Police beefing up security for Black Nazarene procession in CDO
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 07 January) — Authorities will deploy snipers, K-9 dogs and massive police forces, among others, for the annual procession of the Black Nazarene here on Thursday, January 9, to ensure the safety of devotees.
The Black Nazarene procession here is touted as the biggest religious activity of its kind outside Metro Manila, which depicts the 18th century transfer of the religious icon from its original shrine in Intramuros to the Quiapo Church.
Lieutenant Colonel Nerfe Valmoria, chief of operations of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office, warned drones operators that they would shoot down any unmanned aerial vehicles that would fly along the route of the traslacion from the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral to the shrine at the Nazareno Church in Barangay Lapasan.
Valmoria said that telecommunication services along the route of the procession of the Black Nazarene replica, which was brought to the country in the 17th century, would be temporarily shutdown for security reasons.
“We are not taking chances. There will be sniper teams placed at intervals on high-rise buildings along the route,” Valmoria told reporters here.
He said the carriage carrying the life-sized dark statue of Jesus Christ carrying the cross would be protected by a phalanx of 270 police troopers to prevent devotees from climbing it.
Catholic Church officials earlier urged devotees not to throw white towels and handkerchief — a traditional practice during the Black Nazarene procession.
Nonito Oclarit, the city’s Road and Traffic Administration chief, said vehicular traffic would be diverted along the procession route from the St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral to the shrine at the Nazareno Church.
He advised motorists, especially truck drivers, to take the coastal road in passing through the city.
“There will be teams of paramedics walking along with the devotees in case somebody needs medical attention,” Nick Jabagat, chief of the Cagayan de Oro Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, said.
Jabagat said that five devotees were given medical attention during the traslacion in 2024.
Despite all these elaborate security preparations, a Catholic Church official lamented that the turnout of the Black Nazarene devotees has not gone up after the traslacion was put on hold for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 amid fears of a spike of infections.
Monsignor Perseus Cabunoc, parish priest of the Nazareno Church, said he expects the turnout of devotees to be between 15,000 to 20,000 on Thursday.
Last year, police placed the Black Nazarene procession attendance at 18,000 devotees.
Cabunoc said it was a far cry from 2023 when at least 120,000 devotees turned out for the early morning procession.
He said similar Black Nazarene processions held in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte and Malaybalay City and Manolo Fortich town in Bukidnon are partly to be blamed for the low turnout.
He noted, however, that their greatest concern is the seeming “disinterest of the youth who are hooked to technology rather than in going to the churches.”
“We have a generation that is more interested in what is going on their mobile phones and the social media,” Cabunoc lamented.
On the other hand, Wenceslao Salcedo, of the Hijos del Nazareno de Cagayan de Oro, blamed the “excessive” police security that ringed around the carriage carrying the life-sized replica of the Black Nazarene for the sharp drop of the traslacion crowd.
Salcedo said the excessive presence of police personnel around the carriage prevented the devotees from going near the Black Nazarene. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
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