TENDING THE FLOCK. The faithful crowd around Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma after the Misa de Gallo in Carbon Market in this December 2014 photo. | CDN File photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — With the massive drop in active cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) here, Cebu City officials decided to again hold dawn Masses at the Carbon Public Market Complex this year.
Councilor Joel Garganera, head of the city’s Emergency Operations Center, said dawn Masses at the biggest public market in Cebu will be allowed from December 16 to 24 provided that all Mass participants will wear face masks and continue to observe physical distancing.
The conduct of dawn Masses is part of the annual Pasko sa Carbon celebration. It started in 2005 as a response to the request of vendors who find it difficult to leave their stalls during one of the busiest seasons of the year to hear Mass.
Delivery of goods is mostly done at dawn when fewer people and cars occupy the streets of the Carbon Market Complex.
The annual tradition of holding dawn Masses for the vendors continued for years, except in 2020, when the city was placed under strict quarantine restrictions as a result of the pandemic.
Racquel Arce, the overseer of the Market Operations Division, said this year’s dawn Masses will be held in an open area located near Units 1 and II.
“Ari gihapon sa tunga sa Carbon, open air raman so makasulod ra tanan. Pero magsocial distancing lang gihapon ta, dapat magface mask,” Arce said in a press conference on Tuesday, December 7.
(Masses will still be held at the center of the market [complex] and because it is an open air venue, everyone will be allowed entry. But we will still require the wearing of masks and social distancing.)
Market officials already sent an invitation for Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma to officiate one of the dawn Masses here and they are praying for a favorable response from the prelate.
Aside from having its dawn Masses, market officials also announced their plan to hold a fruit festival from December 17 to 31 wherein freshly picked and affordable produce coming from the different farms in Cebu City and the island province will be placed on display.
With the festival, Arce said, they hope to encourage buyers to again visit the public market to buy items for their noche buena and media noche.
Garganera said that aside from selling, it is a responsibility of every vendor to make sure that they and their customers observe health protocols.
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