Flowers for  Sinulog Galleon, arrival of guests  delayed due to Taal eruption

Loud booming sounds were heard by nearby residents when Taal Volcano erupted Sunday. These images were taken about 3 p.m. or 2 hours after the eruption from Tagaytay City, Cavite. | file photo –Photo from Tagaytay City Cavite Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The eruption of the Taal Volcano, despite being thousands of kilometers away, has still affected the preparations of the activities of the 455th Fiesta Señor in Cebu.

Raphael Wong of Mandaue Shipping and Lighterage Corp., this year’s host for the image of the Señor Santo Niño, said the flowers that would be used for the galleon of the Fluvial Procession this Saturday, January 18, 2020, had not arrived yet due to the flight cancellations resulting from the ashfall.

Although  there are flowers for the Galleon’s design that can be sourced from local farms in Cebu, Wong said majority of the ornaments that they had planned to use would be coming from Luzon.

Wong said they were still hopeful that the flowers could make it in time for their decorations for the fluvial procession this Saturday.

Read more: Coast Guard dry run: Fluvial procession to run one and a half hours

Aside from the image of Señor Santo Niño, the Galleon will also ferry the priests of Basilica Minore del Santo Niño and their guests during the fluvial procession.

However, Fr. Pacifico Nohara, rector of the Basilica, said some of the priests that they had invited over from Manila might also not arrive on time due to the delay in flights.

“They will also try nga moadto gihapon sila sa airport this afternoon kay gahapon kay cancelled baya. Ubay-ubay gyud ang naapektohan nga motambong unta sa kalihokan sa kapistahan ni Sr. Santo Niño gumikan sa pagbuto niining Taal Volcano,” Nohara said in an interview this morning.

(They will also try to go to the airport this afternoon because their flights were cancelled yesterday. A lot of visitors for the Fiesta Señor had been affected because of the eruption of Taal Volcano.)

Read more: More Cebu-Manila-Cebu flights cancelled due to Taal eruption

Nohara said they had invited some priests from Manila to also celebrate the Novena Masses for the Fiesta Señor.

“Ang among mga giimbitar nga mga bisita ug uban nga mga pari nga amo usab giimbitar aron makamisa diri, maglisod sila sa pag-abot kung karong adlawa, cancelled gihapon ang flights,” Nohara said.

(The guests and some of the priests that we invited to celebrate Mass here have found it difficult to arrive today as their flights had remained cancelled.)

The cancellation of several flights bound for and coming from Metro Manila was due to the ashfall that has so far covered several parts of the Metro and Southern Luzon.

Read more: Nohara tells Taal affected families: Pray to the Sto. Niño

The Basilica, today, January 13, has issued a prayer for the cessation of the volcanic activities in Taal and for the safety of the thousands of individuals that have been evacuated following the eruption and the series of volcanic earthquakes in Batangas./dbs