MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine National Police expects the Black Nazarene image to reach Quiapo Church 10 p.m. at the earliest due to the heavily congested procession routes, an official said.
Senior Superintendent Eric Reyes, operations chief of the National Capital Region Police Office, said in the past, the religious life-size icon was returned inside the Quiapo Church around 10 p.m.
“But since the crowds have been growing in size each year, it might be 1 a.m. (Tuesday) before it could get inside the church,” Reyes said at the meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Monday morning.
Reyes said the start of the procession from the Quirino Grandstand was delayed and did not start until 8 a.m. because of the sheer number of people that swarmed around the image.
Meanwhile, devotees continued to flock to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, anticipating the arrival of the mulatto image of Christ, believed to be miraculous.
Despite the terror warning issued on Sunday by President Benigno Aquino III, Chief Inspector Carol Macawile, chief of operations of the Manila Police District’s Station 3, said that the devotees at the Plaza Miranda has steadily increased, as the procession progressed. Even the fact that the procession fell on a work day will not stop devotees from attending the procession which has been tradition, she said.
Philippine National Police chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said that their forces were augmented by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He said that the K9 units of the National Capital Region Police Office were augmented by those from the Philippine Coast Guard and AFP.
Macawile said that aside from K9 dogs, some 2000 policemen, 100 Explosives Ordnance Division operatives, 3000 civilian volunteers, and augmentation units from the National Capital Region Police Office, and 800 soldiers from the Army were deployed in the area of Quiapo Church.
Closed circuit television cameras were also being used to better monitor the crowd, she said.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, who chairs the NDRRMC, convened the multi-agency council to hear the security and crowd assistance plans that have been laid down by various government and non-government agencies for the Black Nazarene procession.
Gazmin was briefed about the preparations even as the procession was already underway and all field personnel have already been deployed.
The meeting began at 8:30 a.m. and as of 9:30 a.m. the procession was still in front of the Manila Hotel.
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said their field teams have so far attended to 115 people who were injured during the procession, mostly sustaining foot injuries.
Another 39 people were treated for hypertension.
“Now we see the problems we are encountering. That’s why we have to look at the scenarios so we can prevent these things from happening again,” Gazmin said.