Noli Terrado, a member of the Samahang Laban sa Detensyon at Para sa Amnestiya (SELDA), said militant groups opted not to stage any rallies to mark the declaration of martial law "because the people will not sympathize with us anyway."
"They are busy celebrating this Catholic occasion," he added.
Indeed, neither the heat in the early afternoon nor the sudden rain that lasted for 30 minutes dampened the "show of real Catholic faith," observed Zachary Shallow, an American theology student who joined the event.
Thousands of devotees and pilgrims from all over the country took part in the five-hour procession of the 288-year-old image of La Virgen from the cathedral to the banks of the Naga River.
The fluvial procession took off shortly before 6 p.m. with scores of voyadores pulling the pagoda amid chants of "Viva La Virgen."