By Jaimie Rose Aberia, Analou De Vera, and Aaron Recuenco
A 48-hour gun ban will be implemented from Jan. 8 to 10 as a security measure for the “Traslacion” of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9, Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Supt. Joel Coronel said in a press briefing in Quiapo Church yesterday.
On Tuesday, January 9, the Quiapo district will be bursting with hundreds of thousands of devotees – even millions, as some have forecast – in the annual procession of the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
Five days before the devotion explodes into a thousand stories of hope, several sectors of the community have been busy preparing safety measures for the “Traslacion” procession – from the Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church – a procession that took about 20 hours last year.
Coronel said the gun ban will take effect from midnight of January 8 to midnight of January 10. “Permit to carry will be temporarily suspended for the entire city of Manila,” Coronel said. However, he said that uniformed personnel and the security staff of the President and Cabinet officials are exempted.
The MPD chief also called on those “with compelling need” to carry firearms to avoid the city of Manila for the 48-hour period.
No-fly zone
He also said that the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has issued a no-fly zone for drones and aircrafts over the route of the Traslacion and on Quirino Grandstand and Quiapo Church.
Coronel said he has also recommended to Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada to implement a liquor ban from 6 p.m. of January 8 to 6 a.m. of January 10.
“This will cover the temporary ban on the sale, distribution, and consumption of alcoholic beverages within the 500-meter radius of the vicinity of the route, Quirino Grandstand, and Quiapo Church,” Coronel explained.
More than 18 million are expected to join the series of activities leading to the “Traslacion” itself, according to Lucile Faycho of the MPD.
No garbage please!
Yesterday, environmental advocates who foresee tons of garbage along the route appealed to Catholic devotees “to express their faith in a manner that is respectful to the environment.”
In 2016, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) collected at least 315 tons of trash along the processional route.
Members of the EcoWaste Coalition, Buklod Tao, and Green Brigade Committee of the Quiapo Church, said that the procession “presents a huge garbage challenge due to the sheer number of people taking part in the popular event.”
“The Catholic devotion to the Black Nazarene is truly breathtaking and splendid. Sadly, the annual “Traslacion” is sullied by the unrestrained littering at the “Pahalik” and prayer vigil site in Luneta and along the processional route,” said Daniel Alejandre, Zero Waste Campaigner of EcoWaste Coalition.
Signal jammers?
Meanwhile, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) is still deliberating on the necessity of the use of signal jammers for the Black Nazarene procession.
While it remains an option for them, NCRPO chief Director Oscar Albayalde said they are still weighing the pros and cons of the use of signal jammers.
“The signal jammers affects Malacañang, nearby areas of the City of Manila and even some parts of Cavite,” said Alabaylde in a phone interview.
Signal jammers were used in the past to avert bomb attacks, especially cellular phone-triggered improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
But Albayalde said the final decision on the matter would depend on the recommendation of the Executive Committee for the Black Nazarene Procession, as well as the prevailing intelligence reports on the days leading to the Traslacion.
Work suspension
Meanwhile, work in all Manila trial courts, the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court have been ordered suspended on Jan. 9 by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno.
In an advisory, SC Spokesman Theodore O. Te said:
“Anticipating difficulty of travel to and from the courts located in the City of Manila due to the annual procession of the Black Nazarene, the Chief Justice has suspended work in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, at court of first and second level (metropolitan trial courts and regional trial courts) in the City of Manila on the 9th of January 2018.” (With reports from Rey Panaligan and Chito Chavez)