Nazarene devotee prays for victims of extrajudicial killings

MANILA, Philippines — A devotee of the Black Nazarene yesterday dedicated his prayers at Quiapo Church to his three friends who were found dead in Bulacan in alleged extrajudicial killings.

Danilo Mallorca, a utility man from Mandaluyong, told The STAR that his friends Emil, Ramil and Andy fell victim to tokhang.

They were taken and found dead in Bulacan, Mallorca said.

“I could only pray for their souls. They were only users, not even pushers. They should have been detained, not killed,” Mallorca said, adding that his friends were found dead days after their kidnapping.

“They were murdered. They deserve peace,” he said.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Ellson (not his real name) joined his friends yesterday in Quiapo to participate in the Feast of the Black Nazarene.

He said he prayed for the safety of his father, an alleged victim of the palit-ulo scheme, where he was arrested instead of the suspect who has remained at large.

Ellson’s father was tagged by a drug suspect in 2012, served his sentence last year and was recently released from jail.

Ellson said he prayed for his father to mend his ways, and for him to be safe at their home in Sta. Maria, Bulacan, a hotbed of alleged killings in the government’s brutal war on drugs.

“When I hear about the killings, I think about my father. I pray that he will be safe and that he will change,” the teenager said.

Raquel Salonga, a mother of three from Tondo, was surrounded by her children and three young nieces and nephews as she took a break from selling clothes when it rained.

“That’s a blessing” they said, clapping their hands and raising them to the sky, touching the rain.

Opportunity to earn

For some devotees, the traslacion or movement of the Black Nazarene from Rizal Park to Quiapo Church is an opportunity to earn a living.

Twenty-year-old Aldrin Mario told The STAR that for nine years he has been selling t-shirts, handkerchiefs and face towels with the image of the Black Nazarene.

“I started joining the traslacion at the age of 11. I come here to Quirino Grandstand with my family and friends to fulfill my yearly devotion. I also sell souvenir items,” Mario said in Filipino.

But Mario said he and his friend Genesis Lomotan, 16, did not bring a lot because they had sold the items as early as last week.

For this year’s traslacion, Mario said they sold 18 t-shirts for P180 each; 18 pieces of long-sleeved shirts at P200 each; five dozen each of handkerchief and face towel, which they peddled for P20 each. – With Jose Rodel Clapano