Reflecting the growing number of Filipinos seeking divine intervention in their economic and social circumstances, this year’s Traslacion proved that devotion does not just move mountains, it runs through a city, step by step, for a historic 30 hours.
Initially targeting a 15-hour run, the yearly ritual took all of 30 hours, 50 minutes, and one second, starting at 3:58 a.m. on Friday, 9 January, and ending at 10:50 a.m. on Saturday, 10 January.
With the theme, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” (“Dapat Siyang tumaas, at ako nama’y bumaba), the estimated number of devotees was a record 9,640,290, per the Quiapo Church count.
Officials said the devotees’ aggressiveness was a big factor for slowing the procession, which covered the 5.8-kilometer route from Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park to the National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno or Quiapo Church.
Faith to its limits
The procession experienced several lulls that slowed it, including the more than six hours it took to cover the one-kilometer stretch from Finance Road to Ayala Bridge, and the more than four hours on Arlegui Street.
The anticipated “dungaw” or meetup between the Jesus Nazareno and the Virgin Mary outside the San Sebastian church at Plaza del Carmen occurred at the 24th hour.
Quiapo Church officials then called a halt to the procession and for the image of the Jesus Nazareno to remain at San Sebastian Church, but the devotees let their faith speak louder and the procession continued after two carriage wheels and the pulling rope were replaced.
The National Capital Region Police Office said 1,057 devotees suffered dizziness, difficulty breathing, abrasions, cuts, and other injuries and were given medical attention.
4 deaths
A photojournalist covering the Traslacion for a tabloid and three devotees died but no details were given on the latter two.
Photojournalist Itoh Son died shortly after the procession started, with authorities saying he had exhibited flu symptoms but continued his coverage anyway.
He was found unconscious with no pulse near Manila Police District Station 5 and was rushed to the Gat Andres Bonifacio Medical Center where he was declared dead on arrival.
Authorities said Son appeared to have died from a heart attack.
‘Brief pause’
At the 24-hour mark, as it reached the San Sebastian Church for the traditional “dungaw,” Fr. Ramon Jade Licuanan, rector and parish priest of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno, announced that the image would temporarily remain at San Sebastian Church.
Licuanan suggested that the Traslacion might end at the church, a departure from the historic procession.
“I would like to ask for your understanding; we wish that Jesus Nazareno stay briefly with his mother. After 10 years, we will be able to witness the abode of the Son Jesus with his mother,” said Licuanan, noting that this year marked the 10 “dungaw” since the meetup was revived in 2014.
The priest also cited everyone’s exhaustion, noting that the Traslacion had been underway for more than 24 hours.
“During our last meeting at the church, the doctors said they couldn’t do it anymore. Even the nurses, the health workers, and quick responders. Because they have been looking after our sick and hurt devotees for 24, 25 hours,” Licuanan explained.
“I will be honest, a lot of devotees have been injured,” he added.
However, the plan was quickly reversed after the devotees blocked the image’s entry into the church.
“The devotees want to finish the procession. This is for the good of the majority,” Rev. Fr. Hector Gonzales, parish priest of the Basilica of San Sebastian, said in a radio interview.
The procession resumed at around 5 a.m.