INTERIOR Secretary Eduardo Año yesterday said the Black Nazarene procession in Manila on January 9, one of the country’s largest religious festivals, has been cancelled due to the surge of COVID-19 cases and the threat of the Omicron variant.
Interviewed by CNN Philippines, Año, a key member of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said such events should be cancelled since Metro Manila is under Alert Level 3 up to January 15.
“Under Alert Level 3, such big events are cancelled automatically, especially those what we call super spreader events,” Año said.
The annual procession, which normally draws millions of Catholic devotees accompanying a black wooden statue of Jesus Christ through the streets of Manila, has been called off for the second straight year.
Unlike last year, there will be no in-person masses at the Quiapo Church and police will be deployed to discourage people from gathering outside the church.
“We understand (the cancellation) for our safety and health reasons,” Fr. Douglas Badong, parochial vicar of Quiapo Church, told a news conference, adding physical masses will take place in other provinces and online masses for devotees in the capital.
“Imagine eight to 12 million devotees flocking to a small area. What we may see is not only surge (of COVID-19 cases) but tidal wave or tsunami. So please forgive us, we really need to do this,” Año said, adding IATF officials made consultations with church leaders last Monday before cancelling the event.
“There’s coordination with the church, the church agreed (to cancel the event) because of the surge and the Omicron variant. Only online mass will be conducted and face-to-face activities will be cancelled, including the procession and the pahalik (kissing of the image of the Black Nazarene); there will also be no online mass,” said Año.
Año said the PNP will establish checkpoints in the boundaries of Metro Manila devotees coming from the provinces will not proceed to Manila.
“We will put up checkpoints to warn the people there are no face-to-face activities and they should not proceed to Quiapo,” said Año. — With Reuters
