2 die as millions attend procession
By Sandy Araneta (The Philippine Star) Updated January 10, 2010 12:00 AM
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MANILA, Philippines - Two people died and more than 200 were hurt in the crush of some two million mostly
barefoot devotees who took part in the tortuous procession of the Black Nazarene from the Quirino
Grandstand at Rizal Park to Quiapo Church in Manila yesterday.
Police said Rodrigo Ocampo, 47, of Palanan, Makati, died of cardiac arrest at the Ospital ng Maynila. Another
fatality, Bernardino Basilio, 40, died of severe head injuries at the Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital after falling
from the Black Nazarene carriage while it was leaving the grandstand.
The wooden, life-sized Black Nazarene, carved in Mexico and brought to the Philippines in the early 17th
century, is taken out of the Quiapo Church on Jan. 9 each year for the largest known religious procession in
the predominantly Roman Catholic country.
Nearly 1.4 million people gathered for an early morning Mass at the Quirino Grandstand before the
procession, police said.
Thousands more lined the streets to see the icon, dressed in maroon robes and paraded in a wooden
carriage, in a festival that has been held in the former Spanish enclave for more than 200 years.
Traffic had to be rerouted in many areas along the procession’s route.
Vendors made a killing selling handkerchiefs printed with the image of the Black Nazarene, rosaries, prayer
books, shirts, as well as food and drinks.
Onlookers threw white towels and handkerchiefs to devotees, also in yellow shirts, on the carriage to wipe
the statue in the hope of carrying away some of its healing powers.
“The Black Nazarene gives us strength,” said Zenaida Villasanta, 47, who traveled from the province with her
two sisters to pray for another sick sibling. “We are praying that He will heal my sister. She has cancer and
we pray for a miracle,” she said.
Another devotee, Bernard Ponce, said he had joined the procession for two years to ask the Nazarene for
another child.
“It’s tiring, but after you go on the procession, you feel really good,” Ponce said. “It feels like a heavy weight is
lifted, as if you’re starting a new life.”
The procession snaked through some of the oldest and narrowest streets of Manila with devotees pushing
and shoving their way to touch the Black Nazarene.
“This is beautiful, unexpected,” Elena Zhirnova, a Russian tourist on her first visit to Manila, said. “I didn’t
know about this tradition and suddenly I come and see this ceremony. It’s very nice. It’s very new for me,”
she said. The Black Nazarene is also paraded through the streets on Good Friday.
“They look like giant waves,” Senior Inspector Oscar Hoguera, head of Manila’s mobile police division, said
of the sea of humanity swarming around the carriage being pulled by barefoot devotees holding lengths of
stout rope.
“There are a lot more participants today than last year,” Holguera said estimating the size of the crowd at
several hundred thousand people.
“Many people are turning to religion after a year of disasters,” he added.
Tropical storms, floods, landslides, and maritime disasters killed nearly 2,000 people across the
Philippines in 2009, a year in which an election-linked massacre claimed 57 lives in Maguindanao. Late last
year, Mayon volcano spewed ashes forcing the evacuation of thousands in Albay.
Holguera estimated that at least two million of Metro Manila’s 10 million residents had joined or watched the
procession.
“I’m praying for good health and good luck,” said 58-year-old Ricardo Palacio, a porter who said his wife left
him and their four children several years ago.
“He cured my illness and enabled me to walk again,” said 78-year-old grandmother Maria Medalla.
She said she left her home near the erupting Mayon volcano last week so she could join this year’s
procession.
Tight security
The Manila Police District deployed 1,500 of its men to secure the five-kilometer route of the procession,
MPD Director Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Magtibay said.
In a radio interview, Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) secretary-general Gwen Pang said that as of 3 p.
m., they had treated more than 200 people for minor injuries and for other medical emergencies.
Many of their patients suffered fainting spells due to exhaustion, hunger and dehydration.
Others were injured on the hands, legs and feet, during the procession. Many devotees complained of high
blood pressure and difficulty breathing.
Despite the high police visibility, many devotees still fell prey to thieves.
Two young siblings, identified as Alberto and Jocelyn Encinas, got separated from their mother during the
procession.
Politicians rebuked
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales appealed to politicians not to use the occasion to
campaign.
In his homily during the Mass at the Quirino Grandstand, Rosales asked politicians and devotees to strictly
follow Christ’s teachings on simplicity, humility, and charity.
“The Lord gave us much riches and it is enough for all of us. But there are people who are greedy in food,
money and luxury,” he said.
“Even if they are given the riches equivalent to 10 times in the world this would not still be enough,” he said.
Rosales said candidates in the May elections should not use churches in their campaigning.
“They should respect the Church,” he said. “We would issue directives to our priests not to engage in such
activities. There might have been times when priests could not avoid becoming friends with some
politicians. So we would tell our priests that they should not allow their parishes to become a tool in political
campaigns,” Rosales added.
He also said politicians should cease from putting up streamers and tarpaulin near church premises.
Rosales said that instead of wasting money in printing costly political advertisements, politicians should
contribute more to the Pondo ng Pinoy project of the Archdiocese of Manila to help the Church finance pro-
poor programs.
This way, “whether a candidate wins or loses, he would be helping the people,” he added.
He said he was disappointed to see many politicians take advantage of the Feast of the Black Nazarene to
advance their interests.
Several devotees were seen wearing maroon-colored T-shirts with the face of Jesus Christ on front and the
name of the sponsor-politicians on the back.
“This should not be the case. This is where the purification of values come in,” he said.
In an interview with reporters, Rosales added that Filipinos should be taught not to go overboard in their
expression of faith.
“Filipinos are very religious, they are a people of faith. But you know there could be excess in its improper
expression such as picking the flowers that adorned the stage during yesterday morning’s Mass at the
Quirino Grandstand. This case is almost like a superstition. Superstition is an excess of faith in the wrong
way,” he said.
Fluvial procession
In Hagonoy, Bulacan, hundreds of devotees joined a fluvial parade honoring the Black Nazarene.
A devotee, Sally Montehermoso said her family has been joining the fluvial procession for decades.
“Only few had been joining the fluvial parade, but through the years, many started to join,” she said.
The fluvial parade has also given local devotees a chance to honor the Black Nazarene without having to go
to Quiapo.
“Manila is very far and so crowded,” Carlito Magallanes, 23, said in Filipino.
“I had an accident when I was three years old and my parents said I couldn’t walk so they sought the
Nazarene’s help and promised to join this procession,” he said. He said his parents’ prayers were
answered.
But he said he joined yesterday’s parade not only to thank the Nazarene but to seek help for his own 10-
month-old son John Lester who is suffering from a spinal cord disorder.
“My son has a weak spinal cord that’s why I’m praying for him,” he said. He said he was the first in his family
to benefit from the Nazarene’s healing powers. -With Evelyn Macairan, Sheila Crisostomo
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