CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The City Government of Cagayan de Oro and the rest of Northern Mindanao are preparing to implement strict security for the Traslacion on January 9.
Cagayan de Oro’s police deputy director for operations, Lieutenant Colonel Rey Gaudencio Taboclaon, is deploying large numbers of police and Army soldiers to create a strong security presence around the replica of the Black Nazarene procession as it travels through the streets of Cagayan de Oro.
“We will be deploying more police and Army during the procession. We will not be saying how many. We don’t want any surprises,” Taboclaon told reporters.
Intensive and continuous checkpoints led by the City Mobile Force Company and Task Force Oro will be implemented half an hour prior to the commencement of Traslacion.
“There will be scrutiny at these checkpoints in order for us to peacefully conduct the Feast of the Black Nazarene,” Taboclaon said.
Members of the group known as Hijos de Nazareno, walking barefoot, will bear the life-sized, dark-toned wooden figure of the Black Nazarene, mirroring the tradition observed in Quiapo, Manila.
Aside from strict border controls, the COCPO has requested a temporary telecommunications signal blackout from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. on January 9, following their coordination with the Jesus Nazareno Parish.
The festivities kick off on January 8 as the image of the Black Nazarene is transported from the Jesus Nazareno Parish to the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral around 9 p.m. A Mass is scheduled from 10 p.m. to midnight.
On January 9, at 4 a.m. a Mass will precede the procession of the Black Nazarene from the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral, passing through Fernandez St., Don Apolinar Velez St., and CM Recto Ave., concluding at the Jesus Nazareno Parish.
Engr. Nonito Oclarit, the Roads and Traffic Administration’s department manager, mentioned the deployment of 130 dedicated traffic enforcers specifically for Traslacion, in addition to enforcers already stationed across the city.
Meanwhile, Taboclaon noted the adoption of last year’s security arrangement, consisting of five security layers: the first layer being the Hijos and Hijas, followed by COCPO personnel (second layer), augmentation (third layer), Task Force Oro personnel (fourth layer), and barangay tanods (fifth layer).
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