CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 4 January)—With last month’s bombing of a Catholic Mass in Marawi City at the back of their minds, police officials here are preparing an elaborate security plan to secure the annual procession of the Black Nazarene on January 9.
A devotee passes by the replica of the Black Nazarene in Barangay Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City on Wednesday (3 January 2024). The parish church of Barangay Lapasan holds an annual procession in honor of the Black Nazarene at the same time with that of Quiapo in Manila. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO
Lt. Colonel. Rey Gaudencio Taboclaon, city police director for operations, said during a security briefing on Wednesday that they are deploying more than 500 policemen and soldiers to form a tight ring around the replica of the Black Nazarene during the procession as it winds its way on the streets of Cagayan de Oro.
Barefoot devotees who call themselves as “Hijos de Nazareno” will carry the life-sized wooden sculpture of the Black Nazarene, just like their counterparts in Quiapo, Manila.
Thousands of devotees are expected to attend Cagayan de Oro’s version of the “Traslación”
or the procession in honor of the Feast of Black Nazarene, which is similar but much tamer than that of Quiapo.
“We will be deploying more police and Army [personnel] during the procession…. We don’t want any surprises,” Taboclaon told reporters.
He said what happened at the Mindanao State University in Marawi last December 3 is on the back of their minds as they prepare for the security plan for the Black Nazarene procession, an annual Catholic event that draws thousands of devotees from all over Mindanao.
“We have not received any information of any threat but it is better to be overprepared,” he said.
Cagayan de Oro Vicar General Monsignor Perseus Cabunoc said the “Callejeron” or the replica of the Black Nazarene would be ferried by a convoy of vehicles from the Jesus Nazareno parish church in Barangay Lapasan to the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral on January 8.
Nick Jabagat, chief of the Cagayan de Oro Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), explains on Wednesday (3 January 2024) the security plan for the annual procession of the Black Nazarene on January 9. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO
Cabunoc said the public viewing of the Black Nazarene would be held until 12 midnight at the cathedral on the same day.
Then it would be returned to its shrine at the Jesus Nazareno parish church in Barangay Lapasan, some five kilometers away, in a procession called “Traslación.”
Cabunoc said the practice by devotees throwing towels and handkerchiefs to be rubbed on the image of the Black Nazarene is being discouraged during the procession.
He said the Cagayan de Oro archdiocese has entrusted the security of the religious event to the police, traffic officials, and medical responders.
“Even I am scared of the prospects of somebody bombing the religious procession,” he said.
Taboclaon said all mobile phone communications would be jammed from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. during the procession.
He said police mobile checkpoints in Cagayan de Oro’s borders with Iligan City, Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon would implement a strict check on all incoming vehicles.
Taboclaon said devotees are discourage from bringing backpacks and wearing hats during the procession. He said teams of policemen in civilian clothes would go along with the procession to enforce the rule on backpacks and hats.
Last year’s “Traslación” procession in Cagayan de Oro City. MindaNews file photo by FROILAN GALLARDO
Road and Traffic Authority (RTA) chief Nonito Oclarit said they would drive away vendors from the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral and the Jesus Nazareno parish church on January 8 and 9.
Oclarit said as part of the security plan, they would implement a strict no-parking zone for all vehicles around both churches. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
