Some senior citizens conceal real ages to attend Nazarene feast —MDRRMO

A number of devotees who are senior citizens did not reveal their real ages to authorities in order to attend activities during the Feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo Church, the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) said on Saturday.

"Ang mga kapulisan po natin medyo nahihirapan nga po silang awatin ang ating senior citizens. 'Pag tinanong po sila ay mababa sa 65 ang sinasabi nilang edad nila pero sa tingin naman po ng ating mga kapulisan ay mahigit 65 na po," MDRRMO Director Arnel Angeles said in a Super Radyo DZBB interview.

Angeles: Nahihirapan ang ating mga pulis na awatin ang mga debotong senior citizen na magtungo ng Quiapo Church. https://t.co/Jl7zdrja0g

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) January 9, 2021

Some senior citizens were also not able to present their IDs for verification.

Authorities have thus intensified their crowd monitoring efforts.

"Pero inaawat na po sila, ini-interview po at ini-interrogate nang mabuti ng ating mga kapulisan, lalo na ang mga bata at sila po ay hindi na pinapapasok," Angeles said.

Almost 8,000 Manila Police have been deployed for the event. They have two 12-hour shifts with 4,000 personnel delegated for each shift.

An additional 2,000 police personnel from the National Capital Region (NCR) have also been deployed as augmentation forces to take care of the perimeters of Quiapo Church.

Angeles: Sa kabuuan po, nasa 4,000 ang pulis kada shift, halos 8,000 po sila at may augmentation pa na siyang nangangalaga sa perimeter. https://t.co/Jl7zdrja0g

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) January 9, 2021

Markers were put in place around Quiapo Church for devotees to observe social distancing amid the threat of COVID-19.

Authorities and Hijos del Nazareno are also urging devotees who had already attended Masses to go home to avoid overcrowding.

In contrast to the "sea of people" in past years, the number of devotees occupying the two main streets leading to the Quiapo Church reached only 400,000 on Saturday morning on the Feast of the Black Nazarene, the Manila Police District said.

Devotees began arriving even before dawn for the early morning Masses.

Fr. Douglas Badong, parochial vicar of Quiapo Church (Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene), said they are limiting the entry of devotees so only 30% of the venue is filled, in accordance with the guideline set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) amid the COVID-19 pandemic. —KG, GMA News