CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Threats of terrorist attacks did not dampen the spirit of the Black Nazarene devotees here, who paraded in thousands to mark the patron saint’s feast Tuesday.
Police said some 200,000 individuals participated in this city’s version of the “traslacion” despite reported terror threats in Northern Mindanao.
The two-kilometer “traslacion”, which started at the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral and ended at the Black Nazarene Shrine, was peaceful and the devotees were well-behaved, said Chief Insp. Mardy Hortillosa, spokesperson for the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (Cocpo).
Hortillosa said more than a thousand police officers and soldiers were deployed to secure the areas where the statue of the Black Nazarene—a replica given to a church here in 2009 that started the devotion of the patron saint outside Metro Manila—was to pass through.
The presence of law enforcers during the activity, Hortillosa said, was the factor why people had complied with the police advisory.
Police reprimanded several violators including those wearing ball caps, jackets and those bringing back packs and large bags around parade vicinity.
He said the decision to employ police officers to cordon the statue was based on the experience of the “traslacion” in Manila, where chaos usually ensues when devotees scramble to climb the “carroza” (cart).
According to tradition, the icon is escorted only by the Hijos de Nazareno, a group of male volunteers tasked with taking care of the Black Nazareno.
He said the regional and city police offices were on level 3 alert as authorities were verifying the veracity of the report that extremists were planning to attack the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in retaliation for their defeat in the Marawi siege.
However, the police official added that the threat did not deter the Roman Catholic Church from holding the “traslacion” as law enforcement agencies were working to ensure that no untoward incident would occur during the feast of the Black Nazarene.
Hortillosa said the city police had been on high alert since martial law was extended and that status would remain until it is lifted. (Jigger J. Jerusalem/PNA)
