At least 8 million Catholic devotees are expected to troop to the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage or the Antipolo Cathedral for the traditional “alay-lakad” as the country observes the Holy Week.

Antipolo City Public Information chief Relly Bernardo narrated that last year, the alay-lakad drew around 5 million faithful coming from various parts of the country.

“From 5 million last year, we’re now expecting around 8 million devotees who will be trooping the international cathedral this year,” Bernardo, also the chief of the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, told DAILY TRIBUNE in an interview.

He added that the local government — in coordination with the Philippine National Police and the church — is now preparing for the influx of devotees to ensure the safety of the churchgoers and the general public.

Bernardo reminded devotees flocking to Antipolo for the penitential walk to keep the cathedral clean and observe health and safety protocols.

“We should not let our guards down even if there is no pandemic anymore,” said Bernardo, as he urged devotees to make the tradition orderly and peaceful.

“It’s inevitable that there are groups of young people going to the cathedral simply to have fun with friends instead of praying,” he added. “There was an instance that groups of young men were throwing stones at each other. But it was an isolated case.”

Bernardo also said that the Rizal Police Office, headed by Police Colonel Felipe Maraggun, will be on heightened alert status and will deploy more police officers from other towns as augmentation force to ensure public safety during the observance of Holy Week.

“The PNP is in charge for the security while the local government, through the city health office, will be providing medical services to devotees who were injured during the alay lakad,” Bernardo said.

He also said that street vendors are not allowed to sell their goods around the cathedral to make the area less congested.