Following what it described as successful handling of security measures for the Christmas season, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has shifted its focus in securing the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9 when millions of devotees are expected to converge in Manila for the annual religious activity.

At least 15,000 policemen are expected to be deployed during the Traslacion and acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr. said they started preparing for the event as early as two months ago when coordination was made with the local government unit and the officials of the Quiapo church.

He said police forces in Metro Manila will be reinforced by uniformed personnel from the Police Regional Office 3, or Central Luzon, and the Police Regional office 4A, or Calabarzon.

“Every year has a different security challenge but the objective remains the same: to ensure the safety of the millions of devotees and to maintain peace and order at the span of the annual religious activity. Your PNP is ready but we still ask for vigilance and cooperation from the public to achieve our goal,” said Nartatez.

He said they have not monitored any specific or credible threat linked to the religious celebration but the police will still maintain a very strict watch to ensure the safety of millions of devotees expected to participate.

But Nartatez said police visibility and intelligence monitoring were intensified starting Jan. 2 for the barangay visitation in Quiapo District and other scheduled activities that include blessing of replicas of Jesus Nazareno, “Pabihis” and morning and fiesta masses.

He said policemen will be tasked to secure the traditional procession route and other key gathering points to ensure that sufficient numbers of PNP personnel are available for both crowd control and emergency response.

“I have directed the strategic deployment of our personnel and other assets to secure and assist our kababayan who will take part in this yearly devotion,” Nartatez said.

Specialized assets and medical teams are already on standby as the PNP urged the public to cooperate with law enforcers on the ground to prevent accidents during the crowded procession.

Devotees are also encouraged to follow all safety guidelines issued by the authorities.

More than eight million devotees showed up in last year’s Traslacion and the PNP is expecting at least the same figure for this year.

“We are expecting more or less five million but our security preparations cover all activities, including the “pahalik” and the procession,” said Nartatez.

“Our mandate is peace and order and we will focus on that. We seek cooperation from the public and that is the reason why coordination is being done with various stakeholders,” he added.