Naga holds Peñafrancia Festival despite rains

Devotees from different provinces in the Bicol Region still pushed through with the celebration of the Peñafrancia Festival in Naga City, Camarines Sur despite inclement weather.

According to EJ Gomez’s report on “24 Oras Weekend'' on Saturday, the parade competition started at 7 a.m.

It was joined by different students from the region who paraded around the city center.

A day before, more than one million devotees attended the Traslacion.

According to the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, more than 500 people needed medical attention due to various concerns, such as dizziness. Twenty of them were taken to the hospital.

The local government unit said that they were ready for possible threats, including heavy rains.

“Ito na po kasi ‘yung tradisyon ng mga taga Naga, taga Camarines Sur, maging po mga Bicolano. Meron naman po tayong mga contingency plans at meron po tayong emergency operations center na magbibigay ng hudyat kung kailan po puwedeng itigil o hindi,” Ernesto Elcamel of the CDRRMO said.

(It's a tradition of the people of Naga, Camarines Sur, and the Bicolanos. We have contingency plans and an emergency operations center that will alert us whether to stop it or not.)

“No rain, no typhoon, no sun can stop devotees of the Blessed Mother from joining the procession. Everywhere there is good weather for the Bicolanos whenever we speak of our devotion to our Blessed Mother, to our Beloved Ina,” said Fr. Pablo Carpio of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia.

There were no reports of flooding during the celebration. —Carby Basina/VBL, GMA Integrated News