1.3M devotees end 21-hour ‘Traslacion’ as Nazarene returns to Quiapo Church
Credit to Author: NEIL JAYSON SERVALLOS| Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2019 22:55:31 +0000
THE Black Nazarene finally returned to its home in Quiapo Church at about 2 a.m. on Thursday, 21 hours after it journeyed from the Quirino Grandstand in Manila the day before.
About 1.3 million devotees joined the “Traslacion” or procession that started at 5:20 a.m. on Wednesday after a concelebrated midnight mass where Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle delivered a homily on the Filipino as a devotee of the charred icon of Jesus Christ.
The Manila Times interviewed people who said their participation in the annual Traslacion was motivated either by prayers for good health, a miracle for a debilitating condition, thanksgiving or tradition.
The Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) said more than 1,000 people were injured, some of who had to be brought to nearby hospitals.
The PNRC said that as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 573 suffered from hypertension, 381 experienced fainting, difficulty in breathing, abrasions, bruises, lacerations, nosebleed, sprain, hypoglycemia, swelling of the feet and toothache.
The PNRC recorded 24 “major cases” such as severe difficulty in breathing, dizziness and vomiting.
Devotees who complained of breathing difficulties were brought to either the Ospital ng Maynila or Jose Reyes Medical Center.
Supt. Julius Domingo of Police Station 3 said a man was arrested along Palanca Street for possession of marijuana.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde said more than 7,000 personnel were deployed to areas covered by the 6.1-kilometer route of the Black Nazarene.
Early campaign
Despite appeals by the Catholic Church, national and local candidates used the Feast of the Black Nazarene to campaign ahead of the midterm elections in May.
The walls of buildings around the Minore Basilica de Nazareno or the Quiapo Church were festooned with tarpaulins of candidates greeting devotees a “happy fiesta.”
Manila Councilor Maile Atienza was seen to have the most number of political posters in buildings parallel to the Quiapo Church.
Tarpaulins of comebacking senators Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla and re-electionist Senator Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, OFW Partylist Rep. Aniceto Bertiz and Manila Reps. Yul Servo Nieto and Sandy Ocampo were also posted in the same area.
The Comelec, through spokesperson James Jimenez, made a similar appeal to politicians previously, saying that the Traslacion is a sacred event and should not be taken advantage of to boost one’s candidacy.
“We appeal to politicians, let’s leave these kind of observance alone,” Jimenez told reporters.
The number of devotees this year was slightly more than the estimated one million who joined the 23-hour procession in 2018. ED VELASCO, WILLIAM DEPASUPIL, ROY NARRA, CATHERINE MODESTO
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