The Philippine National Police (PNP) has placed a sufficient number of policemen on standby to augment the security personnel that were deployed in Manila to secure the Black Nazarene procession on Jan. 9.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said around 15,000 policemen were already deployed in Manila since the start of the pre-Traslacion activities in the past days, including the motorcade on Dec. 30 and the “Pahalik”.

“Our personnel were already deployed and they will stay there for the whole duration of the Traslacion. The deployment starts as early as second week of December,” said Fajardo.

“Aside from the dedicated 15,000 policemen, we also reserved a standby force that will be deployed in case there is a need for additional PNP personnel,” she added.

The policemen were tasked to secure the Quiapo Church and the procession routes, and were also tasked to help implement the gun ban and the liquor ban in Manila, especially near Quiapo Church and the procession routes.

Citing its initial estimate, Fajardo said they expect around two million devotees to flock to the Traslacion, especially that all the Covid-19 restrictions were already lifted.

As part of the security measures, she said signal jammers will be used and the “no-fly zone” will be implemented over the procession routes in bid to deny any opportunity for criminal elements.

Security will also be tight as the PNP reminded devotees to refrain from carrying backpacks, umbrellas and bottled beverages. The use of bull caps and jackets are also prohibited.

“We are also appealing to our kababayan not to go to the procession if they have medical conditions and physical difficulties because we expect that the activity will be very crowded,” said Fajardo.

“We also discourage the elderly to go there and for the devotees to accompany children in the procession routes for their safety,” she added.

The Black Nazarene procession is an annual religious activity usually attended by millions of people.

The PNP has started the security preparations of the event as early as last year in coordination with various government agencies that include the Philippine Coast Guard, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) which already conducted clearing operations along the procession routes, and the local government unitof Manila.