THOUSANDS of devotees flocked to the streets early Thursday morning for the procession transferring the life-sized Black Nazarene from St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral to its shrine at Nazareno Parish Church in Barangay Lapasan.
The turnout, however, fell short compared to the 100,000 devotees who joined the Traslacion in 2023, a record that had given Cagayan de Oro prominence second only to Quiapo Church in Manila.
Cagayan de Oro City Police Office spokesperson Lt. Col. Evan Viñas said only 13,000 devotees participated, falling short of the 20,000 anticipated during security planning a week prior.
Cagayan de Oro Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Nick Jabagat confirmed the same estimate, noting that only one person, an elderly woman, required medical assistance.
She later refused to board an ambulance and instead left in a news van from a local radio station.
Monsignor Perseus Cabunoc, parish priest of the Nazareno Church, attributed the lower turnout to the emergence of similar Black Nazarene processions in neighboring areas such as Iligan City, Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon, and even Tagum City in Davao del Norte.
“Devotees from these areas used to come here to join the Traslacion. Why should they come here now that they have their own procession?” Cabunoc said.
He also noted that during the two-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Nazareno Parish Church created replicas of the life-sized Black Nazarene, or Nuestro Padre de Jesus Nazareno, and distributed them to different parishes across Mindanao.
Cabunoc expressed concern over waning interest in the religious rite among younger parishioners, whom he said are more preoccupied with technology.
Meanwhile, Wenceslao Salcedo of the Hijos del Nazareno de Cagayan de Oro blamed the “excessive” police security surrounding the carriage carrying the life-sized replica of the Black Nazarene for the sharp drop in the crowd size.
“The excessive presence of policemen around the carriage prevented devotees from getting close to the Black Nazarene. It is now a Traslacion for the policemen,” Salcedo said.
The smaller turnout also affected vendors selling miniature statues of the Black Nazarene, handkerchiefs, and other religious items near the Nazareno Parish Church.
Lt. Col. Nerfe Valmoria, chief of police operations, ordered vendors to move at least 50 meters away from the church as part of security measures.
Dodong Napoco, 51, who sells handkerchiefs, said the restriction hurt his sales.
“I used to sell 100 handkerchiefs during the Traslacion. This morning, I sold only 40 pieces,” Napoco said.
Marites Fernandez, another vendor, said the police directive forced her to close her small stand near the church.
