Palma to miss foot procession

CEBU Archbishop Jose Palma will not join the grand foot procession tomorrow afternoon.

However, he will attend other activities including the turnover of the Sto. Niño pilgrim image at the start of the procession and the pontifical mass on Sunday.

Palma said he didn’t want to inconvenience organizers if he had to leave in the middle of the activity since he can’t walk long distances.

He said he prefers to be at the Basilica del Sto. Niño to turn over the pilgrim image of the Holy Infant Jesus to rector Fr. Jonas Mejares, who will install the image in the carroza.

Palma, 62, also did not join last year’s procession for the same reason.

He was briefly hospitalized last April after undergoing surgery for a severe stomach pain. He returned to the hospital last June for a fever.

In a related development, the Walk with Mary will take place at dawn today.

There is a 60 percent chance that it will rain because of the presence of the tail end of a cold front, but the weather is expected to improve over the weekend, said Engr.

Al Quiblat, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) weather specialist.

He said there will be varying amounts of clouds and bright sunny spells with the
possibility of rains tomorrow and Sunday.

Upbeat forecast

After the Walk with Mary, the Misa de Traslacion will be presided by Fr. Mejares.

After the mass, the pilgrim image of the Sto. Niño that is kept by the Augustinian community at the Sto. Niño museum will be taken to the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City, along with the image of the Lady of Guadalupe.

The weather is expected to be better tomorrow as weather conditions improve.

“By Saturday, for the fluvial procession, there will be expected strong winds of up to 40 kilometers per hour because of the Amihan winds,” Quiblat told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview.

He said waves are expected to be between 1.25 meters to three meters high.

“Since the fluvial procession will be only at the Mactan Channel, the waves will be less than one meter high. We don’t know if this is safe for small vessels, the Coast Guard will be the agency to determine that,” he said.

Quiblat said the tail end of the cold front, which has caused the rains in the city in the past few days, is expected to weaken tomorrow morning.

“Generally, it will be sunny with 20 percent possibility of occasional light rains in the morning. In the afternoon, we can expect brief rain showers,” he said.