Public urged: Make Kaplag "more of a religious event"

CEBU, Philippines – Father Trinidad Silva, Jr. of the San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish urges the public to make Kaplag 2009 be more of a religious event and not just focus on the festivities.

He cited that the festivities associated with the Kaplag-Buwad Festival, Tartanilla Festival and Fish Festival should not overshadow the true essence of the Kaplag which is the celebration of the finding of the unscathed image of the Sto. Niño inside a burned house in 1568.

The whole celebration will be about the important point of the history of the church and the country as the tribes embraced Christianity.

“Kaplag is a religious and historical event,” Fr. Silva said.

Val Sandiego, a member of the organizing committee of Kaplag ’09 and the consultant of the cultural show, said that “(This is) old tradition that we are trying to revive.” That though there are festivities under the said celebration, such should not be the highlight of the event.

“Sa ilang panginabuhi, sila gilamdagan sa batang Hesus,” as he pointed to the participation of the vendors of the Taboan Public Market, the vendors of the Pasil Fish Market, and the owners of the tartanillas (horse rigs) as a way to worship and honor the Sto. Niño.

In the celebration of Kaplag, the Sto. Niño will have a three-day homecoming at the parish of San Nicolas through a procession from the Basilica del Santo Niño and the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. — Queennie Estrella Kuebler and Crischellyn Abayon/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)