CEBU CITY -- Amid the traditional streetdances and branded floats treading the streets of Cebu during the Sinulog festival, soldiers and vehicles from a galaxy far, far away also joined the festivities.

Members of the 501st Cebu Scarif Squad, a group of Star Wars fans with an affinity for the Imperial Army, have taken their love for the iconic movie to the streets of Cebu with large-scale vessels from the franchise.

The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News The 501st Cebu Scarif Squad participates in the Sinulog Festival on January 20, 2019 with a 1:230 scale Star Destroyer float. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

The squad is part of a larger group, the 501st Legion Philippine Garrison, which is known for doing charity work while in costume.

The squad had previously participated in the annual festivities in previous years, but only since 2015 have they regularly produced vessels from the Star Wars films.

For 2019, they have produced a 1:230 scale Imperial Star Destroyer, the first Imperial vessel featured in "Episode IV: A New Hope."

According to squad leader Luis Arambulo, the Star Destroyer took around 40 working days to produce, the longest out of all they have made so far. Some 50 people composed of squad members and teams of custom toy makers worked on it.

Their choice on the Star Destroyer is a deviation from their choices in previous years, as they usually feature vessels in Star Wars films recently released at the time.

With the exception of 2015 when they featured Jabba the Hut's sail barge, the Khettana, from "Return of the Jedi," the group has been consistent with the current Star Wars timeline: a T-70 X-Wing from "The Force Awakens" in 2016, a TX-225 Combat Assault Tank from "Rogue One" in 2017, and a TIE Silencer from "The Last Jedi 2018."

As to why they paraded in Imperial Army costumes during the Sinulog, Arambulo said that the grand parade in particular provides space for creative talent to be expressed while maintaining the religious aspect of the celebration, compared with other religious activities within the festival week.

"The key thing that pops up all the time is people in it are either dancing or it's something that we do. The religious aspect of it is we sacrifice by the amount of pressure we put in our dancing or moving around in our armor. That's the religious connotation of it, but the appearance is the fun part of the grand parade," Arambulo said.

Apart from sharing their love for Star Wars, it's their Cebuano identity that motivates them to join in the festivities.

"We're Cebuano. Sinulog has a very deep meaning to all of us. And for us, making something enjoyable and putting our efforts into it, lots of it has to do with the religious aspect. We want to show reverence, we want to sacrifice a little bit and we kind of want to do it in a fun way. That's where the Star Wars aspect comes in and we know it's something that people enjoy, and we still get to do the aspect of we're going to push hard and everyone has fun," Arambulo said.