MANILA: The Philippine National Police (PNP) will follow its security template for the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9, 2024 but will have stringent monitoring schemes following the Mindanao State University-Marawi bombing on Dec. 3.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo, in a press conference held at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Monday, said they will be more stringent in their surveillance works.
“It is very important to validate the information if there are serious threat monitored,” she said.
Fajardo said the PNP will be on maximum deployment for the Traslacion and the entire National Capital Region police will be on full alert until the event is over.
The security preparation started with a walkthrough on Saturday, starting at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park and up to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or Quiapo Church in Quezon Boulevard.
‘Maliban sa simulation exercises, walkthrough, even ‘yung mga communication exercises in coordination of course doon sa ating mga other agencies con
cerned and doon sa mga namamahala diyan sa simbahan ng Quiapo and other areas. Hindi lang naman sa Quiapo [ang] babantayan diyan, mga ibang areas ay may mga ganito ring pagtitipon (Other than the simulation exercises, and walkthrough, even the communication exercises in coordination with our other agencies concerned and those in charge of Quiapo Church and other areas. It’s not just the areas in Quiapo that we have to watch over, but other areas that have similar gatherings),’ Fajardo said.
The last procession in 2020 had about three million participants joining the shorter Traslacion route that lasted 16 hours.
It was shelved in 2021 and 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year, a ‘Walk of Faith’ sans the Traslacion lured 1.2 million devotees over two days.
Source: Philippines News Agency