Zamboanga gears for festival's grand procession amid threats

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The city is gearing for a grand procession on Saturday after festival activities were toned down to honor the Feast of the Pilar, an official said.

Security forces will be beefed up to ensure the safety of thousands of devotees who will flock during the procession, following the standoff last month and the prevailing security threat.

Police and military forces have combed the stretch of the streets leading to the shrine for possible presence of threats.

“Unlike the previous years, this year’s Fiesta Hermosa celebration is a toned down affair because of the man-made crisis that devastated the city for at least 23 days and the subsequent widespread flooding that continued to haunt the city until today,” Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said.

However, Salazar said the grand procession will proceed after the shrine have been cleared by the government forces of possible unexploded ordnance and threat from the adjacent critical areas where the rebels besieged.

“The grand procession in honor of Nuestra Señora del Pilar highlights the feast day  tomorrow,” Climaco said.

Salazar, chairperson of the local crisis management committee (CMC), said despite the fierce gunfight last month, the Fort Pilar Shrine, a 17th-century military defense fortress built by the Spanish colonial government, emerged unscathed after the crisis.

The mayor also described the turn over of the nearby Sta. Barbara mosque and the opening of the Fort Pilar Shrine as a monumental proof that the Christians, Muslims and Lumad continued to live peacefully and dismissed the recent attack has implication of religious conflict.