The Mandaue City government has put up tents in front of the National Shrine of Saint Joseph for parishioners who will be attending the dawn Masses. Incessant rains are expected in Cebu for the next few days due to Tropical Depression (TD) Vicky. CDN photo | Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines – Churchgoers without umbrellas will not be allowed to enter the National Shrine of St. Joseph and the Mandaue City Plaza located in front of the City Hall during Misa de Gallo.
This after signal No.1 was raised in the central and southern parts of Cebu due to Tropical Depression (TD) Vicky, which is packing rains and wind.
Although the Mandaue City government has put up tents at the Plaza to shelter parishioners if it rains, Lawyer John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mayor Jonas Cortes, said that it is already expected for residents with no umbrella to seek shelter and crowd the tents.
This, according to Ibañez is a dangerous occurrence especially since we are still in a pandemic.
“Mao nang sa entrance mangutana gyud ta kinsay nagda og payong kay og wala sila nagdala og payong of course natural gyud nato nga instinct nga mupasilong gyud ta ngadto sa tent which is already puno. Karga konsensiya napod na nato nga gipasud tuod sa Plaza, nauwanan, ig uli sa ila mahilantan, mao nay lisod, ” said Ibañez.
However, Ibañez said that if it rains hard especially if accompanied by strong winds, Churchgoers will not be allowed to enter the Plaza which is located just in front of the National Shrine of St. Joseph during dawn Masses for their safety.
“Mao say ato’ng concernn kay tent man gyud siya, dali paliron sa bagyo, mao nang continue ato’ng monitoring kay kung unya gale mukusog ang hangin ato gyud nang i dismantle ang tents. (Dili na pasudlon) kay kung mukusog ang uwan maluoy man sad ta, labi nag mukusog ang hangin ang payong (paliron), ” he said.
The city government is encouraging Churchgoers that if the rains will continue to just watch a live stream of the Misa de Gallo in their homes. /rcg