Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama presided over the opening of the annual Sinulog Festival where a grand parade was held on Sunday morning.

The Sinulog Festival is the centerpiece of similar activities done in other cities in the Philippines. It draws a big number of devotees.

This is the second time the Sinulog Festival was held since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around 1.1 million devotees in Cebu City joined the procession to honor the image of Senor Sto. Nino on Saturday as part of the Sinulog Festival celebration, Central Visayas police reported.

In a Facebook post, the Police Regional Office 7 said 1.1 million devotees participated in the procession starting from Basilica Minore del Santo Nino (BMSN) to Fuente Osmena.

Regional director Brig. Gen. Anthony Aberin said the procession was conducted peacefully.

He added that the fluvial procession, which includes the images of St. Joseph and the Our Lady of Guadalupe was “successful”.

During the event, the images were transported by the Naval Forces Central from the Navforcen headquarters in Lapu-Lapu City to Pier 1 in Cebu City.

“As an overall assessment, the fluvial procession this year was safe and secure. The coordination among key players for this big event provided unity of action, paving the way for the success of the activity,” Aberin said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS