Letter to the editor - The Sto. Niño procession

For so many years, we and our friends have faithfully and consistently participated in the solemn procession of the Senyor Santo Niño. It has always been a strong and unwavering expression of our devotion to the Holy Infant. As ordinary devotees, the procession, had always been our vehicle for collective prayer – where a critical mass of thoughts and emotions, all focused on Him, sought to awaken the divine spirit in us and effect deep, personal changes. In our regular following of the solemn procession, through the years, we had always ended with gladness, awe, gratitude and goodness in our hearts.

Unfortunately, last Saturday’s (January 14) procession for us was different – frighteningly different. Initially, we started off the usual way, going quite a distance ahead of the caro, solemnly praying and offering our petitions - just like the other people closely beside, in front and behind us. Suddenly, an alien posse of black clad bouncers, all sporting the name ALIA, appeared from nowhere and roughlyswept ordinary devotees out of the way of the cordon sanitaire surrounding the VIPs, the priests and the caro that bore the Senyor.

The sense of joie de vivre devolved into dismay when the caro passed the junction of Plaridel St. and Jones Ave. because at that point, the ALIA started to sneak in individually, weaving among the sea of devotees, to get inside the security rope ringing the caro. When thwarted by the throng, they tried to pass themselves off as devotees too. We heard some of them plead “Excuse, excuse us please! We are devotees too trying to follow the caro”. But lo, when the ALIA reconstituted itself inside the perimeter rope, it shed off the veneer of devotion and rearedits true and ugly face;it acted thoughtlessly without regard for the safety of the devotees. The ALIA members then interlocked their arms, and held on to a rope whilemercilessly pushed people farther away from the caro, as if the road was not already cleared wide enough for it to comfortably pass through. Their apparent leader wanted to expand the security cordon even wider and exhorted his bunch to push, push and push for the gutter. “Duot, duot, duot hangtod sa gutter! Go for gutter!” was the infernal command heard by witnesses – myself included.

The devotees in front of the caro had to run as they were shoved like cows herded - never mind that their prayers were rudely disrupted. Other devotees were hard pressed to the sides. Much as they wanted to go out of the second cordon manned by students, there was no immediate “escape”, since there were railings on the curb and more crowds behind the railings.Some devotees were reduced to crying while they were dragged by the ropes and others were grumbling and shouting at the guards to stop their pushing. One doctor in our group challenged the guards to go out of the cordon and actuallyexperience beingpushed and lifted up with feet barely touching the ground. They could not seem to comprehend that man is not of the gaseous state; that man is made of matter, and therefore, occupies space. Alas, such space, they have deemed to reserve only for a chosen few.

 At the McDonalds’ juncture in Jones Avenue, the same scenario was reenacted and likewise inMango Avenue. The roads there were much wider than in downtown, and yet the guards chose to do the same – expand their perimeter to occupy portion of the opposing lane.Last Saturday saw many a heart rendered confused, hurt and angry. Last Saturday saw many people, young and old, strong and frail suffer physical injuries – particularly rope burns along their arms and waists.It did not matter to the guards that there were so many in their senior years, who lost their balance and ran the risk of being trampled, and yet braved the crowds just the same, to be with the Senyor.

And when confronted with the havoc that they were creating, all the ALIA guards could say was:“We are only doing what we are told.” One lady called out:“Think, think! Can’t you think for yourselves?”Well, apparently not. Like robots, they preferred not to think, much less feel. They showed no empathy, no sympathy and rather they hid behind the lame excuse that they were just following instructions. Until now, we wonder from whom.

Did they really make all that space for the Senyor? In previous years, people had been allowed to follow the caro closely, and yet they had not been unruly or rowdy. Or was all that space reserved only for the “men in white” and the hobnobbing congressmen and VIPs – unmindful and uncaring as they watched their guards push the crowd.So reminiscent of Spanish times, it seemed the “guardia civil” wasresurrected toprotectthe prayles and their cohorts. Lo and behold, they even had the audacity totake pictures, text and put out theirIpadsinside the comfort of their cordon sanitaire. So they thought that they were the masters, and everyone outside were the servants. The procession was “solemn” alright – “solemn and calm” inside their security cordon that is! Next procession then, we suppose we should don a sutana or be a government official, so that we can be protected and avoid being pushed to the sides and to our deaths or injury.

 In retrospect, was it really necessary to expand the security cordon even wider than it was remembered in previous processions? Had the number of VIPs and priests, wanting to pontificate themselves near the caro, swelled up so much, that more space was needed to accommodate all of them? Or maybe their numbers were just the same, but had their self importance swelled so much, that this time around, they needed even wider space?Can’t the VIPs and the priests, inside the secure perimeter, be comfortable when in proximity with the “masa”? Were not their bodyguards enough already to assure their security?

The priests, in allowing the situation to go unmitigated, have wittingly or unwittingly fallen short of being the shepherd of the people. If the procession was deemed to be relatively peaceful, we believe that it was attributable to the devotees themselves rather than the attempt at control by the prelate and organizers. The devotees chose to prevent more harm and chaos from escalating by deliberately avoiding confrontation and choosing instead to be humble, in spite of the indignity, and being content with walking and watching the Senyor from afar.

We and our friends were there primarily for the Senyor Santo Niño. We are ordinary professionals and we would rather keep our devotions in private. But we strongly believe that the experience should never be repeated. We have to speak out now, not for ourselves, but for all other devotees who do not have a voice.

Sidney and Ro Zosa

Talamban, Cebu City