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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

1.2k MMDA men fan out for Feast of Nazarene

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The Metro Manila Development Authority has announced it will begin today the deployment of at least 1,200 personnel in preparation for the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila on Jan. 9.

1.2k MMDA men fan out for Feast of Nazarene
AT THE READY. NCRPO Chief Guillermo Eleazar leads the inspection of the Quirino Grandstand at bayside Luneta in Manila where the annual procession honoring the Black Nazarene would start. Police have set up security measures for expected millions of devotees, who will participate in the nearly 6-kilometer procession that will end up in Quiapo. Norman Cruz

The MMDA men, according to Chairman Danilo Lim, are all set to provide traffic and emergency assistance during the annual procession of the Black Nazarene which is expected to draw 13 to 15 million devotees.

Of the 1,200 men, 350 will be deployed today for the procession of Black Nazarene replicas scheduled Monday, and the traditional “Pahalik” or kissing of the image at the Quirino Grandstand on Tuesday.

“On the main event, 850 personnel will be positioned at the vicinity of the Grandstand, Quiapo Church, and along the route of ‘Andas’ for the safety of the millions of devotees,” said Lim. 

In a related development:

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• Environmentalist group Ecowaste Coalition on Saturday appealed to the so-called “Epaliticos” or candidates for the upcoming polls not to take advantage of the Feast this week to score political gains.

Epaliticos is a merger of the words “epal” and politicians. Epal is street slang for the Filipino term mapapel or one who craves attention, takes credit for other people’s work, or needlessly meddle in their affairs.

Ecowaste appealed to candidates and politicians to honor the sanctity of the Traslacion and avoid using it as a platform for premature campaigning for the May 2019 polls.

“We urge our politicians to show respect to the time-honored commemoration of the Traslacion by not putting up tarpaulins and distributing leaflets and other promotional materials, which will only turn into ugly litter,” said Ecowaste zero campaigner Daniel Alejandre. 

“Epalitikos, please restrain yourselves. Traslacion is not the time to draw attention to yourselves,” he added.

The MMDA contingent will come from different units identified to help the city government of Manila in maintaining peace and order during the feast.

The agency’s Western Traffic Enforcement Division shall be in-charge of managing traffic in the designated route of the procession and alternative route for motorists while the Road Safety Unit is tasked to install traffic cones and barriers at Luneta and processional route.

Sidewalk Clearing Group personnel, on the other hand, will provide crowd control personnel during the “Pahalik” while the Metro Parkway Clearing unit is tasked to manage road clearing of any form of obstruction particularly garbage at the Luneta Parade Ground and roads along the 5.9-kilometer procession route.

“Street sweepers will immediately clear roads of all types of clutter,” said Lim.

The Emergency and Medical assistance shall be rendered by the MMDA Road Emergency Group and Public Safety Division while monitoring and communication will be handled by the Metrobase.

“Emergency teams will be deployed at the Grandstand and along the route of the procession to assist those who would be injured,” said Lim.

Ferry boats of the Pasig River Ferry Service will also be placed on standby at Jones Bridge in Manila City.

Traffic mobile patrols, ambulances, road emergency vehicles, mobile surveillance and communication units and other necessary equipment and vehicles will also be dispatched.

Lim urged motorists and the commuting public to take note of the roads to be temporarily closed for the grand procession which will start at the Quirino Grandstand and end up at the Quiapo Church.

The route of the Grand Procession of the Black Nazarene will be from the Quirino Grandstand to Katigbak Drive thru P. Burgos, left to Taft Ave. thru Jones Bridge, right to Dasmarinas St., right to Plaza Sta. Cruz St; left to Carlos Palanca st. under Quezon Bridge, left to Quezon Blvd., right to Arlegui st., right to Fraternal st., right to Vergara st., left to Duque de Alba st., left to Castillejos st., left to Farnecio st., right to Arlegui st., left to Nepomuceno st. (counterflow), left to Aguila st., right to Carcer st., right to Hidalgo thru Plaza del Carmen, left to Bilibid Viejo thru Puyat, left to Guzman st., right to Hidalgo st., left to Bautista (Barbosa) st., right to Globo de Oro thru under Quezon Bridge, right to Palanca st., right to Villalobos thru Plaza Miranda to Quiapo Church.

Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has asked the local government units of Metro Manila to standby manpower and resources for the religious festivity.

The Manila City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is taking the lead on the first emergency response through coordination and collaboration with the MMDRRMC.

“We expect around 13 to 15 million participants to join the procession since weather is predicted to be good that day,” said MMDRRMC vice chairman Romulo Cabantac Jr. 

The waste and pollution watch group is worried that premature campaigning will only worsen the habitual littering that has tainted the annual re-enactment of the Traslacion for many years.

In 2018, some 385 tons of mixed garbage were collected from Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park to the Quiapo district during the traditional “Pahalik” and the nearly six-kilometer procession compared to the 341 tons collected in 2017, the group cited a record from the Manila City government.

If politicians could not help but make their presence felt by the crowd, Alejandre suggested to them to:

Offer food and water to the devotees in reusable containers (not in single-use plastic and polystyrene disposables), which should be retrieved, washed and reused; and support the deployment of volunteers along the processional route to help with the anti-littering drive and clean-up.

James Jimenez, spokesperson of the Commission on Elections, seconded Ecowaste, saying premature campaigning was wrong and well-meaning politicians should not engage in it.

“We appeal to the sense of delicadeza of national and local poll candidates not to turn the Traslacion into a campaigning event. Please do not take advantage of the loopholes in the premature campaigning law to plug your candidacy during the mammoth feast of the Black Nazarene,” he said.  

According to Jimenez, the official campaign period for senatorial candidates and for party-list groups will run from February 12 to May 11, 2019, while the campaign period for members of the House of Representatives and elective regional, provincial, city and municipal posts will be from March 30 to May 11, 2019.  

Campaigning is prohibited on March 28 (Maundy Thursday) and March 29 (Good Friday).

1.2k MMDA men fan out for Feast of Nazarene
CATHEDRAL AT NIGHT. In the runup to Epiphany today, the Neo-Romanesque-Byzantine Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, also known as Manila Cathedral, in the capital’s Intramuros district, literally gleams with scintillating lights from dusk to shortly before sunrise. It was 1521 when Catholicism arrived in the Philippines. Contributed Photo

“We urge all candidates not to campaign outside the official campaign period, and to be always mindful of the environmental impact of their campaigning activities,” Jimenez said.

READ: Jan. 9 a holiday in Manila for Black Nazarene parade

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