On 19 June 2009 members of the Bicol Association of Catholic Schools (BACS) who had joined the military parade in the past came together in the spirit of discernment and reflection on the conduct of the Peñafrancia Fiesta. Our Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P., D.D., had called the discernment and reflection forth. In the wake of many secularized and commercialized fiesta activities, which tended to draw people away from true devotion to Ina, he challenged not only our schools but all devotees of Ina to a more authentically devout celebration of the fiesta.
Not seeing any intrinsic relevance between a military parade and the devotion to Ina, the BACS schools urgently requested the organizers of the Fiesta not to schedule the Military Parade within the nine days of novena - that is, on any of the days after the Traslacion and before the Fluvial Procession. Believing that these days should be devoted to activities more relevant to the renewal of the devotion, the BACS schools declared that should the military parade nevertheless be scheduled within the nine days, they would not participate in it.
Meanwhile, a press release dated 22 June, 2009 has been issued by the Archbishop of Caceres and the Mayor of Naga announcing the Traslacion on September 11 and the Thanksgiving and Fluvial procession on September 19. These Peñafrancia Fiesta days are to be kept "free from undue distraction." A Perdon Procession is scheduled for Wednesday (16 September); the Voyadores Festival on Thursday (17 September); and, remarkably, the military parade on Friday (18 December).
The BACS schools regret that the military parade could not have been scheduled outside of the novena days which are to be kept "free from undue distraction." Even as the press release itself characterizes the military parade as "a voluntary demonstration of discipline by those undergoing military training," there is no explanation of how this demonstration of military discipline is to enhance the devotion; indeed considering the intense preparation, time, expense, hype, fanfare that is focused on pure military discipline and related fanfare alone, it is difficult not to see the military parade within the Novena precisely as a distraction.
As the participation in the military parade was never compulsory, we take the joint statement to be an invitation to reflect anew on the actual values involved in conducting a military parade during the novena to Ina, and as a challenge to voluntarily decide whether these values promote the devotion to Ina or distract from it. The trophies and plaques won for a school or won for a school contingent through our students' precise martial marching in military dress uniform while carrying mock rifles may be thrilling, but very far from honor brought to Ina through catechetical activities, tutoring the academically needy, caring for the sick, or serving the community. Similarly, the quality of the discipline instilled in martial marching units, whose context is war and killing, may be very different from the quality of discipline of one who in the context of day-to-day devotion to Ina must learn to pray regularly, serve generously, and love selflessly. Because we believe we must do far better in the fiesta on the day before the Fluvial Procession than simply "display military discipline," we have decided collectively and voluntarily not to contribute to the distraction.
In other words, through the joint press release we are being reminded that joining a military parade during a novena to Ina should be nothing automatic; we are being asked ourselves to reflect on why spending millions to have our youth from all over Bikol compete with one another in special military uniforms on Naga's streets during the Novena enhances the devotion to Ina. We are being asked to reflect on whether there might be better ways of forming the youth to be sons and daughters of Ina in Bikol than in having them parade Naga's streets in martial uniforms the day before the Fluvial Procession.
If you and your school are convinced, as we in BACS are convinced, that the military parade is better scheduled outside the Peñafrancia Novena on such civic holidays as Independence Day or Naga Foundation Day, then we invite and encourage you also to volunteer not to join the military parade for as long as it is scheduled within the Novena. If you also believe that there is no relevance of an expensive display of military discipline within the week of celebration of the devotion to Ina, then please express your mind to the City officials, to representatives of the Church, or to ourselves here at BACS. As the 300th anniversary of the devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia approaches, we wish to be united in activities that bind us in her together, and not that divide us.
Because it helps that like-minded people join hands in shared resolve to restore the fiesta to Ina to activities that truly promote the devotion, we join hands in prayer for our City and our Church under the patronage of Ina.
Given this 27th June, 2009 in Manila.
Fr. Joel Tabora, S.J.President, BACS
26 June 2009