How did you meet? Manuel: "Julia was working at the Nursing Department and I work at the Administration office at PLM. I've been seeing her around and actually found her attractive and beautiful. I think the Foundation Day event at PLM started it all. When I saw Julia at that time, I approached her and spoke to her and we had a certain "connection" and "chemistry"... Julia: If I remember right, after that event, Manuel started to show up at my workplace and would offer to take me home, which was really surprising! Actually, we're both working students at that time, so he would pick me up from PUP after school and would take me home to Las Pinas which was a long commute from Manila" How did we end up getting hitched? Manuel: "It was actually a funny story. We were together for 6 months when there was a jeepney strike in Manila...it was chaotic. Julia worked late at PLM that day, I had to take her home to Las Pinas. We got a ride from a friend on the way to her house, but when we got to Las Pinas, we both didn't really know how I'm going to get home to Manila. So Julia suggested that I stay overnight at their house, but I didn't think it was a good idea. There was really no plan to elope, we didn't even have money or clothes, we're unprepared! We walked to the bank, begged the bank manager to let us withdraw some cash even without a passbook, then we eloped! We both ended up staying with my relatives in Cabanatuan but had to call my family so they wouldn't get worried. I think at that time, our parents are concerned that we are getting way too serious... we're both very young and we're both still in school. We didn't want our parents to break us apart, so at that time, we felt that it's the right thing to do...and here we are, 50 years after!" That was April 7, 1970... then April 19, 1970, we had our church wedding".