• THERESA MAE DULMAN
For over 20 years, the cold pavement of streets and the benches of the Bacolod Public Plaza were the only ‘home’ Rolando Toledo and Sharon Gaho knew. While the world celebrated Valentine’s Day with surprises, this couple marked over two decades of survival, supporting their five children through years of barking and vending while surviving on the streets of Bacolod.
On February 14, the Toledos joined 201 other couples in a gold-and-orange-themed ceremony at the Bacolod City College Activity Center, trading decades of hardship for a formal altar and a celebrated new beginning officiated by Mayor Greg Gasataya.
According to Rolando, his journey with Sharon began back when he was still a bachelor, meeting her at a dance in Bago City. Despite him having no home to offer at the time, Sharon chose to stay by his side in 2004, saying her love outweighed the hardships of their situation.
Bacolod City Mendicancy Management Division (BCMMD) focal person Anjanette Servano said their path to the wedding began just two weeks prior after being rescued and moved from San Juan Street to a temporary shelter at the Arao Relocation Site in Barangay Vista Alegre, Bacolod City. The BCMMD personnel served as the couple’s godparents and official witnesses, standing by them not just as rescuers, but as sponsors of their new life.
The intervention transformed their long-standing union from a struggle for survival into a legal reality. While Civil Registration Month set the stage, the ceremony, themed ‘Forever Begins Today,’ provided a long-overdue sense of belonging, a formal upgrade for a union twenty years in the making.
The couple’s next chapter begins with the Pag-Abot Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, an initiative designed to transition street-dwelling families toward productive lives. By providing immediate essentials and long-term relocation support, the program ensures that for the Toledos, the road does not just end at the altar, it leads to a permanent home.*
