[davfitz]

This thread is the continuation of an earlier thread I started as a newcomer to Dumaguete and which describes the experiences of an expatriate about to marry a Filipina. The whole "Certificate of Capacity to Marry" and the associated licencing requirements, which are now becoming somewhat vexacious to me, were posted in response to another Canadian who expressed interest in the process and who has likely now moved on.

Here's a new installment:

The 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES declares in section six of article two that the separation of Church and State shall be inviolable. It further states in section 14 of the same article that the State shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men.

This morning I attended a pre-marriage counseling session conducted by the Population Commission of the City of Dumaguete, a requirement for my prospective spouse and me to obtain a marriage licence issued by the local Civil Registrar of the City of Dumaguete. Given the foregoing, am I the only one to find it somewhat strange and very much a contradiction that:

the session commenced in public prayer; and that

Ephesians 5's exhortation to wives to submit to their husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife was taught.

Which is out of place? Is it the constitution of the republic? Could it be the practice of the City of Dumaguete? The public prayer did not bother me personally but I felt discomfort that it might be offensive to citizens who did not practice Christianity. Similarly, my prospective spouse and I both accept the guidance of scripture and particularly Ephesians 5 in our lives. That said, I am acquainted with several women who would find Paul's declaration to be abhorrent.

I said nothing at the time as we require the marriage licence for obvious reasons. Having received it and as no feedback was requested of the sessions' participants, I do pose these questions now.

Am I the only one out of step here? I'd appreciate your informed comment.