
PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (AFP) - Standing ankle-deep in swamp mud, couples have wed in an unusual Valentines Day' ceremony on this western Philippine island, that marked their commitment to the environment.
The 100 barefoot couples, dressed in white, stood in the swamp facing the sea and exchanged vows in a ceremony officiated by the city mayor.
"You will be an example of true love not just to your partner but to the environment," Mayor Edward Hagedorn said in a short speech after marrying the mostly poor couples from Palawan island's capital of Puerto Princesa.
The official ceremony was free of charge for the couples in exchange for planting mangrove saplings in the swamp and helping further to protect their island.
This strange combination of environmentalism, romance and aid to the poor has become an annual event in Puerto Princesa which has been pushing an image of cleanliness and ecological activism to attract tourists to Palawan.
For seventy-two year old farmer Protacio de Ocampo, the free ceremony was a chance to make official his relationship with 67-year-old partner Teofela Apolinario.
The pair have been together since 1958 but de Ocampo has been too embarrassed to approach officials to arrange a traditional wedding because he is illiterate and could not sign the marriage license.
"It would be embarrassing if they passed away without getting married. At least now we know that their union would be recognized in heaven," said their daughter Leonora Apolinario, 58, who witnessed the mass wedding along with her daughter and some 3,000 other guests.
Josephine Rodriguez, 27, wearing a dress she borrowed from her partner's aunt, said she was thankful for the ceremony as she and her construction worker husband could not afford a private one.
"Maybe later when we have money we can have a private wedding," said the mother-of-one who spent most of the ceremony trying to keep her dress out of the mud.
She said she understood the importance of the mangrove swamp, which serves as a nursery and habitat for small fish and anchors the fragile soil on the shore to prevent erosion.
"It's a lot of fun. And this is good because this is where the smaller fish can live," she told AFP.
Afterwards the newlyweds celebrated with wedding cake and a shoreline banquet of omelets and fried noodles, courtesy of the city government.