Devotee City offers rest to weary merrymakers

Pilgrims staying at the Devotee City during the feast of the Señor Sto. Niño started to leave for their respective hometowns Sunday night.

But yesterday morning, there were still a few who stayed behind. One of them was Richmond Suriales, 28, from Dumaguete City.

Suriales revealed that he arrived with his friends last Friday and stayed in Mandaue City.

However, after enjoying the parade and the festivities Sunday night, they decided to stay in one of the vans in the Devotee City.

Suriales said they were too tired to travel to Mandaue City.

Yesterday, he was already packing his things for his trip back  to Dumaguete City  when Cebu Daily News visited the Devotee City.

City Hall personnel started clearing out the Devotee City yesterday.

The Devotee City, originally launched as a Tent City in 1996, was set up to accommodate devotees of the Sto. Niño who come to Cebu  with limited means for  a hotel room or a pension house accommodation.

Originally put up at the Plaza Independencia, for the last five years it has been moved near the Compania Maritima building, across the Cebu City Hall.

Pilgrims who want to stay in the Devotee City only need to present a bus or boat ticket.

Devotees from beyond the cities of Danao in northern Cebu and Carcar in southern Cebu and other provinces outside Cebu were given priority.

Every lodger was given an ID as part of security measures.