Pagadian City (CNN Philippines, January 20) — At least 30,000 devotees flocked to Pagadian City’s wharf area on Saturday for the Señor Santo Niño dawn mass as a part of the Pasalamat Festival celebration.

Joint forces from the military, police, and other agencies were deployed for this year’s celebration, according to the city police chief.

Big crowds are also expected to witness the annual street and ritual dance competitions on Sunday, which will feature performances from 11 contingents with more than a hundred participants each.

Amid the huge gatherings, Pagadian Mayor Samuel Co warned netizens not to post bomb jokes online, especially about the event areas for this year’s celebrations.

“We will take this very seriously, and there will be no more public apologies. Cases will be immediately filed in court. The InfoTech team will be monitoring everything online,” Co said.

The Pasalamat Festival is celebrated annually every 3rd Sunday of January in honor of Señor Santo Niño, and in commemoration of the arrival of its image in the Philippines and in Pagadian.