CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 11 January) – A parish priest here blamed tight police security for the sharp drop in attendance during the Traslacion or the procession of the Black Nazarene here last Tuesday, with only 18,000 attendees compared with last year’s 110,000.
Monsignor Rey Monsanto, parish priest of Our Lady Fatima Parish in Barangay Camaman-an here, said the ring of policemen and soldiers prevented the devotees from getting near the Callejero (processional image), the revered replica of the Black Nazarene as the procession wound its way through the city streets.
“Going near or throw their handkerchiefs to wipe the Callejero is the highest form of veneration of the devotees. They were not able to do that last Tuesday,” he said.
Cagayan de Oro Vicar General Monsignor Perseus Cabunoc said the archdiocese entrusted the security of the religious event to the police and military in the aftermath of the December 3 bombing during a Catholic mass at a university gym in Marawi City.
“Even I am scared of the prospects of somebody bombing the religious procession,” he said during a press conference last week.
Colonel Evan Viñas, spokesperson of the Cagayan de Oro Police Office said only 18,000 devotees joined the traslacion or procession last Tuesday, a sharp reduction of attendance from last year’s 110,000.
More than 500 policemen and soldiers formed a tight ring around the coach carrying the Callejero last Tuesday with strict orders not to allow anyone to go near it.
Police also stationed officers around buildings to discourage anyone from throwing confetti to the Callejero as it passed by.
“The heavy presence of soldiers and police may have (elicited) negative reactions from the devotees because the Traslacion is for them,” Monsanto said, adding this was why the Quiapo Church agreed to bring a replica of the Black Nazarene to Cagayan de Oro in 2009.
He said the instruction from Quiapo Church officials was for Cagayan de Oro to hold the Traslacionhere so that the people in Mindanao can gather here instead of going to Manila every January 9.
Father Der John Faborada, head of the Cagayan de Oro archdiocese’s social communications department said he also heard of many complaints on the strict security protocols set by the police during last Tuesday’s Traslacion.
Faborada said the devotees complained that they were not able to go near the Callejero to touch or throw towels because of the presence of the tight ring of police and military.
He said many devotees also opted to go to Quiapo Church in Manila now that the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.
Colonel Viñas said another reason for the smaller attendance this year is that the city government did not declare Tuesday a non-working holiday.
He said it would have freed thousands of employees from working and allowed them to join the Traslacion. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
