Sinulog dancers wave their images of the Sto. Nino during the reenactment of the 1st Mass and Baptism at the Pilgrim center of the Basilica del Sto. Nino. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
The annual foot procession of the Sto. Niño drew hundreds of thousands of devotees yesterday in a solemn walk of the faithful despite a steady drizzle in Cebu City.
The activity remained generally peaceful until the carroza of the Holy Child returned at sundown at the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño.
Volunteers formed a human cordon to escort the images of the Sto. Nino and Our Lady of Guadalpe during the five-hour procession which reached the Basilica at 5 p.m.
Police estimated the crowd at 1.8 million, a figure given by Senior Supt. Conrad Capa, who witnessed the procession for his first time as OIC of the Cebu city police.
He said he was ïmpressed”by the orderly state of the traditional Cebuano procession. The Cebu City Command Center, however, gave a lower estimate of 500,000.
A minor disruption occurred when police arrested three foreigners who were using a megaphone to distrub the procession.
Michael Bradley, 46, of Florida USA and his wife Elcel Bradley, 38, from Palawan with Rebecca Muñoz, 29, were arrested and will be charged with violating Article 132 and 133 of the Revised Penal Code or interruption of religious worship and offending religious feelings.
“Sto. Nino loves Cebuanos,” said Fr. Jonas Mejares, basilica rector, in a homily at the Pilgrim Center, where a reenactment of the first Mass and baptism in the Philipines was held in the morning.
He said the strong religious faith of Cebuanos showed in the large attendance despite the rain.
Mejares, who loves to sing, gave his sermon through a poem “Matod ni (According to) Sto. Niño.” and ended with a song about the origin of the Sto. Nino in Cebu.
The poem told of the importance of hardships in one’s life to fully experience the goodness of God.
Importance
“According to the Sto. Niño: If you have not experienced sickness, how will you know that He is always there to heal you?” he said.
The reenactment Mass recounted how Christianity was introduced to Rajah Humabon, his wife and the natives of pre-Spanish Cebu.
The procession was smooth because sidewalks were cleared of obstructions ahead of time and crowd control was enforced by the police, security workers and and student volunteers, said Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, who heads the city’s command center.
Tumulak said the center estimated the crowd to reach 500,000 based on the 5.65 kilometer route multiplied by the road width of 10 meters and a density of six persons per square meter.
Choke points were limited to junctions like Colon Street and Osmeña Boulevard near Metro Colon where a huge crowd was waiting, he said.
The procession left the Basilica at 1 p.m. but due to the huge crowd, it took almost an hour before the carroza bearing the image of the Sto. Niño left the Basilica.
The Sto. Niño image was encased in glass and decorated with red chrysanthemums, pink anthuriums, and yellow and white orchids. /Correspondents Edison Angeles , Victor Anthony V. Silva, Chito Aragon and Flor R. Cartucian