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'Mahal magpakasal': Number of Filipinos getting married on steady decline, data show

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Josiah Antonio, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/02/21/20200221-china-health-philippines-mass-wedding.jpg"/><figcaption>Filipino couples kiss while wearing their face masks in a government-sponsored mass wedding in Bacolod City, Philippines, February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020. <em>Bacolod City Public Information Office/Handout via Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — More couples choose not to tie the knot due to financial constraints, a sociologist explained on Friday as recently released <a href="https://psa.gov.ph/content/2019-philippine-marriage-statistics">report </a>by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed registered unions continued to decline in 2019.</p><p>“Maraming Pinoy nangangarap na ikasal sa Manila Cathedral at bongga ang kasal. Kaso wala namang pera. Kaya nag-iipon sila hanggang sa tumagal na lamang at wala na silang naipon,” sociologist Gerry Lanuza explained.</p><p>(Many Filipinos dream to be married in Manila Cathedral with a extravagant ceremony. However, they don’t have enough money. So, they opt to save money up till the time comes that they still haven’t save enough for it.)</p><p>“Others want marriage but they are saving for [the] future marriage kahit naka-live in na (even in a live-in set-up) … What is the most important reason? Economic. Mahal masyado, (Too expensive.)” he added.</p><p>Lanuza noted that other possible reasons to explain the decline of registered marriages are:</p><ul>	<li>economic</li>	<li>live in arrangement</li>	<li>no longer values marriage</li>	<li>relationship to families</li></ul><p>He added that these reason has also something to do with postmodern lifestyles. </p><p>“It has to do with postmodern lifestyles. Sa atin na mahihirap, economic talaga, (To us poor people, it’s economic.)” the sociologist said.</p><p>“’Yong iba naman ayaw talaga ng kasal dahil ayaw nilang matali. Pwede silang umalis anumang oras. Trial marriage is delayed hanggang sa tumanda na sila. ‘Yong iba nagpapakasal lang kasi para sa mga anak ... legitimacy,” he added.</p><p>(Others don’t want marriage because they don’t want to be tied up. They can leave anytime. Trial marriage is delayed up till they grow old. Other marry for their kids … legitimacy.)</p><p>Marizza Grande, assistant national statistician from the Civil Registration Service, said that many couples opt to live together without getting married. This led to a rise in registered illegitimate births.</p><p>“Base po sa datos ng mga naitalang sanggol na isinilang na buhay o registered live births, ang bilang ng mga ipinanganak mula sa magulang na hindi kasal o illegitimate births ay tumataas,” Grande said.</p><p>(Based on the data of registered babies born alive or registered live births, the number of births from parents who are not married or illegitimate births is increasing.)</p><p>“Isang maaaring dahilan ay dumadami ang mga nagsasama ng hindi kinakasal. Isa pang maaaring dahilan ay ang hindi pagparehistro o hindi pa pagrerehistro ng mga kasal o late na magparehistro ng kasal,” she added.</p><div> </div><p>(One possible reason is the increasing number of unmarried couples. Another possible reason is not registering or not registering marriages or registering marriages late.)</p><div><strong>BY THE NUMBERS</strong></div><p>Only 1,183 marriages, on average, were solemnized daily through different types of ceremony, the PSA said in a report made public Monday. </p><p>A total of 431,972 marriages were registered in 2019, fewer compared to records in 2017 and 2018 with around 434,900 and 449,200, respectively.</p><p>From 2010 to 2019, the lowest record was last 2016 and 2014, approximately 419,600 and 429,700, respectively.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/15/figure-1.png"/><figcaption>Number of registered marriages from 2010 to 2019 in the Philippines. Photo from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)</figcaption></figure></div><p>Most of the recorded marriages were contracted through civil ceremonies (38.6 percent) while others were officiated in a Roman Catholic church (36.2 percent), performed in other religious rites (22.9 percent), Muslim tradition (1.4 percent), or tribal ceremony (0.9 percent).</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/15/figure-2.png"/><figcaption>Percent distribution of registered marriages by type of ceremony in the Philippines in 2019. Photo from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)</figcaption></figure></div><p>CALABARZON region tallied the highest number of registered marriages with 13.9 percent of the total number followed by Metro Manila with 12.4 percent and Central Luzon at 11.8 percent.</p><p>Only two regions had an increase in registered marriages, Cagayan Valley (1.3 percent) and Ilocos Region (1 percent).