Peñafrancia activities to proceed unless gov’t declares alert level 3

By Abegail Kyla Bilan

The Peñafrancia fiesta and all its related civic and religious activities will proceed as scheduled in September this year, unless the national Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) imposes alert level 3 in Naga City, Mayor Nelson Legacion said.

Legacion said that the city government has already decided and finalized the civic and religious events leading to the fiesta.

“Dagos an Peñafrancia fiesta, si mga katakod na aktibidades kaini whether civil or religious, for as long as we remain under alert level 1 or kung alert level 2, dagos man giraray pero para lang duman sa mga bakunado,” adding that “Pag nag alert level 3, obligado kita na dae idagos,” Legacion added.

This year’s fiesta activities marks its resumption after two years due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Legacion’s announcement was in response to the possibility of the cancellation of civic and religious activities related to the Peñafrancia fiesta, in view of the increasing Covid-19 cases in the region. Department of Health (DOH) data show that the region recorded 218 new cases from July 10-16, 2022. As of July 16, Bicol now has a total of 565 active cases.

Naga City has 35 newly recorded cases since July 10. As of the same date, it has a total of 67 active cases.

Dr. Vito Borja, head of the City Health Office, said that they will comply with whatever declaration the IATF will make comes September.

He said the city government would only be able to formally assess the transmission rate at the end of July, which will become the basis of the possible cancellation of the said festival.

Borja added that the health department is actively monitoring the rising cases of local transmissions in the region.

Earlier, the Legazpi City government canceled the Ibalong Festival scheduled this August because of the rising cases of Covid-19 in the city and Albay province.