilometers. This assurance was made by Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Alfonso Cusi, made to Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo launched the construction of the P4.17-billion Panglao-Bohol International Airport here to boost the tourism and trade potentials of this world-class destination province.

The President led the capsule-laying ceremony in Barangay Tawala assisted by Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Alfonso Cusi, Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado, and Panglao Mayor Benedicto Alcala.

After the capsule-laying, the President was briefed by Cusi on the status of the project funded through MIAA's P3-billion income and P1 billion from the DOTC.

Cusi informed the President that the international airport is targeted to be operational in the first quarter of 2010 and can accommodate one million passengers per year.

The President said no foreign loans were sourced in the construction of the Panglao International Airport as government revenue agencies have consistently exceeded their targets these past few years.- Rey Chiu - PIA

Trial Court Judges in Financial Difficulty?

The trial court judges in the country have sought Bohol Representative Edgar Chatto's legislative intervention to review certain policies affecting the discharge of their essential duties.

One of their concerns involves a law which reduces the judges' special allowance in the event their basic pay is increased.

They made suggestions during the National Executive Board Meeting of the Philippine Trial Judges' League (PTJL) held for the first time in Bohol, specifically at the Bohol Beach Club in Panglao island, Friday night.

Headed by their national president Judge Kaudri Jainul, who is a Muslim, the judicial group invited the Bohol First District solon to their dinner conference.

Jainul handles the Shaira Court in Isabela City, Basilan. The Shaira Court is a Muslim court.

Judge Leo Moses Lison of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC – name the covered towns) explained that the trial court judges have been granted a special allowance equal to their basic pay.

But a law authored by Sen. Francisco Pangilinan says an increase in the salary of the said lower court judges shall be taken from their own special allowance.

Because any amount of salary raise is charged against the special allowance, they thus get no additional pay at all, the judges said.

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Is Agriculture the Last Hope of the Philippines?

Bohol Vice Governor Julius Caesar Herrera believes agriculture is still Bohol's "last, best hope".

"We need to rely on agriculture to help our people during the difficult days ahead," he noted.

Herrera said the country is facing uncertain times in the future with the bleak worldwide economic forecast.

He noted that the continued increase in the price of oil has given rise to fears that the economy will be even more difficult ahead.

"We cannot rely on other potential sources of income because they will be adversely affected if the situation deteriorates," the vice-governor added.

Herrera said this is the reason why the people should go back to agriculture before it is too late.

"People can plant root crops and other cash crops in their backyards and vacant lots," he added.

The vice-governor noted that there are still many idle lots in the province which can be tapped for this use.

He pointed out that with the rice crisis continuing to threaten the country, the people will be able to save if they grow their own produce in their backyards.

"These are very difficult times and anything that can help us survive is welcome," he noted.

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President Arroyo's Dinner in Bohol

Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado obliged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with a dinner luau on the day she came over to lay the time capsule for the P4.2-billion Panglao Bohol International Airport in Purok 2 of Barangay Tawala of the resort town.

And the luau proved very productive for Bohol .

Following her now famous scuba dive at the " Black Forest " of the Balicasag Island Dive Resort off Panglao that splashed on the front page of a national daily, the President and the governor tackled the more serious things anew although in more relaxed surroundings this time, at the white sand beach of the Panglao Island Nature Resort in Dauis town.

The beach is located below the resort that is on a cliff, and is accessible by a concrete pathway and short flights of stairs.

The Black Forest is one of six best-documented and mapped dive spots in Balicasag, which is one of the top three dive sites in the world.

Still wearing her diver's watch, she took time to greet everyone especially old friends, flitting from table to table before settling at the one reserved for her, Aumentado and his wife Grenie, Secretaries Joseph Durano of Tourism and Peter Favila of Trade and Industry, and Gov. Damian Mercado of Southern Leyte, among others.

Before the luau ended, Aumentado already had the President's commitment of completing more infrastructure projects, specifically the Bohol Tourism Road Improvement Project (Bohol-TRIP).

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