Coast Guard on fluvial procession 2023: Generally peaceful 

he fluvial procession for the 358th Fiesta Señor at the Mactan Channel. | Ralph Gurango

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The return of the fluvial procession for this year’s Fiesta Señor was generally peaceful, according to the Coast Guard.

The procession started at 6:15 a.m. and ended at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan 14. The activity was 15 minutes late because the images of Señor Santo Niño and Our Lady of Guadalupe arrived late from the Nuestra Señora de Regla Parish in Lapu-Lapu City. 

According to Commander Mark Larsen Mariano, commander of Coast Guard Central Cebu, they did not anticipate the number of vessels that joined the procession. Based on their record, they only had 189 registered vessels but during the actual procession, the number reached around 300. 

Despite this, Mariano said that they did not record any problem during the entire procession. 

“Ang pinakamaganda sa lahat is nakisama yung panahon natin, as you can see medyo maliwanag na wala tayong ulan parang ganito na rin yata yung sinusundan natin na if ever maulan the day before the following day pagka yung D-Day mismo ng sinulog is maayos naman,” Mariano said. 

During the fluvial’s dry run with the Coast Guard last January 11, the fluvial procession started at the Captain Veloso Pier in Barangay Looc in Lapu-Lapu City and then passed underneath the Osmeña Bridge, or the Old Mandaue-Mactan Bridge, and then towards the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) before heading back to Pier 1 in Cebu City. 

However, during the actual procession, they were not able to pass underneath the Old Mandaue- Mactan Bridge because there were several vessels waiting in the area. 

Instead of using the route of the dry run, the procession proceeded to the CCLEX before it made a stop in Pier 1 in Cebu City. 

Even if the activity started late, Mariano said that they still managed to finish in two hours. 

/bmjo

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