THE commemoration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene this year in Cagayan de Oro, which began with a motorcade at 10 p.m. on Friday, January 8, was generally peaceful.
According to Cagayan de Oro City Police Office Deputy Diretor for Operations Lieutenant Colonel Lemuel Gonda, the masses held by the Black Nazarene Parish Church were orderly with both the police and health personnel on standby to attend to the devotees.
"Kaganina pagsugod sa misa, wala may pangitabo, kato nang nagsugod na og init, naay duha nakuyapan tungod kay walay kaon. Naka-recover naman to," Gonda said.
"Sa CDRRMD (City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Department) and City Health Office, naa tay gideploy nga atong mga medical officers para in case of mga kaso nga naay mga medical condition, kanang makuyapan, naay maka attend sa ila," Acting City Health Officer Dr. Lorraine Nery added.
City Mayor Oscar Moreno, for his part, said this year's observance of the Feast of the Black Nazarene in the city is an "example of the good things that we can still achieve by teamwork and collaboration."
"We still are able to pay homage to the Black Nazarene and at the same time, prevent the people from being unnecessarily exposed sa virus," Moreno said.
"Nakita nimo ang pagsinabtanay sa simbahan, sa gobyerno, sa community, and pagtinabangay. This is a classic example of convergence," he added.
The city mayor was also thankful that the motorcade occurred peacefully.
"Sila Colonel Gonda, they were able to do their job. Kita pud, himo sad nato ang atong trabaho and then ang simbahan pud was able to allow the faithful to pay homage to the Black Nazarene," he said.