Police ready to secure Traslacion

MANILA, Philippines — Should there be a threat on the safety and security of the multitude of devotees, the Church might be forced to suspend the procession of the image of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9, officials said yesterday. 

“In case of a worse case scenario, the Quiapo Church has a Plan A and Plan B that would be implemented with the help of the Philippine National Police (PNP). We will determine what action should be taken. We are prepared,” Quiapo Church parochial vicar Fr. Douglas Badong said.

He cited an earthquake or an explosion, depending on the degree of damage and the situation, might force them to order the annual Traslacion (procession) to stop.  

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Oscar Albayalde however gave assurance that there is no terror threat to the holding of the Traslacion.

“Though we monitored no terrorist threat as of this time, we cannot relax or lower our guard… We want the occasion to be free of any trouble,” Albayalde said.

Badong, for his part, said there has never been an instance where Church authorities postponed or suspended the centuries-old tradition of procession of the Black Nazarene because of a security threat. 

“The hours of the procession just got longer, but it was never cancelled,” he said. The Traslacion 2017 recorded the longest procession at 21 hours. 

Quiapo Church rector Monsignor Hernando Coronel said they are hoping and praying for the best, but also to prepare for the worst possible scenario. 

“We are also thinking of the possible worst case scenario, whether man-made or natural. It could be an earthquake, a tsunami or fire. There are disaster scenarios and we trained for that under our incident command… We think that we learn from the experiences and lessons on how to prepare, how to cope with these calamities, eventualities and hoping we could prevent some of them,” Coronel said.

Millions of devotees are expected to join the procession of the Black Nazarene next Tuesday.

Last year, there were no reported casualties and Coronel said he hopes and prays that there would also be no casualties this year. 

“Millions of people attend the procession and everyone of one of them is important,” he added.

Officials estimated that 18.9 million devotees would join the Black Nazarene activities from Dec. 31 until Jan. 9.

Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Supt. Joel Coronel said they are coordinating security arrangements with the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in preparation for next week’s procession. 

He said the interagency meeting gave the “go signal” to proceed with the Traslacion. 

“As of now, we have no actual, direct or imminent threat indicating clear and present danger to the Traslacion so it’s a ‘go.’. But nonetheless, (there is) continuous monitoring being conducted by our intelligence operatives. So in the event that there is a threat that would be reported to us, and upon the recommendation then that is the time we would act,” Coronel said.

Postponing the Traslacion, he added, “would depend on the assessment or evaluation to be made by the intelligence committee and subject to approval of  organizers or the executive committee.”

Preparations

Coronel said some 7,000 uniformed personnel from the MPD, AFP, the NCRPO, and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) would be deployed on Jan. 9. Some 2,000 personnel from volunteer groups would also act as force multipliers.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) and the MPD would be implementing a “no fly zone” in the area above Quiapo district and route of procession.

The PCG will impose a “no sail zone” behind the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park where the image would be for public viewing from Jan. 8 until the morning of Jan. 9.

Coronel also said they would implement a gun ban in Manila starting midnight of Jan. 8 until midnight of Jan. 10. During the 48-hour period, all permits to carry firearms would be suspended.

– With Non Alquitran, Rey Galupo, Edu Punay, Rhodina Villanueva, Jose Rodel Clapano, Cecille Suerte Felipe