Misa de Gallo starts tomorrow

CEBU, Philippines -  The first day of the Misa de Gallo will officially start at dawn tomorrow and the Church expects more people attending the annual tradition of the Catholics every Christmas season.

That, as a Christian group’s gift-giving for the Christmas season brought a near stampede at the whole stretch of V. Gullas St. to the Pari-an Area and M.J. Cuenco Avenue early last night, where the Cure Foundation distributed 2 kilos of rice, 2 packs of noodles and 2 sardines to each person who joined the queue.

Msgr. Achilles Dakay, media liaison of the Archdiocese of Cebu, said that all the priests will have their respective masses but as to where Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma will be celebrating the mass, Dakay has no idea so far as Palma has yet to say where.

“Daghan man gyud na ug tawo atong mga simbahan basta first day sa Misa de Gallo. It’s always been like that,” said Dakay.  (A lot of people flock to the first dawn mass of the year.)

Misa de Gallo consists of nine consecutive early morning masses beginning every 16th of December and with masses that start at 4:00 in the morning.

Earlier, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama asked everyone to help push for safety and security for the annual Christmas tradition of the Filipinos. He requested Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Director Melvin Ramon Buenafe to strengthen their watch over churches and the residences, emphasizing the need for stronger police visibility.

Rama also urges barangay tanods not to drink alcohol in the evenings since they should be doing their duties in securing their areas. He also encouraged the parish security groups to be more vigilant and alert since there will be more people inside the churches so there’s a great possibility for pickpockets and burglars to be inside.

As for the Cure foundation’s gift-giving, organizers estimated some 30,000 individuals, including children and the elderly, who lined up for their annual gift-giving.

Police had to secure the event by 7 p.m., or two hours after it started, as some people fainted because of the congestion.

Gina Luague, the foundation’s managing director, was disappointed at City Hall for failing to keep their promise to help such as in providing a venue for their annual “mission.” She said they asked for the use of the City Sports Center for their activity but they were refused.

She also said they ask for police support every year but did not get any, except for last night as they already feared something bad might happen to the long queue of people.

“They are desperate to get their gifts. This is a controlled chaos. We’re afraid that anyone might get hurt but we will not stop this gift giving because this is our mission,”said Luague.   (FREEMAN)