MANILA Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada on Tuesday praised security officials, organizers, and even devotees for the peaceful observance of the Black Nazarene Feast, especially the 22-hour long Traslacion where no one was reported killed.
Estrada, the designated Hermano Mayor of the Quiapo Fiesta, attributed this to “God’s miracle.”
“It’s a God’s miracle that no one was seriously hurt, no one died. No matter how excellent our preparations are, it is God’s doing that we’re able to hold the Traslacion safely and peacefully,” Estrada pointed out amid threats of violence from various terror groups in Mindanao.
After more than 20 hours and a procession route that was almost six kilometers long, the annual Traslacion ended early Tuesday morning.
As the Hermano Mayor, Estrada lauded the Manila Police District, National Capital Regional Police Office, Armed Forces, and other government agencies, Church officials, government and private rescue groups, volunteers, and other participants—and even devotees—for their “cooperation and hard work.”
“We’ve been preparing for Traslacion as early as July and I can say this is the product of their hard work and cooperation. Definitely, we will make more improvements next year so we can achieve ‘zero casualty’ again,” Estrada said.
Meanwhile, the police-estimated 3.5-million devotees who joined the Traslacion of the Black Nazarene in Manila on Monday left tons of garbage, which drew the ire of environmental health activists.
Francis Martinez, head of the Metro Manila Development Authority-Metro Parkway Clearing Group, said as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, 34 truckloads or 202 tons of garbage were collected along the routes of the procession.
The trash collected—composed mainly of plastic food wrappers, food leftovers, bamboo skewers, plastic bags, soiled newspapers, cigarette butts, styrofoam materials,, empty mineral water bottles, tetra packs and canned soft drinks—were hauled to Pier 18 in Manila in coordination with the city government.
Martinez said the clearing operation was quite efficient as the MMDA personnel followed the main bulk of the procession and collected thrash.
“We begin clearing as soon as the procession moves along. The dump truck is also nearby,” he said. “Last year, we collected a total of 35 truckloads [of garbage].”
Martinez added a fire truck sprayed water on the procession route to clean and remove the stench.
Environmentalist group Ecowaste Coalition expressed disappointment with the people who participated in the annual religious event and decried the assorted discards that had piled up along the procession route.
“We are saddened by the lack of respect for the environment by some of the devotees who simply left their discards lying on the ground for others to pick up,” said Ochie Tolentino, Ecowaste Zero Waste campaigner.
“From Luneta to Quiapo, we managed to take photos of mounds of garbage that have kept waste workers and volunteers busy and tired,” she reported.
“We even found …bottles and plastic bags filled with human urine in Luneta.”
“It seems the appeal for a trash-less Traslacion by no less than Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has fallen on deaf ears. This is lamentable as January is also designated as Zero Waste month,” she noted.
Last Sunday, Estrada called on the devotees to make the solemn Feast of the Black Nazarene more meaningful by keeping the environment clean.
He stressed “we should refrain from carelessly throwing our garbage anywhere for it spoils the spirit of this revered tradition.”
“While we commend the government’s waste and sanitation workers and the eco-volunteers from the parishes and schools for picking up the litter that others have left, we think the public, particularly the devotees, should take full responsibility for their wastes, including their urine, and stop burdening others,” Tolentino said.
MPD Director Chief Supt. Joel Coronel said no one died during the 22-hour procession, which he estimated was attended by up to 3.5 million devotees.
“We have injuries but only minor ones, but the most important is that we have no casualty and that there were no crime incidents reported during the Traslacion,” the MPD chief said while recalling two deaths last year.
Coronel served as the ground commander of the 6,000 strong security contingent that secured the venerated religious event.
As of 9 pm Monday night, a total 1,339 devotees suffered minor injuries during the 22-hour long procession; only seven injuries were classified as “major” based on reports provided by the Philippine Red Cross.
Most of the injuries were only minor ones, including dizziness, high blood pressure, bruises, and contusions.
A pregnant person was also rushed to the ambulance after she felt dizzy while three other women devotees suffered bone fractures after falling from the carriage carrying the image of the Black Nazarene.
Despite repeated appeals for a “trash-less” Traslacion, the sea of devotees that participated in Monday’s Black Nazarene procession left a dozen truckloads of trash, according to Che Borromeo, head of Task Force Manila Cleanup leading the post-Traslacion cleanup.
Borromeo said city hall workers collected a total of 12 truckloads of waste or 69.43 tons of garbage from Monday until 9:30 am Tuesday, mostly plastic water bottles, styrofor food containers and utensils, plastic cups, cigarette butts, wrappers, plastic bags, newspapers, and carton boxes.
Since Saturday, January 7, up to Monday, the Task Force had collected 65 truckloads of garbage or 341.29 tons, as compared to last year’s 172.29 tons, he added.
“Piles of rubbish dotted our streets. We have so far collected 12 truckloads of garbage since yesterday morning until 9:30 am this morning,” Borromeo said.
