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BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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Wednesday, February 1, 2017
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ILOILO City – In a bid to keep the annual religious fiesta of Jaro district peaceful, the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) is imposing a five-day gun ban.
Jaro celebrates its fiesta tomorrow. The gun ban started on Jan. 29, said Senior Inspector Shella Mae Sangrines, ICPO spokesperson.
Around 200 policemen will be mobilized to secure the district, particularly areas where people converge such as the Jaro Cathedral, plaza and Iloilo Coliseum where the famous Candelaria derbies are held.
“I’m advising those coming over for the Jaro fiesta not to bring firearms and other deadly weapons. The permit to carry firearms outside of residence has been suspended,” said Sangrines.
There will be 24-hour checkpoints and policemen may conduct body frisking, she added.
“We are appealing to the public. Celebrate the annual fiesta peacefully and avoid creating trouble. We have enough men to arrest rabble-rousers,” said Sangrines.
The Jaro fiesta is one of the biggest in the country. Yearly, it attracts thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad. They buy perdon candles and queue to touch the image of the Our Lady of Candles at the cathedral.
The image is the only canonically-crowned Marian image in the country. It was crowned by Pope John Paul II himself during a papal visit in 1981.
The highlight of the festivity is a solemn afternoon procession.
Jaro’s original name was Salog or Saro. It had been one of the more economically-advanced areas of Iloilo City even during the Spanish occupation of the Philippines and probably the richest town of the entire colony (1521-1898).
It was also the center of religious and economic power in the Visayas during the Spanish rule of the Philippines.
Jaro officially became a city in 1886 until it was later absorbed by the city of Iloilo along with the neighboring towns of Molo, Mandurriao, La Paz and Arevalo in the early 20th century when all economic activities were shifted to the port of Iloilo./PN
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