The grand procession for the feast of the Our Lady of the Pillar on October 12 will see a fewer number of worshipers due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Our Lady of the Pillar feast (Pilar Festival or Fiestas del Pilar) is the highlight of the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival that kicked off Friday.
She is the most revered patron saint of this city and is the patroness of Spain, other Hispanic people, policemen, and postmen.
The city government released Saturday Executive Order No. BC-683-2021, signed by Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, that specifies protocols and traffic rerouting and limits the participation of worshipers in all religious events of the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival.
The grand procession will be limited to just 100 worshipers, regardless of vaccination status.
“The listing is to be determined by the Archdiocese. Given the number of attending persons, strict social distancing measures of one to two meters and mandatory wearing of face mask and face shield are required throughout the procession. The enforcement of the health protocols within the shrine shall be the responsibility of the Archdiocese,” said the EO that will take effect October 3 to 13.
Only 25 persons, regardless of vaccination status, are allowed in the daily procession that precedes the nine-day novena mass from October 3 to 11.
The curfew will be lifted on October 12 to allow the faithful and pilgrims to visit the shrine of Our Lady of the Pillar.
Curfew hours will be adjusted from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. on October 10, 11, and 13 for the same purpose.
“The Catholic faithful and pilgrims may still visit the shrine and practice their faith even during the Sunday lockdown, subject to the strict enforcement of health protocol,” the EO said.
Vaccination status
Meanwhile, the City Health Office also announced on Saturday that it has administered 318,770 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine since the rollout began in March.
Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite, city health officer, said 130,297 have been fully vaccinated, representing 18.75 percent of the 694,696 eligible population.
Miravite said the remaining 188,473 have received the first dose.
“Once it is your turn, submit yourself for vaccination,” she said.
Most of the fully vaccinated are adults with comorbidities (A3) at 54,875 while 65,482 of the 188,473 with the first dose belong to the economic front-liners (A4) priority group.
The Covid-19 data tracker showed that the city still has 1,890 active cases out of the 15,864 total confirmed infections as of Friday.
A total of 13,253 recovered and 721 died.
Source: Philippines News Agency
