Manila cops round up 66 people in Quiapo

Police rounded up some 66 persons in identified crime-prone areas in Quiapo, Manila yesterday as part of security preparations for the feast of the Black Nazarene on Wednesday, wherein thousands of devotees are expected to join a procession of the revered image around the district.

Manila policemen led by Superintendent Romulo Sapitula swept through Basan street, the areas underneath the Quezon Bridge and around Quinta market and the so-called Isla de Romero at the back of Feati University from 3:40 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. These areas are the places where persons of dubious characters are frequently sighted, according to Sapitula.

A total of 66 persons were invited for record verification at the Sta. Cruz police station. The police found that eight of the 66 persons had pending cases in various courts. They will be turned over to the courts for proper disposition, Sapitula said.

The police will also charge 23 persons with vagrancy after they failed to state a reason for their presence in the crime-prone areas.

“We will drive out the undesirables in Quiapo and Sta. Cruz. More anti-criminality operations are scheduled in other identified areas leading to the feast day on Wednesday,” Sapitula said.

Intelligence operatives are also monitoring motel occupants, especially the small and seedy ones in the Quiapo and Sta. Cruz districts, which were tagged as havens of criminals.

Sapitula said some 1,000 police personnel, complemented by 700 civilian volunteers, will be deployed in Quiapo for the feast of the Black Nazarene. Eleven ambulances and four firetrucks will also be on standby along the route of the procession. Eight police assistance centers and an advance command post at the Plaza Miranda will be erected to respond to any emergency.

Sapitula has been conducting daily meetings with Quiapo church officials and the city engineer’s office to assess the security of the procession procedures and the condition of the roads on the route of the procession, respectively.

However, all the security arrangements will go to naught without divine intervention, according to Sapitula, a Black Nazarene devotee.