Woman reunites with family in Cebu to honor 10-year tradition, faith

INQUIRER.net/ Faith Argosino

MANILA, Philippines — Faith Cañedo lives up to her name as she fulfilled a 10-year tradition and showed her devotion to God by flying back to Cebu this Holy Week to join her family for Visita Iglesia and reflect on the sacrifices made by Jesus Christ.

Visita Iglesia is a tradition observed by Catholics during Holy Week, where they visit churches to pray and reflect from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday.

“Balak namin mag visit po sa mga simbahan, prayer, meron ding outing, pero kadalasan pag Saturday or Sunday na yon, pero before yon sa bahay lang kami or sa mga simbahan,” Cañedo said in an interview with INQUIRER.net on Holy Wednesday.

(We plan to visit churches and pray. We also have an outing, maybe on Saturday or Sunday. But before that, we will stay at home or visit churches.)

Last year, the 31-year-old said she visited the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu with her family. They plan to return this year, as well as visit other nearby churches.

Cañedo said they have been consistently doing this for 10 years now and not even a reassignment in Lemery, Batangas will stop her from returning home.

According to Cañedo, she has been working for a microfinance company and Cebu and was assigned to Lemery after seeking a promotion.

Cañedo is among the 146,543 passengers logged at all Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) terminals on Holy Wednesday, based on the latest Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) data.

She shared that she was supposed to leave for Cebu on Holy Tuesday but missed her flight at Terminal 2. She rebooked a flight scheduled at 12:15 a.m. on Maundy Thursday and has been waiting at the Naia for over 24 hours.

MIAA data showed that the number of passengers that flocked to the country’s main gateway increased compared to the 518,909 recorded in the same period last year.

Earlier, Immigration Deputy Spokesperson Melvin Mabulac disclosed that 55 officers are manning the counters in all terminals to expedite the passengers’ immigration process.

He added that 48 immigration officers are on standby for peak hours — 3:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to help accommodate the influx of passengers.