Quiapo Church appeals for prayers as Traslacion continues amid deaths

MANILA, Philippines — Quiapo Church appealed to devotees to pray for the safe conclusion of the Traslacion as the annual procession of the Black Nazarene continued for more than 24 hours amid confirmed deaths and a growing number of medical cases.

The appeal followed reports that two devotees died during the procession, while a photojournalist also passed away while covering the religious event.

“Ilang oras pa bago makarating ’yung ating andas. I would like to ask and appeal to everyone to say a little prayer na hindi na mag-increase ang casualties at makabalik ang andas sa simbahan, at most especially, makabalik ang mga deboto natin nang ligtas sa kani-kanilang pamilya,” Quiapo Church rector Fr. Ramon Jade Licuanan said during a press conference on Saturday, November 10.

(It will take a few more hours before our andas arrives. I would like to ask and appeal to everyone to offer a short prayer that the number of casualties will not increase, that the andas will return to the church, and most especially, that our devotees will return safely to their families.)

Traslacion spokesperson Fr. Robert Arellano said church and medical teams had recorded around 1,700 medical cases as of Saturday, including two confirmed deaths involving devotees who were part of the procession.

"For the record, ito po ang confirmed records at this time point in time. We have 1,700 cases, two of which, it was confirmed, are death cases. Sila ay involved sa prusisyon," Arellano said.

(For the record, these are the confirmed records at this point in time. We have 1,700 cases, two of which,  it was confirmed, are death cases. They were involved in the procession.)

Arellano added that a third fatality involved a media worker, although he clarified that the journalist was not directly participating in the Traslacion.

The photojournalist was identified as Itoh Son, a tabloid photographer who collapsed while covering the event on Friday. Initial reports from the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said Son was found unconscious and without a pulse near the Manila Police District Station 5 area before being rushed to Gat Andres Bonifacio Medical Center, where he was later declared dead.

The Presidential Task Force on Media Security said Son had been suffering from flu symptoms in the days leading up to the Traslacion and may have suffered a heart attack, but still continued covering pre-Feast Day activities, including the “Pahalik.”

Church officials said 29 devotees with health-related complications were also being closely monitored.

As of posting time, the procession remained ongoing, slowed by dense crowds and devotees blocking the path of the andas.

"Kapag may mga taong humaharang sa andas, hindi ito nakakadaloy nang maayos (When there are people blocking the andas, it cannot move smoothly)," Arellano said.

Earlier, Licuanan announced plans to temporarily bring the andas inside San Sebastian Church after the Dungaw to allow devotees time to rest. 

However, the announcement was not clearly heard by many in the crowd, who pressed for the procession to continue toward Quiapo Church.

Church officials reiterated their appeal for devotees to avoid climbing the andas, saying such actions pose safety risks and further delay the procession.

The Traslacion, one of the country’s largest religious gatherings, draws hundreds of thousands of devotees each year and regularly prompts authorities to warn of health risks and crowd-related dangers due to the sheer size of the procession.

The annual religious parade commemorates the arrival of the wooden statue of Christ from Mexico in the early 1600s.

Many believe the statue got its dark color when it survived a fire aboard the Spanish ship that carried it to the Philippines, leading to it being known colloquially as the "Black Nazarene."