■ HEAVY RAINS RUINED NEARLY P2M IN CEBU CITY'S VEGETABLE CROPS
At the closing of the Fiesta Señor celebration, Fr. Pacifico Nohara Jr., the rector of the Basilica del Sto. Niño, calls on pilgrims to seek renewal through the Holy Child
Prices of vegetables went up by P10 to P20 per kilo this week, after heavy rains in the previous week damaged an estimated P2 million worth of crops in 10 mountain barangays in Cebu City. Assistant Cebu City Agriculturist Arleigh Gesta said that some P53,000 worth of livestock were also lost in Barangays Sinsin, Sudlon I, Sudlod II, Paril, Malubog, Mabini, Lusaran, Guba, Cambinocot and Binaliw during that spell of wet weather. All told, the rain and cold swept across 23 hectares of land and complicated the lives of 128 farmers in Cebu City alone. These initial estimates do not yet include the toll in Barangay Sirao, where landslides have broken up the main road.
Capping the 452nd Fiesta Señor celebration, around 4,000 devotees and pilgrims attended the traditional “Hubo” mass at the Basilica del Sto. Niño yesterday dawn.
Fr. Pacifico Nohara Jr., basilica rector and prior, led the traditional “hubo” or undressing of the replica of the original image of the Sto. Niño.
After stripping off its clothes, Nohara then dipped the image in holy water before putting on simpler garments.
Just before the “Hubo” rite was demonstrated, Nohara reminded the faithful that the tradition symbolizes the renewal of a person through his or her faith.
Nohara said that while the “Hubo” signals the end of the fiesta, he urged the faithful not to end their devotion after the celebrations.
He also called on the faithful to be converted and be renewed through the Sto. Niño.
“The Hubo calls upon us to unveil our whole self and reveal in us a renewed spirit. As we end the Fiesta Señor, may we be empowered by the Sto. Niño in everything that we do and will do,” he said in his homily during the mass at the basilica’s pilgrim center.
The traditional Hubo rites was accompanied by dancing led by the Sandiego Dance Troupe.
In an interview, Nohara admitted that the bad weather and the bombing incidents in Leyte and Mindanao prior to the fiesta posed challenges in organizing the Fiesta Señor.
Nohara told SunStar Cebu that he was nervous when he was tasked to organize it for the first time.
But prayers and the cooperation of the organizing committee and volunteers helped make the celebration a success.
He also thanked the devotees and pilgrims who continue to flock to the basilica despite the bad weather.