BY OLIVER T. BACCAY
TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (April 5)—The number of marriage registrations in the Cagayan Valley region was greatly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic as it went down by 35 percent in 2020 as compared to records in the previous years, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Engineer Girme Bayucan, PSA Region 2 chief statistical specialist, said there were only 6,751 registered marriages from January to September of 2020 or 34.7 percent lower as compared to the 19,694 recorded in 2019.
He said the number of couples who exchanged vows peaked only in February of last year with 77.
However, in March, which was the start of the Luzon wide lockdown, the number drastically dropped to 16. There were only two in April and five in May, which are usually the peak season of marriages in the region.
“Though the registration increases slightly for the period from June to September, the numbers are still very minimal as compared to the previous years when we were still in the normal situation,” Bayucan said.
He said the downtrend in the number of marriage registrations could be attributed to the strict protocols set by the national and local governments to contain the further spread of the virus eliminating the traditional wedding ceremonies.
In the report, Isabela province topped the region with the most number of marriage registrations.
Among the cities and municipalities, Tuguegarao City topped the list in 2019, followed by the cities of Ilagan, Santiago and Cauayan, the towns of Baggao and Tumauini, respectively. However, in 2020, City of Ilagan is on the top, followed by the cities of Tuguegarao and Cauayan, and the towns of Baggao and Solana.
As to the age of those who are getting married, Bayucan said the median age of females is 24 while 27 for males.
“Though one for every three couples wants to get married in the Roman Catholic Church, almost half of the total number of registered marriages last year opted for a civil wedding because of the restrictions in the conduct of mass gatherings,” Bayucan added.
He also shared that the national data on marriage registration was much affected as it recorded a 76 percent decrease in the 2020 vital statistics report.