Not much fanfare in Tacloban City’s annual fiesta

TACLOBAN CITY––For the second straight year, this city will be holding its annual fiesta on Wednesday, June 30, without much fanfare.

The 132nd annual fiesta will be marked by a Pontifical Mass to be led by Archbishop John Du at the Santo Niño Church at 9:30 a.m.

Church officials have allowed around 30 percent of its total capacity of more than 500 people to join the celebration.

The rest can attend the Mass through the church’s social media account.

The city government canceled the socio-civic affairs like the “Sangyaw Festival’s Parade of Light” and the Miss Tacloban competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Alfred Romualdez has strictly enforced a no-mass gathering policy to avoid the spread of the virus.

Tacloban currently has 3,801 COVID-19 cases where 520 were active.

Romualdez said he wants to fast-track vaccination in the city to slow down the virus.

“We hope to accommodate at least 2,000 people a day to ramp up our vaccination and for us to achieve our target herd immunity,” he said.

Since the vaccination started last March, the City Health Office has vaccinated over 15,000 people.

The city is prioritizing senior citizens and those with illnesses for vaccination.

LZB