Couples renew vows in attempt to break record

MANILA, Philippines - Around 40,000 couples renewed their marriage vows at the Quirino Grandstand yesterday in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record, according to the organizer of the event.

Couples for Christ (CFC) expressed hope they would be able to break the United Kingdom’s record of more than 1,400 couples who renewed their vows in February this year.

CFC executive director George Campos said couples all the way from Bataan and Basilan participated in the event.

“We are confident that we can break the existing record,” he said.

Campos said CFC members from 33 other countries, including China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and the United States, also took part in the endeavor.

He said about 90 percent of the couples came from the Philippines, which is where the CFC originated in 1981.

Although there were no officials from Guinness present during the event, Campos said they followed the rules set by the organization.

He said they would submit the required documents such as photocopies of marriage contracts of the participants to the Guinness office in London.

Four bishops officiated the mass renewal of vows at the Rizal Park. They were Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, Bishop Paul Hinder, the Vicar Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia and another bishop from Tanzania.

A message sent by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto was read during the event.

“I have the honor to transmit the Apostolic Blessing that Pope Francis imparts with affection to those present at the thanksgiving liturgy,” the message read.

Earlier, Campos said they wanted to raise public awareness of the importance of marriage, adding the number of marriages in the Philippines has been decreasing.

Based on records from the National Statistics Office, the number of registered marriages in the country went down from 482,480 in 2010 to 476,408 in 2011.

“This is not just a game of numbers. We are protecting the sanctity of marriage,” he said.

“Some people no longer believe in marriage. Some couples say they are content with live-in arrangement, especially the youth,” he added.

Campos said the declining number of marriages in the country could be attributed to the increasing population, financial problems and more career options.

The CFC has more than 700,000 members from 106 countries, 150,000 of whom are in the Philippines.