Vital Statistics are derived from information obtained at the time when the occurrences of vital events and their characteristics are inscribed in civil register.

Vital acts and events are the births, deaths, fetal deaths, marriages, and all events such that have something to do with an individual’s entrance and departure from life together with the changes in civil status that may occur to a person during his lifetime.  Recording of these events in the civil register is known as vital or civil registration and the resulting documents are called vital records.

The number of registered marriages in the province of Romblon for the 3^rd Quarter of the year 2023 is 173. This is the result of the preliminary tabulation of data from the submissions of the local civil registry offices in the province.

Figure 1 shows that the municipality of Odiongan registered the most number of marriages with 30 or 17.3 percent of the total registered marriages during the quarter. It was followed in second place by the municipality of Romblon with 23 or 13.3 percent while Cajidiocan ranked third with 22 or 12.7 percent. 

Meanwhile, the municipality of Concepcion and Ferrol registered the least number of marriages during the quarter with 2 or 1.2 percent, each. 

Table 1 shows the distribution by municipality and month of registered marriages in the province of Romblon during the third quarter of 2023. In the said quarter, 72  marriages or 41.6 percent occurred in the month of August. 

Table 2, meanwhile, compares the total number of registered marriages in the third quarter of 2023, second quarter of 20223, and third quarter of 2022. In the said table, the number of marriages in the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 96 or by -35.7 percent compared to the total registered in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, it decreased by 104 or -37.5 percent compared to the total registered births in the same quarter during the past year. 

More than half of the marriages were conducted thru religious rites

Ninety-three or 53.8 percent of the 173 marriages registered in the third quarter of 2023 were solemnized under religious rites inside the church premises. Meanwhile, 80 marriages or 46.2 percent were  solemnized by either municipal mayors of judges under civil wedding rites.

The municipalities of Ferrol, Santa Maria, San Jose, Magdiwang, Odiongan and Looc   registered higher proportion of civil marriages as compared to church marriages with 100.0 percent, 100.0 percent, 88.9 percent, 71.4 percent, 66.7 percent  and 53.8 percent, respectively. This means that in these municipalities, more couples were married under civil rites than in religious rites.