Roman Catholic devotees climb the carriage to kiss and rub with their towels the image of the Black Nazarene, lower left, during a procession to celebrate its feast day Monday, Jan. 9, 2017 in Manila, Philippines. The raucous celebration drew tens of thousands of devotees in a barefoot procession that last for several hours around Manila streets and end up with several people injured. AP Photo/Bullit Marquez
Despite fears of possible terror attacks, police on Monday evening said this year’s Black Nazarene procession, which has been moving for 12 hours now, is generally peaceful so far, noting that no crimes have been recorded yet.
Plaza Miranda Police station commander John Guiagui told INQUIRER.net that “all is in place” in the peace and order situation of the grand procession, which is regarded as the single biggest religious gathering in the predominantly Catholic Philippines.
“Again it is generally peaceful, [no] any untoward incident. Right now [no] recorded petty crimes, [no] direct threat na magugulo itong prusisyon natin (that this procession will be disrupted),” Guiagui said in an interview.
“We have been encountering bomb scares since the replica procession, and it just shows that the devotees and the crowd are vigilant [when they reported to the police an abandoned bag that might contain explosives]. But actually we [found no] bomb or IEDs,” he added.
Guiagui said the latest crowd estimate both in the procession proper and at the Quiapo Church vicinity was at one million people, fewer than last year’s number. But he added that authorities are expecting more devotees to join the procession as the andas or carriage nears its national shrine in Quiapo.
The annual Traslacion parades the revered ebony icon of the cross-bearing Christ along the streets of Manila. Millions of barefoot devotees, mostly male, hustle to get near the image to kiss it or wipe their towels on it.
More than 5,000 policemen have been deployed for the procession and cellular signals have been totally shut down within the procession’s one-kilometer radius, Guiagui said.
Guiagui urged devotees not to be afraid of reported terror threats and to show up in the procession to show their devotion. Police earlier acknowledge a possible retaliation of Islamic terrorists from Mindanao, but noted that there are no clear or imminent threats reaching them.
“There’s nothing to fear, those who want to join the event have nothing to worry about. Feel safe, let us just come here, and pronounce our faith to the Black Nazarene without fear,” he said.
Guiagui said there was “nothing unusual” with the record-number of policemen deployed for this year’s Traslacion.
“There’s nothing unusual about it. We are just making sure [that the procession will be secured]. It’s not unusual. It’s just a preparation… with the density of devotees that come here, at least [one cop can protect them]. It’s part of the security measure just to make sure that any untoward incident will be evaded,” he added.
The annual Traslacion commemorates the first parade transferring the centuries-old image of Jesus Christ from a church in Intramuros to the Quiapo church on Jan. 9, 1767.