</p><p>Numbers declined in 15 regions with Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) registering a decrease of 17 percent followed by SOCCSKSARGEN (13.7 percent), and NCR (7.6 percent).</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/15/figure-3.png"/><figcaption>Percent distribution of registered marriages by region in the Philippines in 2018 and 2019. Photo from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)</figcaption></figure></div><p>Most couples chose to be married in December with 12 percent followed by February (11.5 percent), May (11.1 percent) and April (10.3 percent).</p><p>Unions for the remaining months were chosen by less than 10 percent of couples, of which November tallied the least with only 5 percent.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/15/figure-4.png"/><figcaption>Percent distribution of registered marriages by month in the Philippines in 2018 and 2019. Photo from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)</figcaption></figure></div><p>Since 2017, median age of marriage for both sexes were still the same, 27 for women and 29 for men.</p><p>Age range of registered marriages in the country is at 25 to 29 years old.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/15/figure-5.png"/><figcaption>Percent distribution of registered marriages by age group in the Philippines in 2019. Photo from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)</figcaption></figure></div><p>Most of the registered marriages, 416, 542 or 96.4 percent, were between Filipino men and women while 15,047 marriages or 3.5 percent were between Filipino nationals and foreign nationals comprising 89.3 percent foreign men and 10.7 percent foreign women.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/15/figure-6.png"/><figcaption>Percent distribution of registered marriages by nationality of male and female in the Philippines in 2019. Photo from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)</figcaption></figure></div><p>Figures showed that Filipino men married more American women (16.6 percent), followed by Australian (14 percent), Canadian (12.3 percent), Chinese (7.2 percent), and Japanese (7.1 percent).</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/15/figure-7.png"/><figcaption>Percent distribution of registered marriages by nationality of foreign females who married Filipino males in the Philippines in 2019. Photo from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)</figcaption></figure></div><p>The highest number of intermarriages with Filipino women, meanwhile, were with American men (26.8 percent), followed by Japanese (10.6 percent), British (6.6 percent), Korean (6.3 percent), and Canadian (5.7 percent).</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/01/15/figure-8.png"/><figcaption>Percent distribution of registered marriages by nationality of foreign males who married Filipino males in the Philippines in 2019. Photo from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)</figcaption></figure></div><p>Grande noted that PSA has no study yet on the reason on the decline of marriages in the Philippines.</p><p>She added that advocacies on marriage should be executed in order to show its importance in building a family.</p><p>“Ang maaari pong gawin ay ang adbokasiya sa kahalagahan ng pagpapakasal sa pagbuo ng isang pamilya,” she said.</p><p>(What can be done is to advocate for the importance of marriage in building a family.)</p><p>“Sa PSA, ang adbokasiya ay ang pagrerehistro ng mga kasal at ang importansya nito tulad ng pag-aapply ng trabaho, pasaporte, insurance, at iba pa,” she added.</p><p>(In the PSA, advocacy is the registration of marriages and their importance such as job application, passport, insurance, and so on.)</p><div><br/><strong> FROM THE ARCHIVES:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7l-FIJ030rY?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>More couples choose not to tie the knot due to financial constraints, a sociologist explained on Friday as recently released report by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed registered unions continued to decline in 2019.<br /> </p>

More couples choose not to tie the knot due to financial constraints, a sociologist explained on Friday as recently released report by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed registered unions continued to decline in 2019.

'Mahal magpakasal': Number of Filipinos getting married on steady decline, data show

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'Mahal magpakasal': Number of Filipinos getting married on steady decline, data show

Josiah Antonio,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 15, 2021 05:14 PM PHT

|

Updated January 15, 2021 05:55 PM PHT

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PSA

marriage

Philippine Statistics Authority

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sociologist

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