CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — Amid tight security measures and mobile network signal disruption implemented for the celebration of the Traslación on January 9, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Department (CDRRMD) has reported that there were no untoward incidents during the procession from St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral to Jesus Nazareno Parish-Shrine of the Black Nazarene.
CDRRMD manager Nick Jabagat confirms that there were no incidents for the entire duration of the procession, saying, “Walo ka medical aide stations atong gibutang along sa Traslación nga ruta. Negative, wala’y bisan mga minor cases like fainting o nalipong, wala.”
(Eight medical aide stations were in place along the Traslación route. Negative; not even minor cases like fainting were attended to.)
Jabagat assured churchgoers that a medical aide station would be inside the shrine and at the command post until the Holy Mass had finished.
He said the police also secured the vicinity of the shrine. “Para kani tanan sa kalinaw, sa safety sa tanan, kay sa day one palang sa atong coordination meeting mao na na’y gimando sa atong mayor nga tutukan gyud ang safety sa mga devotees ug sa general public,” Jabagat said.
(We do all this for everybody’s peace and safety; since day one of the coordination meeting, the city mayor’s mandate was to ensure the safety of the devotees and the general public.)
Some 13,000 devotees participated in the event, around 5,000 lower than that of 2024’s procession participants, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP)-Cagayan de Oro Police Station (COCPO) spokesperson PLtCol Evan Viñas.
Jenny Estoque, a devotee from Barangay Indahag in this city, said she has been participating in the Traslación for a long time. When she lived in Manila, her family used to attend the procession of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo.
“Ang akong gipang-ampo, especially sa family nako, nga maayo nga panglawas, ug sa akoa. Ug kanang naa’y peace, love, and harmonious relationship sa amua nga mag-igsuon, sa pagtuon sa akoang anak, ug sa akoang husband nga tua sa layo nga maayo always ang panglawas,” Estoque said.
(My prayers are mainly for my family’s well-being, especially for good health—for them and for myself. I also pray for peace, love, and harmony among us siblings, for my child’s success in school, and for my husband, who is far away, to always stay healthy.)
Another devotee, Barangay Bayabas resident Renie Sumena, said she finds the city’s version of the Traslación very meaningful and organized. “Nag-aattend talaga ako sa prusisyon sa Nazareno sa Quiapo at Sto. Nino sa Tondo. Dito ako nakatira sa Cagayan de Oro ng dalawang taon, pero ngayon pa lang ako nag-attend. Maganda ang experience ko dito kasi organized, hindi grabe ‘yung tao,” expressed Sumena.
(I make it a point to attend the processions for the Black Nazarene in Quiapo and the Santo Niño in Tondo. Although I’ve been living in Cagayan de Oro for two years, this is the first time I’ve joined a procession here. It was a meaningful experience because everything was well-organized, and the crowd was manageable.)
Sumena said her prayers include good health for her youngest child, who often falls ill. Her son’s birthday falls on January 8, prompting her family to regularly attend holy mass, even traveling to Quiapo if necessary.
In Cagayan de Oro, the Traslación began at the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral, where Msgr. Rey Monsanto, the parish priest of the Nazareno Church at the time, first housed the image upon its arrival from Quiapo in 2009.
Monsanto said, “In the Stations of the Cross, Jesus falls three times. Mao nang ang imahe sa atong Black Nazarene, nagluhod atong Ginoo, nagpas-an sa krus (That is why the image of the Black Nazarene, our Lord, is kneeling and carrying the cross).”
