CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – No threat over Traslacion, assured the local police as 2,000 people flocked the street early today in observance of the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
Police and civilian volunteers were deployed to secure the thousands of Roman Catholic devotees coming from all over Mindanao who converged here and join the religious activities Monday, Jan. 9.
“Based on information gathered by our intelligence units on the ground, there are no threats could occur during the Black Nazarene feast especially during the ‘traslacion,’” Lt.Col. Evan Viñas,spokesperson of the the City Police Office said.
But, Viñas said, authorities have also implemented the jamming of cellphone signals on the day of the feast for “security reasons.”
Viñas placed the crowd estimate at this year’s “traslacion” at 15,000, which is much lower in number that in 2020, which he said the turn-out has reached 250,000 devotees.
Lt. Col. Jelesis Teves, chief of Cocpo’s city operations and management unit, said about 2,198 police officers and civilian volunteers have been deployed to escort the statue of the Black Nazarene during the “traslacion” or procession from the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral to the Nazareno church Monday morning.
There were four layers of security that formed a human barricade around the Black Nazarene composed of the Hijos del Nazareno, police officers from various units, the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team, and the barangay tanods, Teves said.
Small teams of law enforcers, including snipers positioned on top of buildings, were also stationed along the route of the procession and even on the city’s borders.
Teves said the city’s five border control checkpoints are also on alert to screen people entering Cagayan de Oro on the day of the feast.
With the law enforcers and force multipliers are the medical teams and other frontliners ready to respond to any emergency before, during and after the “traslacion.”
Msgr. Perseus Cabunoc, the Nazareno parish priest, has reminded the devotees to observe the minimum public health standards, specifically the wearing of face masks, during the entire religious proceedings.
According to the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, the transfer of the image of the Black Nazarene to the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral, where an overnight vigil was also held, was scheduled Sunday, Jan. 8.
On the feast day, the religious activity will start with a Holy Mass at the Cathedral at 4:00 in the morning.
The “traslacion” from the Cathedral to the Nazareno church will start at 6:00 a.m.
The route of traslacion: Cathedral – Fernandez St. – A. Velez St., then right turn to Claro M. Recto Avenue, then back to the Jesus Nazareno Church.-Jigger Jerusalem
