The crocodile farm
Posted by: Fats in: Fats, Vitamins & Minerals > Wika at HirapFiling papers, paying registration fees and other such things for marriage, I thought about why so many Filipino couples now prefer to “live-in” together without all the bother of getting married.
We also had to pay various amounts, 20 pesos, 30 pesos, 50 pesos, 100 pesos and combinations thereof, for various things such as, signatures, notary, etc. that come without receipts.
I suppose these are the small-time versions of what government officials and politicians are popularly known to involve themselves with: corruption. It’s that picture of the huge crocodile they put outside the building.
I considered it fair somewhat - 50 pesos for stamping and signing your certified true copy even if you don’t really need it but were asked to produce because we have to sit and push papers here all day in this hideous environment and a wage never enough for a decent living.
But what if I was a poor woman whose 50 pesos is a week’s savings from doing the laundry work?
Then the system filters me out of the state benefit of registering marriage. There must be other means for me to get a marriage license and registration - Barangay mass weddings, the Kasalang Bayan and other such pro-poor projects by our city officials. Only middle income fools file for marriage at the City Hall. And that’s why we are grateful to our barangay and city officials and why we keep them elected, why we feel very close to them - they have pro-poor projects that the big and small-time crocodiles deny us.
Come to think of it, there is a strange fairness in how corruption distributes wealth in a society. It is a system not unique to the Philippines or to Third World Countries. Somehow, it seems to be like a|n unwritten socialized fee for government services.
But of course, there are crocodiles who go way too far. And these should be slaughtered and their skins made into shoes and handbags.
After the bureacratic obstacle course, we decided to have a walk around the City Hall grounds in particular this new little park with a small lagoon that they have constructed. It is quite lovely. Trevor never cease to be amazed by people’s love for greenery here, in spite of the city sprawl, the clutter, the cramped spaces, the pollution, the poverty.
Along the way, I saw some mushrooms and two flies (wearing striped pajamas) mating. I took photos below.
The new underpass, the Belmonte Underpass (after the city mayor) has also opened - which is a great relief considering how dangerous it is for people trying to cross the Elliptical Road to get to the Quezon Memorial Circle Park.
We certainly hope it is structurally good - it looks good. Some friends at the Quezon Circle joked that it looked like a museum with all the marble but water has been seeping through and cracks showing …
I took a photo of the underpass, below, some maintenance people were setting up a Christmas tree at the other end. It is supposedly Quezon City’s first underpass.
I guess not too many people know about it yet - the Herbal Garden and Livelihood booths in the Quezon Memorial Park still looked rather lonely. I wish more people would patronize the initiatives there - it is a very good alternative to shopping malls.
Anyway, while there Trevor took a photo of me and Edward - especially to show off my new crocheted shrug. 
I just finished this shrug (or bolero) yesterday and it is a nice way of keeping warm in what is now a rather strange weather. Here is Edward and myself waiting for lunch at the Kape Kalinga Resturan.
And here is a photo of the back of the shrug. Hopefully, I’ll manage to put the pattern on-line soon.
We bought some vegetable noodles for my mom, and then some guava jelly and chocolate peanuts for my auntie who has invited us to her birthday lunch this coming Sunday.
It was a very pleasant day. I also saw my mom on our way home to pick up some mail, and she gave me a new shawl she got from Divisoria, and some old yarn that she found at the back of the house. They were yarn that I bought ages ago! She seemed quite pleased with my crocheted shrug too.
Well, I suppose I’ll be thinking of that crocodile farm for some time again…
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Fats! I emailed you. I am also navigating my way through this crocodile farm and I need your advice based on your experience. Please please help– Len
June 8th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Dapat pala, ilagay ko rito yung summary ng proseso, which others might also find useful. A few other people have asked me about this process a few months ago. It seems that things have gotten a bit more complicated ever since the Supreme Court issued an order disallowing walk-in marriage solemnizations at the Regional Trial Court branches. There is now a raffle procedure (marriages are raffled off to the various RTC branches twice a week, and solemnizations are held only on Fridays otherwise a special letter-request need to be written). I suspect this was intended to put a stop to marriages solemnized with incomplete papers or improper observance of the formal requirements often deliberately to provide grounds for annulment if so desired in the future.
I thought getting married was so much fun - I told Trevor’s stepfather that I’d love to do it again (with the same man, of course!)
Naku, Trevor’s stepfather was sooo happy when we called him up about getting married, he declared it was the best thing that’s ever happened to Trevor! 
Nakakatuwa. He knew we went through so much difficulties and so he appreciated so much what our finally getting married means! 
Anyway, a run-down of the process:
1. Apply for marriage license at the Civil Registrar’s Office. I think this is at Window 10. There is a nice lady there who kindly asked about us (and seemed glad that we’re trying to get married again!) We applied for the license twice because the first one expired (license is valid only 120 days from date of issue) over the period Trevor and I were separated.
