‘Andas Wall’ to keep Nazarene devotees in line

MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) will be introducing measures to speed up and keep orderly the Traslacion of the Black Nazarene on Thursday.

NCRPO director Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas said among these are the “Andas Wall” and wrapping beams of the Ayala Bridge with barbed wire.

The Andas Wall will be made up of two lines of policemen on both sides of the carriage and a group of policemen to secure the front and ensure no delay.

Sinas said they would be deploying a total of 13,572 policemen to secure the image and attempt to maintain peace and order throughout the Traslacion. Of this number, 2,144 would serve as the Andas Wall.

While Sinas could not guarantee that the police formation around the carriage would not be broken by devotees, he said they would make attempts to bring them outside the wall and restore order. 

The NCRPO and Church authorities explained that while they would be securing the front and sides of the andas, they would keep the back of the procession open to allow devotees to throw their towels or handkerchiefs.

Following NCRPO’s recommendation, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has approved to have the beams of Ayala Bridge wrapped with barbed wire to discourage people from climbing up the beams during the procession.  

Ed Santos, of the DPWH-National Capital Region (NCR), assured devotees that the wires would not be harmful since these would be set eight feet above the deck slab. They would also be deploying some 50 personnel with megaphones and put up signs informing the public not to climb the beams.

Army Brig. General Alex Luna said their task is to secure Ayala Bridge and make sure that the procession stays on course and to thwart any attempt to enter the gate leading to Malacañang.   

Aside from using container vans to prevent people from not following the agreed route, another innovation this year is the mobile jails, one of which would be stationed at Jones Bridge.

The jails would be manned by Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) personnel, who could bring in rowdy and drunk devotees.

Fr. Douglas Badong of Quiapo Church said the intention of such measures was to secure the procession.

“Fanatics are those who only want to touch the image, they do not care if the procession is orderly or not. Their only target is to be able to get up the andas or touch the image, that is what we call fanaticism. So we are trying to correct that attitude,” he said.

With millions of devotees participating in the annual Jan. 9 Traslacion, the procession is often marred by chaos, shouting and people trying to get others out of their way to grab hold of the abaca rope that pulls the andas. 

Last year, an estimated four million people took part in the procession.

Supporting the NCRPO to secure the procession would be 3,000 personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 1,000 Metropolitan Manila Development Authority personnel, 550 from BFP, a contingent from the Philippine Coast Guard and volunteers.

At least 1,000 Special Action Force commandos would also be joining the security contingent on Thursday, the Philippine National Police said.

Manila Mayor Isko Domagoso, the hermano mayor in this year’s Feast of the Black Nazarene, yesterday called on politicians not to put up fiesta greeting tarpaulins during the procession. 

He has also ordered the cancelation of work at the Manila City Hall and public and private schools on Jan. 9.