Gun, liquor ban enforced in Naga as Peñafrancia Fest kicks off

LEGAZPI CITY – A 10-day total gun and liquor ban takes effect in Naga City as the annual observance of the Feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia starts Friday until Sept. 16, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Bicol.

PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde directed police units in Naga City to enforce the total gun ban, said Chief Inspector Maria Luisa Calubaquib, Bicol police spokesperson.

Calubaquib said all permits to carry firearms out of residence are suspended effective Friday until the end of the festivities on Sept. 16.

Calubaquib said the gun ban is a security measure that would ensure the safety of millions of devotees and local and foreign visitors who would gather in Naga City to join the feast of the Lady of Peñafrancia, Bicol’s patroness.

“This would serve as a warning to any gun holder to refrain from carrying their firearms when in Naga City as well as during the duration of the religious festivities,” she said.

Naga City police will also implement a liquor ban during the weeklong festivities which start with the Traslacion procession or the transfer of the image of the patroness, locally called “Ina,” from the Peñafrancia Shrine to the Metropolitan Cathedral by “voyadores” (male devotees) on Friday.

The Peñafrancia Festival ends with a fluvial procession where Ina is carried back to its home Peñafrancia Basilica through the Naga River on Sept. 14.

Telecommunications companies were also allowed to shut down communication signals during the Traslacion and the Fluvial procession.