GMA reporter Ivan Mayrina fulfills Nazareno vow to disabled man

Homeless and without family, 70-year-old Virgilio Victoria sat in his wheelchair outside Quiapo Church on the eve of the Nazarene's Feast, watching fellow devotees prepare for the procession. He wished he could join to show his continued devotion to the Black Nazarene, but he could not walk.

Moved by his plight, GMA News reporter Ivan Mayrina offered to continue the older man's pilgrimage for him.

"Kung maaari po sana, itong towel na ito'y ipahid niyo sa Nazareno," asked Victoria, holding up a white towel to the camera in a report on GMA News program "News To Go" Thursday.



Recounting his experience on "Balitanghali", Mayrina said believers of the Nazarene did not even wait for the Mass at the Quirino Grandstand to finish before rushing the Black Nazarene. He soon found himself caught in the swell of people who climbed steel barriers to mount the carriage.

Though the procession started slowly, waves of people eventually pushed the figure outside the grandstand, and Mayrina was swept by the flow.

The reporter eventually called out for help, and within minutes the people rallied to get him onto the Nazarene. Devotees shouted "Tapakan mo ako!" and lifted him up to the platform, where he touched the towel to the figure before falling backwards to the waiting arms of the crowd. When he surfaced from the sea of devotees, he waved the towel triumphantly to a watching camera.

Mayrina recounted the encounter on "News To Go", and managed to hand the towel back to Victoria by the time "Balitanghali" aired.

Though unable to record it, he said Victoria thanked him for doing the deed.

The reporter, who admitted he was not a devout Catholic, said the energy of the devotees was contagious—and their faith was enough for them to carry on with the procession.

"Tiniis ng mga deboto ang hirap at peligro makalapit lang sa Poong Nazareno. Masarap ang pakiramdam dahil naging matagumpay ang aking misyon na tulungan tayo na makasampa," said Mayrina on "Balitanghali".

"Nangibabaw pa rin ang energy, nakakahawa ang kanilang intensity. Mararamdaman mo yun. Nahihirapan silang lahat pero sumisigaw sila ng viva at makikita mo ang bayanihan na nagpapagaan ng pakiramdam," he added.

Mayrina said the experience of being part of the indayog, or "waves" caused by the surge of people, was completely different from seeing it on television. What others may perceive as nonsense, he said, was for many an expression of hope that they will be aided by the only one they could turn to.

"Siguro yung... huling pag-asa nilang natitira? Yung kanilang pananampalataya. At kapag ganun ang sitwasyon, ganun ang pakiramdam mo, kahit anong panganib, kahit anong hirap, susulungin mo," Mayrina said.

"Sino nga ba tayo na huhusga sa mga deboto lalo na sa mga walang ibang kinakapitang pag-asa kundi ang kanilang pananampalataya na pagpalain sila ng Poong Nazareno sa kanilang kahilingan?" — Rie Takumi/BM, GMA News