Cainta Mayor Nieto honors couple married in Kasalang Bayan after bride’s death

It's now trending on social media: the viral video of Cainta, Rizal Mayor Keith Nieto after he sang Kenny Rankin's song "What Matters Most," which he dedicated to the couple who got married under the Kasalang Bayan program a few months ago, before the bride passed away due to a lingering illness.

In an interview with members of the PaMaMariSan-Rizal Press Corps, Nieto shared that "It was very crude. I consider it as a very raw way of singing. It wasn't fine-tuned, there was no auto-tune, there was no technician, there was no recording."

He said he just borrowed his staff's cellphone and then used his own cellphone for recording while he was singing.

According to him, he was touched by the story of the couple who got married even though they knew the bride's life had a time limit.

"I was moved by the thought na kinasal sila, alam niya mamatay na 'yung asawa niya. But they still pushed through with the wedding because they wanted to be together formally and legally until the last day of the wife," Nieto said.

"When he showed me 'yung picture, I felt like siguro sabi ko bigyan ko man lang siya ng konting tribute na sana umabot sa kanya," the mayor added.

Nieto said he was at the cemetery during Undas, distributing candles to residents who visited their departed loved ones, when a man approached him.

“Sabi niya, ‘mayor, natatandaan niyo po ba ako? Ako po 'yung inanak niyo sa kasal sa Cambridge na umiiyak. Kinasal kami mga dalawang buwan na ang nakakaraan," Nieto shared.

"Kinumusta ko siya. Tapos tinuro niya 'yung puntod mga ilang metro ang layo sa amin. Sabi niya, ‘Wala na po ang misis ko," the mayor added.

The man showed Nieto a picture of him and his wife during their wedding.

“Sabi niya, may sakit na kasi siya nyan. Pero pinilit naming pakasal kahit may taning na siya. Kaya ako umiiyak noon," Nieto said.

Nieto said that he intentionally did not get the man's name so that he would not become the center of publicity, but only to convey the message of love and hope.

"Hindi ko naman talaga nakuha 'yung pangalan niya because I didn't want to capitalize on his presence or his identity. Mine was really the story. Mine was really to inspire people to always stay in love no matter where you are, in whatever situation you are in," he said.

"In your highs and in your lows. But it's always nice to have someone beside you, behind you, who can struggle and join you in the challenges offered by life. And I really expected people to be so moved by it," the mayor added.

Nieto said he was surprised when the views suddenly increased and the video became viral.

“Maybe people just started relating to the song and to the situation. And for me, it was really a successful attempt on my part to make people realize that they should value 'yung pagmamahal ng mga tao. Binigyan sila ng impotansya, binigyan sila ng panahon na hindi pinagkait 'yung buhay nila," he said.

"Kasi time is so fleeting, you never know when it's gonna end. Sometimes the tendency is for us not to appreciate that or take it for granted, only to realize one day that wala na–it's all over," the mayor added.

"And you can only look back at your past and maybe reminisce on the good times that you had with the people you chose to love. So, I think many people got affected by it, hopefully positively, para makatulong to inspire them to be in love."

For Nieto, a simple tribute is a reminder that life is short—and that we should cherish every moment with the people we love while they are still alive.

"Siguro isipin mo na lang how blessed you are that you had this chance to get married to the person you love most. How blessed you are that you had this opportunity to know this person na even if it did not really last as long as you wished, you had that chance. Mas maraming tao na hindi nagkaroon ng pagkatataong magmahal," he said.

As of this writing, this viral video of Mayor Keith Nieto has reached 784,000 views and over 36,000 reactions.