Sto. Niño motorcade may be better than a procession

For the second time in a row, the traditional foot procession of the Santo Niño on the eve of his fiesta every third Sunday of January was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But while no procession was held in 2021 and none again this year, the Augustinian fathers, keepers of the centuries-old holy image, decided to have a motorcade for 2022 in lieu of the procession.

The motorcade was no doubt inspired by a similar activity last year shortly after the whole country went into its second year of lockdown because of the pandemic. As the rising cases of COVID drove fear deeper into the hearts of people, the Augustinians deemed it necessary to calm them and give them hope and reassurance. And so they sent the holy image of the Santo Niño on nightly motorcades around Metro Cebu for several days.

Last Satuday, the Santo Niño again went around Metro Cebu in a motorcade instead of the regular procession. But while the nightly motorcades of 2021 were meant to calm fears and reassure people, the motorcade this year was more like a victory celebration, a reaffirmation of the triumph of God over things evil. People who lined the streets greeted the Santo Niño like a rock star.

This pandemic may have turned life upside down, disrupted life like it has never been disrupted before. But if we look closely, there are not a few beautiful discoveries that may augur change for the better. And I think a Santo Niño motorcade suits a better and larger purpose than a procession. While perhaps less solemn, a motorcade reaches far more places and therefore touches a greater number of people.

I would therefore like to propose the permanent holding of a motorcade as replacement for the procession. Last Saturday the motorcade went first to Talisay City, then back to Cebu City, then Mandaue City and on to Lapu-Lapu City before going to Cordova then back again to Cebu City via the new Cebu Cordova Link Expressway.

I would like to propose further that for next year, with or without COVID, the motorcade should be expanded to include the towns of Consolacion and Liloan on its northern swing. To avoid turning around and passing the same road twice, the motorcade may take the north road through Consolacion and Liloan and then take the Tayud road on the way back to Mandaue City and on to Mactan.

A motorcade will allow the Santo Niño to cover more ground in a shorter period of time. More importantly, more people will get to see the Sto. Niño as his image passes by their places of residence. Those from other places can still line up anywhere along the route. As the motorcade route is longer than that of a procession, there will be far less congestion, less traffic.

For those who have made it a vow to make physical sacrifices like walking for the entire length of the procession, I do not think it is less of a vow nor as a physical sacrifice to just line the streets and wait for the Santo Niño to pass. A long wait can just be as penitential and sacrificial. But I do not think the Santo Niño makes distinctions.

Those who, for whatever reason, cannot physically be at either a procession or motorcade may still be able to follow the rites via live streaming. In a word, a motorcade is a more practical, beneficial option to celebrating one of the most essential rites of the Church. But of course this is just a proposal. Still, if this gets to the Augustinians, I do hope they will give it some serious thought.