Traslacion shorter, but fervor at fever pitch
Credit to Author: Darwin Pesco| Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2020 16:18:30 +0000
This year’s Traslacion finished much earlier than in previous years, but the fervor of the 2 million barefoot devotees who joined the annual procession of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila was at its usual fever pitch.
Swarms of the faithful, wearing maroon t-shirts, lined the shortened route of the procession, but the crowd was thickest on Quezon Boulevard, beside the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or Quiapo Church.
The procession started earlier than scheduled, leaving the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal (Luneta) Park at 4:16 a.m. instead of 5:30 a.m.
The pace of the procession was such that it reached San Sebastian Church for the traditional dungaw, where the image of the Nazarene meets that of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, by dusk.
Organizers were confident that the Nazarene would be back at Quiapo Church by 9 p.m.
In past years, the procession lasted through the night and the early hours of the morning after.
Last year’s procession took 21 hours.
The faster pace was one of the changes introduced in this year’s procession.
Another was the fielding of police officers to clear the path for the andas, the Nazarene’s carriage.
Many devotees resented the presence of the officers, who said they were prevented from getting close to the image.
Some procession participants complained their feet were stepped on by officers who wore combat boots.
Scuffles erupted when some of the devotees tried to break the police cordon and climb the carriage.
Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac told The Manila Times in a message: “If indeed the combat shoes of cops caused it, it was unintended,”
“PNP will look into this reported injuries sustained by some devotees,” Banac added.
National Capital Region Police Office chief Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas said combat shoes were part of the policemen’s uniform.
Sinas vowed to look into the reported injuries.
Aside from the reported injuries, PNP said this year’s Traslacion was generally peaceful.
Sinas said they had no problem throughout the procession except for “wild” devotees.
“Siguro nga (Maybe) it takes time. Pero (But) at least we achieved our partial goal. Having it faster na madala natin dito sa loob ng Quiapo [Church] (Have it brought inside the Quiapo Church faster),” he said.
A total of 13,000 policemen, 2,500 soldiers and 500 security guards were fielded for the Traslacion, Sinas said.
Serafin Lente, 67, a Nazarene devotee for five decades, said he was praying for good health and long life for him to take care of his nephews and nieces.
“Matagal ko nang ginagawa ito, simula pa noong third year high school ako (I have been doing this for so long since when I was in third year high school),” Lente said.
Julie Villanueva, who said she wanted the Nazarene to cure the lumps in her breast, woke up early with his husband to travel from Antipolo, Rizal to Quiapo Church.
Niño de los Reyes, 45, said his children graduated from college through the miraculous power of the Nazarene. He has been a devotee for 14 years.
Kim Noel Yamat, 23, made his annual devotion extra memorable this year by proposing to his long-time girlfriend Mary Joie Flores.
The crowd got wild and cheered them after Flores said “yes” to Yamat and ended it with a kiss. The two plan to marry in March.
WITH REPORTS FROM JAN ARCILLA AND CATHERINE S. VALENTE