Low tide delays Peñafrancia fluvial procession
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NAGA CITY — Low tide has prompted the city government and the Archdiocese of Caceres to push the schedule of the fluvial procession of Our Lady of Peñafrancia later into the evening of Saturday, 19 September.
In a public advisory, the Naga City government said that instead of the usual early afternoon or noontime schedule, the Pontifical Mass will now be held at 3:30 p.m., while the procession itself will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Emergency Operations Center-Incident Management Team said the images of the Bicol patroness and El Divino Rostro (Holy Face) will leave the Metropolitan Cathedral at 6:30 p.m. but might only reach the “danlugan” (port) on the Naga River below the Tabuco Bridge at around 8:30 p.m.
“We calculated that the images will be on the pagoda by 9 p.m. for the start of the fluvial procession to the Dagsaan (landing port near the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia),” the advisory, which was written in Bicol, said.
It is estimated that the journey of the pagoda will take an hour and a half. Another Mass will be celebrated at the Minor Basilica at around 11 p.m.
In a post on her personal Facebook account, Mayor Leni Robredo said the Joint Operations Center of the Archdiocese of Caceres, Naga City government and other stakeholders decided to wait for high tide before the start of the fluvial procession.
“This is due to the fact that the rains we had this September were not enough,” she said. She added that the flood gates at the Sabang Bridge had been closed for years now, but they failed to store water due to leaks.
Robredo said the Department of Public Works and Highways has promised to fund the repair of the Sabang Bridge flood gate in 2027.
“The pagoda is already at the danlugan but it has been run aground due to the shallow water. Last night at high tide, the water level was better. Hopefully, when the high tide comes again later, it would be able to sail without any problem,” she said.
The fluvial procession marks the end of the weeklong festivities of Our Lady of Peñafrancia.
