A TOTAL of 204 sea vessels have registered to participate in this Saturday’s seaborne procession which, for the first time in the Fiesta Señor celebrations, will include the image of St. Joseph the Worker, bringing the entire Holy Family together.
Philippine Coast Guard Central Cebu Commander Mark Larsen Mariano said 139 motor bancas, 31 merchant vessels, 24 tug boats, six yachts, three aluminum boats and one speed boat are participating in the procession, which will begin at 6 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024.
Lt. Col. Franco Rudolf Oriol, Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) deputy city director for administration and spokesperson, on the other hand, confirmed Tuesday that Mandaue City’s patron, St. Joseph the Worker, will join the Señor Sto. Niño and Virgen de Guadalupe de Cebu in the seaborne parade, as announced by The National Shrine of St. Joseph church in Mandaue City.
The seaborne procession is a reenactment of the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan’s ship on the shores of Cebu, bringing the image of the Holy Child during the 16th century, which also symbolized the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.
During the traditional seaborne parade, the images of Sto. Niño, titular head of the Cebu Archdiocese, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Cebu Archdiocese, are transported by the Naval Forces Central (Navforcen) from the Navforcen headquarters in Lapu-Lapu City to Pier 1 in Cebu City, traversing the waters under the first Mactan-Mandaue bridge.
From Pier 1, a short foot procession at 8 a.m. will bring the images to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu.
Drones
Oriol said participants who wish to use their drones to get a good view of the event should visit the MCPO to comply with some requirements. He said they will forward the applications to the Police Regional Office Central Visayas and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines for these agencies to issue operating permits.
Oriol said this is to regulate the number of drones at the event, as the presence of too many of these could cause injury to devotees.
He added that drones could also become a weapon for bombings, though he said they had not detected any terrorism threats in the city.
Oriol said they expect 5,000 to 10,000 devotees to flock to and participate in the seaborne event.
He said the MCPO is already 95 percent ready for the Traslacion on Friday, Jan. 19, and the seaborne procession on Saturday.
Oriol said the office allocates the remaining five percent to strengthening its force multipliers and undercover (civilian) police personnel to strengthen their security measures. The MCPO plans to deploy about 500 policemen for the seaborne parade.
Cebu to Mandaue
According to the Basilica’s calendar for the 459th Fiesta Señor, Friday’s events will begin with a 3 a.m. procession from the Guadalupe Church in Cebu City from V. Rama Ave. to B. Rodriguez St.
The Walk with Mary will follow at 4 a.m. from Fuente Osmeña to the Basilica, where the “Misa de Traslacion” will be held. The Traslacion to Mandaue City will begin at 6:45 a.m.
Traslacion is the traditional motorcade that transports the images of Señor Sto. Niño and the Virgen de Guadalupe de Cebu from Cebu City to Mandaue City, specifically the National Shrine of St. Joseph.
The significance of the Walk with Mary and the Misa de Traslacion is for the Holy Family to meet.
At midnight, the images will move to Lapu-Lapu through the Traslacion to Lapu-Lapu City. At 4 a.m. Saturday, the images will be sent off through a mass at the Nuestra Señora de Regla Parish National Shrine. At 5:30 a.m., a mobile procession will bring them to the Navforcen headquarters in Lapu-Lapu, from where the seaborne procession will depart.
On Saturday afternoon, the Solemn Foot Procession that will go around Cebu City streets will start at 1 p.m. at the Basilica.