Security up in Tagum as 6,000 devotees expected for Black Nazarene 鈥橳raslacion’
DAVAO CITY — Police in Tagum City, Davao del Norte have assured the public of ample security as thousands of devout Catholics were expected to join Wednesday’s Black Nazarene “Traslacion.”
Senior Inspector Anjanette Tirador, spokesperson of Tagum City Police Station, said soldiers and force multipliers would augment policemen from the city and the Davao del Norte provincial police office in providing security to devotees and spectators along the route of the religious procession.
“Rest assured we have enough personnel from the police and our counterparts in the Armed Forces in making sure the activity will be safe for everyone,” Tirador told the Inquirer by mobile phone.
About 6,000 devotees were estimated to participate in a two-hour long religious parade, said Fr. Emerson Luego, social action director of the Tagum diocese. He said everything was in place for the procession, from security to medical teams.
The procession, to start around 4 a.m., will take the replica of the Black Nazarene from the Parish of the Christ Eucharistic King church in downtown Tagum to the Sagrada Corazon de Jesus parish in Barangay (village) Apokon, passing along major city streets for a total distance of 12.7 kilometers.
This would be the third time for Tagum to join the Traslacion, an older term for the procession for the Feast of the Black Nazarene, which summons mammoth crowds in Metro Manila.
Article continues after this advertisementCompared to the last three years, the procession would take a longer route this time, due to many requests from devotees to have their areas included in the route, according to Luego.
Article continues after this advertisementWhile there would be no banning of backpacks and other items along the procession route, Tirador said the public should expect random security checks by police and other law enforcement units in the area.
She said police in Davao del Norte’s capital city remained on heightened alert since the holiday season even as she assured the public that there was no threat to security. /lb
