Batanguenos show devotion to Sto. Nino in 9-day festivities.

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
 | January 16, 2003 | Copyright
(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Byline: Mei Magsino, Batangas City
FOR THE PAST nine days, Batangas City has been alive with celebrations that started with a fluvial procession on Jan. 7 at the Cumintang River to honor the Holy Infant Jesus, more popularly known as Sto. Nino, whose statue is believed to have floated from Cebu to Batangas some 420 years ago.
The festivities, which culminate today, also featured the harana (serenade) and a tribute to the Sto. Nino.
Old folks say their patron saint has been saving the city from bad calamities and misfortune.
For an industrialized city where residents maintain more than four centuries of devotion to the Child Jesus, the returns have been big.
"We celebrate the feast of the Sto. Nino as our way of thanksgiving for the continuous blessings that the city has been getting," Mayor Eduardo Dimacuha said.
"Here in Batangas City, there has never been a big disaster, heinous crime and kidnapping incident," Dimacuha said. "Ours is a peaceful city because of the guidance and blessing of our patron saint."
According to a historical profile of the city, a statue of the Sto. Nino was being transported to Cebu in a ship when bad weather forced the vessel to seek shelter in the coves of Batangan, as what the city was then named when it was still a pueblo (town) because of the huge logs called batang that were found there.
Batangan, in the 1580s, was part of Marcial Goiti's encomienda, a large tract of land granted by the King of Spain to his subjects for meritorious services to the crown.
Singing Te Deum hymns, the vessel's crewmen brought the image of the Holy Infant to the altar of a small church on the shore. It was the site of the old Batangan Catholic church that was first established by a Franciscan friar, Diego Mexico.
The small church, made of bamboo and nipa, was dedicated to the Nuestra Senora de la Immaculada Concepcion.
Soon after, the storm miraculously abated and the image continued its voyage to Cebu. But it never reached its destination.
Batang gas
A few months after the incident, a deaf-mute boy found a statue of the Sto. Nino on a floating batang near the banks of the Calumpang River behind the church. That same time, it was reported in the parish church of Cebu that the image of the Sto. Nino was missing.
When the child gave the statue to the Catholic Church, the officials of both Batangan and Cebu parishes presumed it was the lost image. Both parishes decided that the statue be returned to Cebu.
But strangely, every time the statue was shipped back to Cebu, a storm would suddenly occur and prevent the ship from sailing. After many failed attempts, the church officials and the gobernadorcillo of Cebu agreed to let the image of the Holy Infant stay permanently in Batangan.
According to the historical profile, when the child found the Sto. Nino in the river, the batang log strongly reeked of gas. The people started calling the image "batang gas" and later changed the name of their town to Batangas.
Devotion
As a tribute, Batangas City celebrates the feast of the Sto. Nino every Jan. 16, preceded by nine days of civic and religious rites and festivities.
On the first day of the fiesta, the Sto. Nino ng Batangan was taken to Barangay Wawa for the fluvial parade in the Cumintang River. Choirs from the parishes of the city serenaded the Sto. Nino as the devotees sailed on.
Later, the image was brought to the city's main streets for a procession. This was followed by a novena Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Concepcion.
From the second up to the last day of the celebration, different groups from all sectors of society paid tribute to the patron saint with cultural presentations and dancing of the subli.
Other highlights were a children's art competition, a photo contest, the search for the Binibining Lungsod ng Batangas, battle of the bands, a civic and military parade, and a small band competition.
The celebration ends today with a Mass.