San Juan to push through with dry ‘Wattah Wattah’ Festival

San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora. (File photo from his Facebook account)

MANILA, Philippines — San Juan City’s iconic “basaan” became the latest casualty of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as Mayor Francis Zamora announced that the annual commemoration of its patron saint would push through today but without the customary dousing of water that had long been the celebration’s top draw.

“We want to push through albeit in a solemn and toned down manner,” Zamora said in a statement on Tuesday. “We want to convey to the San Juaneños and to the rest of the country that although we are facing the threat of the virus, we are already on our way to recovery.”

The basaan or “Wattah Wattah” Festival commemorates the city’s patron saint and namesake, St. John the Baptist, with the usual parade of firetrucks drenching boisterous residents in water meant to invoke the frequent baptisms he was said to have performed in the Jordan River.

Zamora formally prohibited the dousing of water in an executive order signed on Monday, saying that after consulting with the Department of Health and other experts, he had concluded it could pose a danger to public health with the country still in the throes of a pandemic.

Scaled-down festival

This meant COVID-19 succeeded in forcing what even a severe water shortage could not in 2019. The city pushed through last year with its basaan — but on a lesser scale — as Metro Manila grappled with a water crisis and revelers themselves contended with dry taps back home.

“Every year, our constituents look forward to a festive celebration,” Zamora said. “However, precautionary measures against the spread of the virus in the city must take precedence.”

He added that a less rowdy but “more meaningful” celebration would take place instead, with the image of St. John set to be paraded through every village in the city today. Priests will accompany the float, ready to “bless the faithful” with holy water.A Mass would also be held at St. John the Baptist Parish, but Zamora’s executive order said even this would be subject to guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force on COVID-19 that capped all religious and mass gatherings at 10 attendees.

Physical distancing

Residents were asked to practice physical distancing by staying within the premises of their households or front lawns and to wear face masks and face shields.

During a typical year, the Wattah Wattah Festival has been known to transform San Juan into a kind of war zone with water as the ammunition.

Despite the riotous nature of the celebration, however, there has always been a thick religious undercurrent. Residents who joined amid the ironic backdrop of last year’s worsening water shortage said being doused with water signaled a “shower of blessings” in the year ahead.

In fact, the 2019 festival chair, Councilor Vincent Pacheco, said the estimated crowd of 12,000 was the largest turnout in Wattah Wattah’s nearly two-decade history.

Zamora said the city’s progress in combating the virus could not be compromised this year

.The city’s latest numbers listed only 25 active COVID-19 cases, its lowest since March 19.