Devotees reminded anew: Minors, those 65 and above not allowed to enter Basilica
Devotees form a long queue as they wait for their turns to enter the Basilica on Sunday, January 16, 2022 during the 457th Fiesta Señor.
Minors, those 65 and above not allowed entry in Basilica, cops remind devotees
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Minors and those adults, whose ages are 65 years old and above, will not be allowed to enter the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño because Cebu City is placed under Alert Level 3.
Police Major Edgar Labe of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) reminded the public on this rule so that those who would want to light candles and offer prayers at the Basilica to celebrate the 457th Fiesta Señor would not bring along their children and elderly family members.
Labe said these individuals (minors and those 65 years old and above) would not be allowed to enter and would be advised to go home.
He said this protocol for minors and elderly would be implemented starting January 14 until January 31 which is the time the city is placed under Alert Level 3.
Aside from this, Labe said that the devotees would also be required to bring their vaccination cards because only those fully vaccinated individuals would be allowed to enter the Basilica grounds.
“Starting Jan. 14, wala na gi allow sa Basilica nga musulod ang below 18 years old ug 65 above plus, nag require pod sila og vaccination cards. Gi advisan ang mga nahinayak na og adto sa Basilica nga dili pasado as required nga mo pauli nalang,” Labe said.
(Starting Jan. 14, those below 18 years old and 65 above plus would not be allowed to enter the Basilica, they also require vaccination cards. We advise those who are already at the Basilica and who failed in the requirements that they will just go home.)
He also said that as of 11 a.m. today, they had already recorded nearly 20,000 devotees, who had entered the Basilica or 19,589, who had entered the Basilica’s Pilgrim Center where they could light candles and offer prayers today, the 457th Fiesta Señor.
He said that if we would include those still outside the Basilica it would easily be around 20,000 devotees.
For his part, Police Lieutenant Joel Dela Cerna of the Labangon Police Station, who was assigned at the Magallanes entrance, said that the devotees started lining up as early as 6 a.m. on Sunday, January 16.
Even if there were a lot of them, Dela Cerna said that they were able to control the influx requiring vaccination cards upon entries.
Dela Cerna, however, said that for those who had children with them, we only placed the children in a designated area outside the Basilica where they would wait for their parents since the children would not be allowed to enter the Basilica.
He also said that they would also allow this arrangement if there would be another family member or guardian, who would look after the children.
As of this posting, the devotees continue to arrive and form a long queue as they wait for their turn to enter the basilica.
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/dbs
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