Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 8) — The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is on blue alert for this year’s Traslacion, the grand procession of the centuries-old image of the Black Nazarene.
Under the blue alert, 50% of NDRRMC personnel are on standby for possible emergencies. The agency is on blue alert from Jan. 7 to Jan 9, the feast day of the Black Nazarene.
In a statement, the Office of Civil Defense said NDRMMC personnel are on heightened monitoring and close coordination with other government agencies and security forces for incidents that may be encountered during the celebration.
Personnel of the Manila City DRRM Office will also monitor the situation and respond in cases of emergencies, it added.
The Philippine National Police, meanwhile, has deployed 16,000 personnel to ensure the safety of devotees during the activities.
On Sunday, over 200,000 people flocked to Quiapo Church, the home of the Black Nazarene, as they attended the 15 hourly Eucharistic celebrations that began at 5 a.m.
Around 2 million devotees of the Black Nazarene are expected to participate in the grand procession of the 400-year-old image of Jesus Christ carrying the cross as this year marks the return of the Traslacion after a three-year break due to COVID-19 pandemic.
RELATED: Palace declares Jan. 9 a holiday in Manila for Traslacion
Celebrated every Jan. 9, the Traslacion commemorates the transfer of the image of the Black Nazarene from the San Nicolas de Tolentino Church in Intramuros to Quiapo Church in 1787.
Banned items confiscated
Meanwhile, authorities confiscated on Monday, a day before the Jan. 9 grand procession, eight knives and four gun bullets from persons claiming to be devotees.
“Mostly po na-intercept po namin, mga balisong, card knife, bala, baton po na galing po sa mga churchgoers po,” Apple Anterola of the Transport Security Risk Management Services-Office for Transportation Security (TSRMS-OTS) told reporters, adding the banned items were turned over to the police.
[Translation: Mostly we intercepted butterfly knives, card knives, bullets, batons, from the churchgoers]
Some of the persons who brought the prohibited items said they wanted the items to be included in the Black Nazarene blessing.
