From Quiapo to New Bataan, Catholics hear dawn Masses

MANILA, Philippines - Thousands of Filipino Catholics, including victims of typhoon “Pablo,” trooped to churches yesterday to attend the first of nine “Simbang Gabi” or predawn Masses leading to Christmas Day.

At the Quiapo Church in Manila, a cheerful atmosphere greeted people as vendors in nearby Plaza Miranda hawked food items such as bibingka, puto bumbong and suman – different types of rice cakes.

Fireworks were also lighted at the vicinity of the Binondo Church in Chinatown while mass was going on.

On the other hand, predawn masses in Quezon City reportedly started as early as midnight at the St. Peter’s Church along Commonwealth Avenue.

In the province, a report posted on GMA News Online said that residents of New Bataan town in Compostela Valley, which was among the hardest hit by the recent typhoon that entered the country, became emotional during the mass.

Authorities had said that several evacuation centers have collapsed, forcing some typhoon victims to just live on roadsides.

GMA News Online also reported that in some churches, priests read a pastoral letter against the Reproductive Health bill.

No crimes

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), for its part, reported no occurrence of crime incidents in the 309 Catholic churches in Metro Manila.

NCRPO chief Director Leonardo Espina said the five police districts and 38 police stations in the metropolis reported no crime incidents in the vicinity of churches during the start of the Simbang Gabi.

“We listed no crime incidents during the Simbang Gabi this Sunday. We are hoping to keep the said celebration peaceful and orderly in the coming days,” said Espina.

Senior Superintendent Sotero Ramos Jr., chief of the NCRPO operations division, said the Catholic churches in Metro Manila will be tightly secured by policemen during the predawn masses.