(We are republishing the story to indicate the correction in the headline “Fewer Guimarasnons tied the knot in 2020”, not 2019 as printed in our February 13-14 issue)
Registered marriages in Guimaras dropped by 32.46%, from 764 in 2019 to 516 in 2020 after all five municipalities recorded double digit decreases, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Guimaras.
The data was culled from the Decentralized Vital Statistics System (DVSS).
Buenavista posted the highest registered marriages at 213 in 2019 and 142 in 2020, despite a 33.33% decrease from 2019.
A similar decrease was also noted in Jordan (36.32%) and Nueva Valencia (32.77%).
Registered marriages in Guimaras in 2019 totaled 764, mostly from Buenavista municipality with 213 marriages, contributing 27.88% to the provincial total.
The municipalities of Jordan (201) and Nueva Valencia (177) accounted for 26.31% and 23.17%, respectively, while San Lorenzo contributed 12.17% and Sibunag 10.47%.
Buenavista (142), Jordan (128), and Nueva Valencia (119) were also the major contributors to the 516 registered marriages in 2020.
San Lorenzo and Sibunag still registered the least number of marriages in 2020 with 13.09% and 11.72% contribution, respectively, to the provincial total.
Comparing the monthly registered marriages for two consecutive years (2019 and 2020), February posted the highest number at 143 and 95 in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The high number is due to the fact that free civil mass weddings are conducted and facilitated by the Local Civil Registrars in time for the Civil Registration Month celebration every February.
All the months of 2020 posted a downtrend in registered marriages except for January and November with 5.81% and 18.18% growth, respectively.
The month of April 2020 had the least registered marriages with only 5 couples tying the knot, or a drop of 92.65% compared to April 2019.
Following April 2020 with a large percentage gap are the months of May and February with 86.30% and 33.57%, respectively.
February 2020 also the bulk of marriages in the municipalities of Buenavista (20.42%), Jordan (30.47%), and Sibunag (26.67%).
Nueva Valencia and San Lorenzo recorded highest marriages in the month of March contributing 29.41% and 29.85%, respectively, to the total municipal registered marriages in 2020.
