Aquino to attend Dingdong-Marian wedding as ‘Witness of Honor’

President Benigno Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Expect to spot President Benigno Aquino III among the VIPs attending the “royal wedding” of celebrity couple Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes on Tuesday afternoon.

After gracing the commemoration of Rizal Day in Manila, Aquino will drop by the wedding to show his support for Rivera and Dantes, who is commissioner-at-large of the National Youth Commission.

The couple, especially Dantes, has been supporting Aquino, even when he was still running for president in 2010.

Aquino, who was listed in the invitation as the “Witness of Honor,” is expected to arrive at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Concepcion in Cubao, Quezon City at around 3 p.m.

His sister Kris Aquino and long-time supporter Ogie Alcasid are among the principal sponsors.

Other politicians invited are Representatives Irwin Tieng (groomsman), Lucy Torres-Gomez (secondary sponsor) and Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV (secondary sponsor), who is the President’s nephew.

In September, Aquino confirmed to media that he was invited to the weddings of Dantes and Rivera and of Senator Francis Escudero and Heart Evangelista.

“They’ve been very supportive, both of them. And they really seem to be happy. So I really hope that it continues for the rest of their lives,” he said of Dantes and Rivera.

At that time, he said he was attending as a guest as opposed to Escudero’s wedding where he would be the best man.

Aquino said he was “relieved” that he was not asked to stand as a godfather since there is a Filipino belief that single people who become godparents in weddings are likely to remain single for the rest of their lives.