FEWER devotees joined this year’s Walk with Mary, with authorities citing forecasted unfavorable weather conditions as a possible factor.
An estimated 216,000 devotees participated in the religious activities on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, according to Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Of the total, about 152,000 joined the Walk with Mary procession, while around 64,000 gathered at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.
Last year, the turnout was higher, with an estimated 300,000 attendees.
Cebu City Police Office Deputy City Director for Administration Col. Franco Rudolf Oriol said many devotees may have anticipated rain and waited for better conditions.
Oriol added that a large portion of participants are senior citizens, who tend to be more cautious during bad weather.
Oriol also dismissed suggestions that rescheduling the Walk with Mary from the traditional ninth day of the novenario to the eighth day significantly affected attendance, noting that the change had been widely publicized.
Oriol said the events were peaceful and incident-free.
The Walk with Mary began at around 2:30 a.m., with the image of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe carried from the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Fuente Osmeña Circle and Osmeña Blvd.
The Traslacion followed. It started at 7 a.m. The images of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu and Santo Niño proceeded along a seven-kilometer route from Cebu City to Mandaue City via Osmeña Blvd., MJ Cuenco Ave., Lopez Jaena St., and S.B. Cabahug St., before ending at the National Shrine of St. Joseph, where the images stayed overnight.
Mandaue City Police Office (MCPO) Director Col. Cirilo Acosta Jr., meanwhile, reported a peaceful and orderly Traslacion on its first day, with no incidents recorded.
To ensure safety, police personnel were deployed across the venue and along the procession routes, particularly at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City.
Operations are conducted on a 24-hour basis in two shifts as activities continue through the overnight vigil, locally known as Pahaluna, until the second Traslacion on Friday, Jan. 16. On that day, the image of Santo Niño will be brought from the National Shrine of St. Joseph to Virgen de la Regla National Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City.
Acosta said the same level of security will be maintained on Friday. / CDF, ABC