by Telly G. Ocampo

The Marvels of the Sto. Niño

When I was younger and stronger, I experienced joining the procession – walking – along the stretch from the Sto. Rosario church to the reclamation area near the SM intersection down to MJ Cuenco St. and finally to the Sto. Niño church. I was always awed by throngs of people joining the procession and the devotees coming, not just from Cebu, but from all over the Visayas and Mindanao. The area was always filled with people – even beyond the brim – and yet no stampede ever happened during and after the Sinulog. The scene is different from that of the black Nazarene in Quiapo.
I was struck by the testimony of Fr. Leonilo Dagpin from the Diocese of Dipolog. You must have heard his testimony on facebook when he officiated mass at 10:00 a.m. He said that on the second day of the novena, a vehicular accident rendered him almost incapacitated. And at the peak of his depression, the child Jesus visited him in his room at the Patria de Cebu. At that instance, he was healed spiritually and physically.
That was 5 years ago, in 2017. And this time, he was invited by the Augustinians to share his story with the devotees of the Child Jesus.
There are towns in Bohol whose patron saint is the child Jesus: Anda, Cortes, Valencia and Ubay. It’s really their feast. I thought at the start that Panglao’s Sinulog is part of the tourism program of the town initiated by the previous administration, until Msgr. Nunag sent me a message that they are celebrating the 20th year of Sto. Niño de Panglao. And this is his story:

The Origin of the Santo Niño de PanglaoThe Santo Niño de Panglao, now a devotional phenomenon, started at the parish cultural center with a fitness system fad, Tae Bo, just to gather a core group to brainstorm on how to start some kind of activity for the Santo Niño in Panglao. Dr. Jose “Dodong” Arcay was the prime mover, supported by Atty. Dennis Hora, Ma’am Rose Estoquia, Ma’am Pennie Loseñada, Dr. Wennie Arcay, myself and motley company with Ma’am Nila Itac choroegraphing the weekend exercises. We dreamed of ways to involve the whole town in any undertaking in honor of the Santo Niño.
As parish priest and personally a devotee of the Santo Niño, I decided to convene at the convent all parishioners who had special devotion to the Santo Niño. Response was enthusiastic with the upper sala filled with devotees whose testimonies exceeded expectations. That was sometime in 2003. Right there and then I proposed to hold a unified parochial fiesta for the Santo Niño, with the unanimous agreement to celebrate it on the Sunday after the Santo Niño festival in Cebu City. It was also during this meeting that I strongly suggested to take the name, Santo Niño de Panglao and to have it uniquely identified as holding a paddle instead of a sceptre, with the explanation that Panglao is a fishing town and God always identifies Himself with the people.
The lone traditional fisherman on a small boat surrounded by the deep blue sea, is a scene of persevering faith. It could take a long while for the fish to bite but there is always hope for a catch. The fisherman, trusting in God, is a prayerful man.
The main instrument to guide him to and from his fishing grounds and to maintain his position unswept by the constant undercurrent, is the paddle. In the kingdom of the sea, the paddle is the fisherman’s sceptre. Hence the Santo Niño de Panglao carries the iconic paddle like royalty.
During the succeeding joint meeting of the PPC and PFC presided by Mr. Leo Arbilo and concurred by Ma’am Didie Corpus, it was decided that the Santo Niño de Panglao fiesta be the BEC or GSK Day so that all Panglaoanons could participate. Elected coordinator to facilitate all activities especially the mobile caravans and the fluvial procession was Mr. Abel Arbilo.
To realize the indigenous nature of the Santo Niño de Panglao image. I commissioned a local sculptor, Mr. Ceferino “Pering” Bondal, who was at his best as an artist when lightly loaded like Edgar Allan Poe.
Dr. Wennie Arcay took upon herself the pledge to personally customize the Santo Niño de Panglao vestment every year for the fiesta. Mr. Bingo Dejaresco twice wrote an article about the Santo Niño de Pangiao for the Bohol Chronicle Likewise, the Santo Niño de Panglao was also twice featured by the world renowned paranormal expert, Prof. Jaime Licauco at the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Adding grace to the Santo Niño de Panglao devotion was Fr. Tomas Balatayo, then the parish vicar and a former Augustinian Missionary, hence the ease in inviting Augustinian priests from Cebu Santo Niño Basilica. Their homilies gave more meaning to the paddle held by the Panglao version. Eventually, the Augustinians, adjudged promoters of the Santo Niño devotion officially recognized the Santo Niño de Panglao as one phenomenal growth of said devotion.
The Santo Niño de Panglao image, first enshrined at the center niche of the side altar by the ancient belfry now stands prominent at the main altar right over the tabernacle.
The rest is history. The evolution of the Santo Niño de Panglao devotion has stood the test of time. Personal experiences ranging from strange manifestations to miraculous episodes have become folk stories, I say, this is a master stroke of grace.
MSGR. VICENTE M.M. NUNAG III