LEGAZPI CITY –– The National Democratic Front (NDF) in Bicol said in a statement Thursday that they unite with devotees in asking the blessed Virgin Mary to intercede in bringing justice to the oppressed and lasting peace in the country as the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Bicol patroness, begins Friday.
Maria Roja Banua, NDF Bicol spokesperson, in a statement, said the Bicol patroness, called “Ina” (mother) by devotees, had for several centuries been a medium for people in seeking justice, peace, change, and prosperity.
The feast of the Bicol patroness in Naga City will begin Friday with the Traslacion procession and will culminate on Sept. 21 with the fluvial procession on the Naga River.
The nine-day novena is expected to draw millions of devotees and pilgrims from all over the world.
Banua said people are seeking the intercession of the Virgin of Penafrancia in helping thousands of families living in poverty due to the unabated high prices of basic goods, low wages of workers, and high taxes.
Banua said people are getting enraged by these social and economic difficulties which the Duterte administration, despite campaign promises, failed to solve in his three years stint as President.
Banua said President Duterte, in finding solutions to the country’s problem, has resorted to Oplan Tokhang and issued Executive Order 70 creating regional and provincial task forces to end the communist armed conflict in Bicol.
According to Banua, Oplan Tokhang, a centerpiece campaign of Mr. Duterte in his war on illegal drugs, has claimed at least 92 Bicolanos who were victims of extrajudicial killings carried out by government forces./lzb