|
Sunday, January 20, 2008
More devotees join Sto. Niño procession
CEBU CITY -- The number of devotees who attended this year's Sto. Niño procession -- fluvial and solemn -- exceeded that of last year's figure.
Lawyer Paulino Yabao, chairman of the Crowd Control Committee and a eucharistic minister, said there were about 800,000 devotees last year. "More than 800,000 devotees are present here today (Saturday)," he said.
Sun.Star Network Online's coverage of the Sinulog 2008 Festival
He said the procession route this year was cut short. "The route before is about 5 kilometers. However, this year we cut it short at only about 3 kilometers."
Despite this, Yabao said the procession's pace is still very slow because there are too many participants.
Saturday's solemn procession, the religious half of the Sinulog Festival, started at about 1:30 p.m. The image of Sto. Niño left the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño at past 2 p.m. The procession starts and ends at the Basilica.
A pontifical mass celebrated by Rev. Fr. John Du was held immediately after the Sto. Niño arrived at the Basilica around 4:45 p.m.
In his homily, he said the rain did not stop the believers of Sto. Niño from joining this year's procession.
Faith
Du also called on everyone to express their faith despite the many difficulties and troubles the country is facing. He then cited the recent incident in the province of Tawi-Tawi where a fellow priest was killed.
He stressed the importance of Sto. Niño as a child, adding that learning has to start with listening.
"Maminaw kita sa mga autoridad, kaigsuunan.... Pinaagi niini, atong gipuy-an ang atong pagkabata (let us listen to the authority, our brothers and sisters...this way, we are living like little children)," said Du.
He said that unless "we become little children, we cannot enter heaven."
"In our littleness, naa nay dagko nga mga butang nga mahitabo sa atong kinabuhi (there are already big things that will happen to our lives). So we should not forget our littleness. We can only grow and mature if we will listen and obey like a child," he said.
Fluvial
A fluvial procession was held early Saturday.
Yabao also said there were more vessels that joined this year's fluvial compared last year. "There are many vessels that joined without registration from the Coast Guard," he added.
According to Yabao, they still allowed vessels without registration to join the fluvial procession but placed them at the tail end.
But he said the big vessels still had to comply with Coast Guard requirements.
One of the vessels that participated in the fluvial procession early Saturday capsized. No one was hurt in the incident, said Yabao, citing reports he gathered from his colleagues.
Peaceful
Yabao said that except for the capsized vessel, the processions -- fluvial and solemn -- were generally peaceful.
Alfred Delantar, head of security in the Basilica church, said they have not received any report of untoward incidents Saturday.
He however admitted that there were minor incidents such as lost mobile phones.
Delantar also said there were reports of missing kids but that these were all resolved through the paging system put in place to take care of these cases.
He added that all lost items reported to them were returned to their respective owners.
Security
Delantar said they have designated entrance and exit points to assure the security and safety of everyone at the Basilica.
He said they temporarily closed the gates when the area became full. "We also avoid overcapacity at the bleachers," added Delantar.
Yabao, for his part, said the intense preparation for the religious activities in the feast of the Sto. Niño started September last year. "But as early as February 2007, we started mapping out plans already," he added.
"We also tap students from big universities to help us in controlling the crowd," said Yabao, adding that a distance should be maintained so as not to disrupt the flow of the procession.
As for medical concerns, there are also nursing students assigned at the Basilica.
Devotion
Yabao attributed the success of the feast of the Sto. Niño to the people's devotion to the Holy Child.
"We witness the...growing intense devotion through the years," said Yabao.
He further said the focal point of Sinulog is Sto. Niño. "Without Sto. Niño, there is no Sinulog," he said.
Yabao also acknowledged the effort of the City Government to add more colors to the feast by organizing Sinulog activities. (Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (January 20, 2008 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Rain or shine, dancers ready for grand parade