Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan, together with the Quiapo Church management, encouraged devotees to wear facemasks during the Traslacion on Tuesday, Jan. 9. 

During a media conference at the Benedict XVI Building in Quiapo, the mayor said that wearing a facemask is not mandatory.

However, they encouraged devotees to wear it for their own safety, stressing Covid-19 is still around.

“Ini-encourage po namin (devotees). Wala naman po kaseng mask mandate talaga eh, so hindi natin mape-pwersa ang ating mga mag-pruprusisyon. Kami po ay talagang nakikiusap para na rin po sa kaligtasan nila at kaligtasan na rin ng mga sasama sa prusisyon. (We encourage devotees to wear facemasks. There is really no such thing as mask mandate, so we cannot force our people who will go to the procession to wear it. We are just appealing for their own safety and those who will join the procession),” the mayor said.

Lacuna said the Manila Police District (MPD) and Quiapo Church officials will provide free facemasks for devotees who will not be able to wear or bring one.

“We will make sure na lahat ng papasok sa simbahan ay naka-facemask. Kapag mayroon pong pumasok nang wala facemask, automatic po na mag-aabot ang ating mga kapulisan (We will make sure that everyone who enters the church wears a facemask. When someone enters without a facemask, our police will automatically give them one),” she added.

The church also said that devotees should still follow health protocols such as social distancing and bringing their own hand sanitizers.

“Kung hindi ho maiiwasan magkadikit tayo, tulad ng paghila ng lubid, matapos ho na humawak sa lubid o madikit sa mga kapwa natin, mag-sanitize ho agad tayo bago tayo umuwi para hindi ho tayo mahawa ng sakit (If we can't avoid having contact with each other, like when pulling the rope, after touching the rope or coming into contact with other devotees, we should sanitize immediately before we go home so we don't get sick),” it said. 

Meanwhile, the mayor also said that the city government and the church are ready enough for the Traslacion, adding that about 12,000 authorities will be deployed around the area during the celebration. 

She also said that the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (DRRMO) will deploy 12 ambulances around the area to respond to emergencies.

MPD Chief Arnold Thomas Ibay said that they have conducted simulation exercises for a contingency plan in case of a stampede.
 

The chief said a stampede will be avoided if the devotees will follow the guidelines during the Traslacion, such as not climbing the "andas" or the carriage of the Black Nazarene and avoiding pushing other devotees.

On the other hand, the Quiapo Church said that they are expecting this year's Traslacion to take less travel time, unlike in the past procession that lasted 16 to 22 hours to return the image of Black Nazarene to Quiapo. 

“Kung susunod ang lahat, matitiyak po natin na mapapabilis ang ating prusisyon pabalik sa Quiapo (If every devotee will comply, we can assure that our procession back to the Quiapo Church will be faster),” it added.