OUANOS WERE INVITED: ORGANIZER
Fr. Ric Anthony Reyes said they have sent a letter to the Ouano family last June and invited them to an executive committee meeting, but only a representative came Lawyer Rex Fernandez, spokesperson of the Ouanos, said in a press conference last Dec. 1 t
The Basilica del Sto. Niño Order of Augustinian Recollects yesterday clarified that they have informed the Ouano family about the changes in the Traslacion for the Fiesta Señor 2018.
Fr. Ric Anthony Reyes, head of the secretariat committee of the Fiesta Senor 2018, said they have sent a letter last June to inform the Ouanos about the Augustinians’ plans for the Traslacion.
Fr. Reyes said that they also called for a meeting last August for the executive committee to tackle the plan. But only a representative came.
“We invited the Ouanos to sit with us and talk about the plan. We were expecting that a member of the family will be present because, of course, mas maayo man gyud unta nga ang pamilya ang makasulti and makabungat sila ilang gustong ipaabot namo about sa ilang feelings and reaction,” Reyes said.
Fr. Reyes said that they have done their part in reaching out to the family.
“There were no other reactions aside from clarifications and a request. So we understand nga okay sila. So, we continued with the plan,” Reyes added.
The Ouano family in Mandaue City said they were hurt upon knowing the decision of the Ba- silica that the galleon of the family will no longer be used.
In a press conference last Dec. 1, lawyer Rex Fernandez, spokesperson of the Ouano family, said the clan was not consulted on the changes and that they just received a letter from the Basilica last September informing them about the new plan.
Fernandez said they learned that a naval ship will be used and that the seaborne procession will no longer start at the Ouano Wharf.
The Ouano family has been the host of the image of the Child Jesus on the eve of His feast day since their family patriarch, Er- nesto C. Ouano Sr., accepted the request about 37 years ago.
The Ouano family clarified they were not against the changes made by the Augustinian friars of the Basilica del Sto. Niño but just wanted to know why the family wasn’t consulted.
On Jan. 19, 2018, the Traslacion will start right after the mass in the Basilica, and the images of the Sto. Niño and Our Lady of Guadalupe will be transferred to the National Shrine of Saint Joseph for an overnight vigil. But unlike in the past years, there will no longer be a foot procession from the St. Joseph Shrine to the Ouano Wharf at dawn on Jan. 20, 2018.
The Augustinian priests decided that the images of the Sto. Niño and Our Lady of Guadalupe will be transported in a motorcade to the Virgen dela Regla Church in Barangay Poblacion, Lapu-Lapu City.
The images will be then transferred to Muelle Osmeña Wharf in Lapu-Lapu for the seaborne procession going to Cebu City. Fernandez said the Ouano family will join the procession by using the MV Señor Sto Niño to honor the Child Jesus./