Dawn Mass for Santo Niño draws 25,000 devotees in Pagadian

Pagadian City (shaded in red) (Image from Google Maps)

PAGADIAN CITY — An estimated 25,000 devotees joined the dawn Mass for the night day of a novena for the feast of the Señor Santo Niño Saturday at the Pagadian City Wharf.

Pasalamat Festival 2019 committee chair Adriano Durano III told the Inquirer that the number of participants increased this year compared to the previous years, counting not only people from Pagadian but also local tourists and devotees from nearby provinces.

People became more practical in joining the Pagadian’s Pasalamat Festival in line with the feast of Señor Santo Niño, the city‘s patron saint.

“It’s a lot cheaper than traveling to Cebu City for the same activity,” Durano said.

After the dawn Mass, around a hundred fishing boats joined the Fluvial Parade.

On Sunday, a street dance competition will take place around the city’s major streets with contingents from different local schools, while the ritual competition will be held at the city plaza.

The National Telecommunications Commission directed telecom companies Smart, Globe and Digitel to temporayrily cut off all network services in Pagadian on Saturday from 2 a.m. to 12 p.m. and on Sunday from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. /atm