NCRPO: No recommendation to jam cell signals for Nazarene feast

Saying they have not received any reported threat to the event, the National Capital Region Police Office on Monday said they are not recommending the jamming of cell phone signals in Manila's Quiapo district on the Feast of the Black Nazarene Thursday.

 

Metro Manila police chief Director Carmelo Valmoria said this in a radio interview even as he maintained sufficient security measures are in place for the event, which will be highlight by the yearly procession.

 

"Wala naman po tayong recommendation na i-block ang mga signal ng cell phone tulad ng ginawa noong dating prusisyon," Valmoria said in an interview on dzRH radio.

 

He was referring to the feast in 2012, when the government had telecommunications companies block cell signals in Quiapo and neighboring areas.

 

At the time, the government claimed there was a plot to disrupt the yearly event.

The 2012 procession was the longest in recent history, lasting at least 22 hours.

 

For this year, however, Valmoria said they do not have any information of a terrorist plot to disrupt the event.

 

"Wala naman po tayong natatanggap na threat," he said in the same interview.

 

Since Jan. 1, devotees had been trooping to Quiapo to pay homage to their patron, whose image in the Quiapo Church is believed to have miraculous powers.

 

The yearly event will culminate in the Traslacion on Thursday, where devotees – many of them walking barefoot – are to accompany the image of the Black Nazarene as it is brought to Quiapo Church from the Luneta.

 

Meanwhile, Valmoria advised devotees to bring water and face masks as the procession may take long and cause dehydration. — RSJ, GMA News