To ensure the safety of devotees of the Black Nazarene in the annual Traslacion procession in Manila during the Catholic icon’s feast day on Jan. 9, the National Capital Region Police Office will deploy drones and snipers to monitor the festivities in all high-rise buildings along the parade route and all segments of the religious march.
In a press conference, NCRPO chief Director Oscar Albayalde said snipers of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force will be paired with surveillance equipment to support 5,613 policemen that will secure the six-kilometer procession from the Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church.
Authorities have projected that up to eight million Catholic devotees will join the annual procession of the Black Nazarene, a 17th-century dark-skinned image of Jesus Christ that Filipinos believe grants prayers when touched.
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has already suspended classes in all levels, as well as work in the local government, for the Traslacion, which will start at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, with devotees following the image of the Black Nazarene and frantically trying to touch the supposedly miraculous image.
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno also ordered work suspended in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and trial courts in Manila on the day of the Traslacion.
Estrada said the class and public work suspension is “for public order, safety, convenience, and to reduce traffic congestion.”
The suspension of work in national government offices located in Manila, as well as work in private offices, are left to the discretion of their management, the mayor said.
Meanwhile, various environmental groups are optimistic that Black Nazarene devotees will observe a zero-waste feast in Quiapo and its environs.
The groups”•Buklod Tao, Green Brigade and the Ecowaste Coalition”•gathered in front of Quiapo Church late Thursday and implored the millions of devotees who will take part in the Traslacion to express their faith in a manner that is respectful of the environment.
“When we respect the environment and our fellow human beings, we also respect the Señor Nazareno,” the groups said.
“The Catholic devotion to the Black Nazarene is truly breathtaking and splendid. Sadly, the annual ‘Traslacion’ is sullied by the unrestrained littering at the “Pahalik” and prayer vigil site in Luneta and along the processional route,” said Daniel Alejandre, Zero Waste campaigner of Ecowaste Coalition.
Police snipers “will act as observers,” Albayalde said.
“They have telescopes, the team from the SAF. They are complete. They are experts from the SAF and will all be deployed to buildings where the image will pass by,” he added.
The SAF troopers will prevent security breaches and provide immediate response in the event of a terror attack, the NCRPO chief said.
Albayalde assured the public that police intelligence officers have been monitoring threats of any attack on the feast day and have not detected any such threats so far.
“So far, we have not obtained any information, although we have said that we cannot relax. Our intelligence operatives are continuously monitoring threat groups even outside Metro Manila who can operate here while this Traslacion will be ongoing,” Albayalde said.
Last year, Ecowaste expressed disappointment with the people who participated in the event and decried the assorted trash that piled up along the procession route.
The Metro Manila Development Authority collected 202 tons of garbage following the Traslacion last year which was attended by 1.5 million devotees.
The trash collected composed mainly of plastic food wrappers, food leftovers, bamboo skewers, plastic bags, soiled newspapers, cigarette butts, styrofoam materials,, empty mineral water bottles, tetra packs and canned soft drinks.
“With the impacts of climate worsening at a disturbing pace, it is incumbent upon us to ‘think environment’ in everything that we do, including in the way we profess and live our faith,” said Noli Abinales, Buklod Tao adviser.
“We hope that our people’s devotion to the Black Nazarene will translate to a greater appreciation of the need to protect Mother Earth from littering and other acts that pollute and destroy her,” he said.
He stressed that “indiscriminate garbage disposal makes our communities more vulnerable to floods and diseases.”
The groups reminded devotees that Manila, the center of the mammoth event, is already generating too much garbage estimated at 1,152 tons per day as per estimate by the MMDA.
“Religious festivities should not exacerbate Manila’s garbage situation,” the groups emphasized.
The groups lamented that in 2016, the MMDA also collected about 315 tons of garbage along the processional route.
As the feast of the Black Nazarene falls within the “Zero Waste Month” as declared based on Presidential Proclamation 760, the groups exhorted the Archdiocese of Manila in general and the Saint John the Baptist Parish (or Quiapo Church) in particular to instill greater environmental awareness and responsibility in the hearts and minds of the devotees.
The groups further requested the city government of Manila to deploy environmental police to dissuade devotees from littering and ensure compliance to Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
Republic Act 9003 prohibits and penalizes “the littering, throwing and dumping of waste matters in roads, sidewalks, canals, esteros, parks and other public places.”
Violators can be fined from P300 to P1,000, compelled to perform community service at the local government unit where the offense was committed, or be directed to pay the fine as well as render the community service, according to the said law.