Even Manila city hall has no cell phone signal during Nazarene feast

MANILA, Philippines — Even Manila city officials weren’t spared from being incommunicado, at least by cell phones, on Monday, as cellular services along the Black Nazarene procession route was cut off to preempt a terror threat reported by no less than President Aquino on Sunday.

The Manila city hall, located along Padre Burgos Avenue, is part of the procession route, though nearby areas, such as SM Manila and the LRT-1 Central station, were apparently also affected by the signal jam.

Monday marked the annual procession of the mulatto Christ image from the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo district.

The procession’s usual route goes through Taft Avenue and MacArthur Bridge to get to the Quiapo District, snaking through more than 15 Quiapo streets on its way to Plaza Miranda and the Quiapo church.

“We’re using landline telephones to communicate. The police are using radios,” said Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim’s chief of staff, Ricardo de Guzman, on Monday.

He said the signal jam covered all networks, including the three most popular: Globe, Smart and Sun.

City employees said that the signal was already cut off as early as 7 a.m. They expected that it would come back as soon as the Black Nazarene feast was over. Apparently, even the city hall the Wi-Fi Internet connection was affected by the jam.

Internet connection via broadband, however, was still in service in establishments around the city hall.

De Guzman said that the city crisis management committee, peace and order council and the disaster risk reduction and management council convened early to place all possible personnel on alert for the reported “bomb threat.” As of Monday noon, however, there had been no reports of criminal incidents in the procession, nor even of “suspicious” characters or behaviors.