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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Wednesday, February 15, 2017
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ILOILO City – For the Melgar couple of Barangay Tanza Baybay, City Proper, love is sweeter the second time around.
In 1998, Rodrigo and Rosene Melgar tied the knot in a civil wedding ceremony before a judge of the court. They were eventually blessed with two children.
But just last month, they found out – to their great shock – that their marriage was not registered with the city’s Civil Registrar’s Office.
Yesterday, the Melgars were among the 122 indigent couples who joined a free mass wedding sponsored by the city government to mark Valentine’s Day.
“We decided to get married again after discovering that our first one was not registered for still unclear reasons,” said Rosene, now 50.
This time, their marriage officiating officer was Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, and the venue was not a judge’s chamber but the historic Plaza Libertad transformed into a beautiful wedding garden.
The married life of Rosene and Rodrigo, now 60, had the making of a teleserye. Just three years after they exchanged “I dos” before a judge, they decided to call it quits.
Life was hard. Poverty drove Rodrigo to look for work in Metro Manila. This meant leaving Rosene and their young children behind.
Rosene did not want her husband to go. She would find it difficult to raise two kids alone.
But no one could stop Rodrigo, not even his wife.
In 2001 when Rodrigo stepped out of the house for Metro Manila, an indignant Rosene decided it was time to move on without the man she married. Walang forever, she concluded.
Rodrigo found a job as construction worker in Quezon City. Rosene, on the other hand, found another man and gave birth to another child.
But after just a couple of years, the man left her, too, said Rosene.
Two failed relationships made her quite cynical about men – and love. Enough of them, she said. She decided to devote all her time raising her three children alone.
But life is full of surprises. Rodrigo returned to Iloilo City and started wooing Rosene again.
Would she give him a second chance?
Love moves in mysterious ways, said Rosene, and yes, Rodrigo holds a special place in her heart. After all, he was the man to whom she gave her sweet “I do” nearly two decades ago.
Last month, Rodrigo and Rosene reconciled and decided to give married life a second chance.
“I love him and I will always do,” said Rosene./PN
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