By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
AUTHORITIES and organizers of the Black Nazarene procession and other related activities here are preparing to manage a crowd of over half a million in this city this Saturday.
But the number of participants could double, according to Bro. Alejo Yacapin, one of the organizers and the head of the Nazareno Parish Finance Council.
City police director Senior Supt. Faro Antonio Olaguera, and organizers Ruben Galla and Roger Solis said last year’s Black Nazarene procession participants here reached some 500 thousand.
Yacapin said the Nazareno parish would field 70 members of the Hijos de Cagayan to help authorities in managing the crowd, and to guard the replica of the Black Nazarene especially during the 2.5-kilometer procession that is the only one authorized outside Manila.
The crowd management would involve the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office, the military, city hall and the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA), and barangay officials, Yacapin said.
He said it was agreed by Nazareno parish priest Jose Allan Pulgo and authorities that the procession would start at 4:30 am on Saturday.
The Black Nazarene replica would be paraded down the street from the Pelaez Sports Center to Julio Pacana St., Gaabucayan St., Agora Road, all the way to the Nazareno church on CM Recto Ave.
The replica would be brought to the Pelaez Sports Center on Friday night where a mass would be officiated ahead of the “Homage to the Black Nazarene.”
The “homage” includes a dramatization of how the replica was brought to the city from Manila, and a fireworks show.
The replica, which is the only one of its kind in Mindanao, was given by the Quiapo Basilica to the local Roman Catholic Archdiocese.
Religious devotees are advised not to wear hats, sunglasses, and backpacks for security reasons.
Church officials also advised pregnant women and children 12 years and younger to keep off the procession for safety reasons.
Nonito Oclarit, RTA chief, said a traffic plan would be strictly implemented in order to cushion the effects of the procession on the flow of vehicular traffic in the city.
“Ang nakabintaha lang kay puwede na man maagi-an sa mga tawo ang elevated bridge sa Bitan-ag Creek kay nahuman na man ug trabah. Ato gihapon kanang butangan ug mga traffic enforcers aron maka-guide sa mga devotees,” Oclarit said.
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
