Lieutenant Junior Grade John Michael Encina | CDND Photo / Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Organizers are planning an earlier start for this year’s fluvial procession of the miraculous images of the Señor Sto. Niño and the Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Lieutenant Junior Grade John Michael Encina, information officer of the Philippine Coast Guard in Central Visayas (PCG-7), said that the galleon that will carry the two images will no longer pass the vicinity of the Pasil Fish Port in Cebu City, where devotees in this part of the city would normally wait as practiced in the previous years, and would instead proceed to pier 1 where it will be docked.
Encina announced the changes in this year’s fluvial procession in a press conference held on Monday morning, January 6, 2020.
But he said that they are yet to make a formal announcement on the actual start of the fluvial procession.
Encina also clarified that they had to cut short the route of this year’s sea procession because of the ongoing construction of a bridge that will connect Cebu City to Cordova town in Mactan Island. He said that passing by the area may endanger the safety of the procession’s participants.
“Last year, we had five phases. Phase 5 includes the area in (Barangay) Pasil. (But) we decided to eliminate phase 5 (this year) due to security and safety (concerns), relative to the construction of the third Cebu-Mactan bridge,” he said.
The images of the Señor Sto. Niño and the Our Lady of Guadalupe are set to visit the home of St. Joseph at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City on Jan. 17.
By midnight of Jan. 18, the images will be transferred to the Our Lady of Rule Parish in Lapu-Lapu City in a foot procession. They will then be transported in a motorcade to the Naval Forces Central headquarters in Barangay Looc for the official start of the fluvial procession. / dcb