NAGA CITY – Some 11,000 personnel from various government agencies and volunteer groups were deployed to ensure the peaceful conduct of the Traslacion procession here this Friday, 11 September.
Mayor Leni Robredo welcomed these peacekeepers in a multi-agency task group mustering and blessing of troops at the grounds of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Barangay Balatas on Thursday, 10 September, as the city begins preparation for the novenary week of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the Bicol patroness.
This peacekeeping team, which was formed for the Peñafrancia Festival, were personnel of the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Army, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and various volunteer groups.
In her speech at the ceremony Thursday, Robredo thanked the peacekeepers, who are from the six provinces of the Bicol Region. She expressed her gratitude for their commitment to help the city government and the Archdiocese of Caceres ensure a solemn, safe and secure celebration of the Peñafrancia Fiesta.
Robredo added that she prayed for their safety in the field and that no challenges would come before them that they could not overcome during the celebration.
The Traslacion, known as the longest Marian procession in Asia, marks the beginning of the celebrations of feast of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia. It draws thousands of devotees, locally called “voyadores,” to join the 1.3 km long procession on foot while pulling the images of the Virgin and the El Divino Rostro (Holy Face) from the Peñafrancia Shrine to the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral.