Requirements (for Marriage License) – Window 10:
* Birth or Baptismal Certificates of both applicants. If widowed, death certificate of demise spouse, if previous marriage was annulled, copy of Court Decision and Absolute Decree of Finality from the Court
* Community Tax Certificates of both applicants, male and female
* One (1) ID Photo (colored or black and white) of each applicant, male and female
* Certificate of Family Planning and Marriage Counseling
Requirements (If applicant is a foreigner):
* Valid Passport
* Certificate of legal capacity to marry issued by their respective diplomatic or consular officials
* If divorced, copy of Final Decree of Absolute Divorce
* Certificate of Family Planning and Marriage Counseling and Responsible Parenthood
Marriageable Age: 18 years old (male or female)
* Persons below 21 years old need parental consent
* Persons 21 years old and below 25 years old need advice from parents
Registration Fees:
Application form - P 50.00
Filing Fee - 100.00
Marriage License Fee - 100.00
Registration of Marriage Certificate - 70.00
CTC Marriage Contract/Marriage Certificate - 50.00
Late Registration - 150.00
2. Attend the Family Planning and Marriage Counseling and Responsible Parenthood seminar. The marriage license application also requires a certificate of attendance at this family planning et al seminar, just a couple hours in the afternoon (we took nearly 4 hours because the health worker did not arrive and they just pulled in a substitute).
There is no age limit for Family Planning, however, couples 24 years and below need to attend Family Planning Sessions, and Marriage Counseling. These sessions are scheduled for one-half day within the premises of the City Hall. (Inquire from any of the office clerks at Windows 8,9, &10 about the details)
3. Submit all the requirements to Window 10, pay all the fees, and after 10 days, you can get your license. Marriage License shall be issued after 10 days of posting from the time Marriage Application was filed. License expires 120 days from the date license was issued. Note that Releasing of marriage licenses is up to 4:00 p.m. only.
4. With your Marriage License and Certificate of attendance at the Pre-marriage Seminar, go to the Quezon City Hall of Justice (the smaller gray building just next to the City Hall building) and apply for solemnization of marriage. Here, they will ask you to fill out a form, and get your license photocopied with a Certified True Copy Stamp (these can be done at the Civil Registry Office, so plenty of exercise walking from one building to the other!)
We paid the solemnization fees in yet another building also in the vicinity of the Quezon City Hall.
5. Your application for Solemnization of Marriage will now be processed and raffled to one of the Regional Trial Court Judges. The raffle takes place twice a week (I think Tuesday and Thursday), so you will have to come back to the Hall of Justice to find out which RTC Branch/Judge will be solemnizing your marriage.
6. Get all your forms and bring them to the assigned RTC Branch (also there at the Hall of Justice) and schedule the marriage. All marriages are solemnized only on Fridays at around 10-11 in the morning, but don’t place your bet on it because the Judge may not be around on your scheduled wedding day!
You will be asked to give the names of your two witnesses which will be typed into the Marriage Certificate.
In our case, we waited two hours for the judge, who never arrived, so the judge next door kindly decided to take us in. We were with another couple who had all their relatives with them and the bride was in wedding dress!
They also had a wedding ring and flowers. Trevor and I didn’t bother with all those formalities. 
For a moment we were worried that we might get married to the other couple! 
7. An in-house photographer will ask if you wish to have your photos taken.
We accepted it since my brother, one of our witnesses, was taking photos and we’d want some wedding photos with him in it too! (There were just 4 of us - me, Trevor and two witnesses.) I think each photo cost 50 pesos.
8. After the ceremonies, the RTC secretary will ask you to sign the Marriage Certificate, the judge and witnesses will also sign it, then you get the original with the nice little colored stamp on it
. The RTC secretary will then bring all duplicates of your signed certificate back to the counter downstairs and then onto the Office of the Civil Registrar in the next building who will then bring it to the NSO (National Statistics Office). This may take about a week or so.
9. You might need to go back to the RTC branch to get your photos, and it would be nice if you bring a bottle of wine for the judge and some cookies or pancit for the RTC secretary.
10. Get transmittal letter from Civil Registry. If you wish to get your NSO-certified Marriage Certificate from the NSO (the office along East Avenue) within a few months after marriage, then you will need a photocopy of this transmittal letter in order to speed up the process (you may get it in 2-3 weeks, otherwise, it will take several months). Just go to Counter 10 (same counter where you applied for Marriage License) and ask if you could get the transmittal letter photocopied. You will need to show your Marriage Certificate.
11. At the NSO, you may line-up at the counter where they entertain people with legal documents and court orders, etc. (since your copy of the transmittal letter is considered a legal document) rather than the usual counter where everyone else (some 4,000 people) are getting their NSO documents.
And that’s it! It’s a long tedious process, which could be fun if you enjoy it as a socialization process with millions of other Pinoys.
Mabuhay!