By LITO RULONA and NITZ ARANCON, Correspondents .
THE head of Task Force Oro has assured organizers of Wednesday’s Traslacion procession and local officials that there is no intelligence information about a terrorism plot in the city and that authorities have put in place security measures in time for the Jan. 9 Feast of the Black Nazarene.
“Wala gyud but kung duna man, we will conduct an immediate verification,” said Army Maj. Anshary Pumbaya, head of the Task Force Oro.
Based on last year’s turnout, local Roman Catholic leaders and the police said they are expecting over 200 thousand people to take part in the religious activities on Tuesday night until the biggest annual religious procession in the city on Wednesday morning.
The procession from the St. Augustine Cathedral to the Nazareno Church on CM Recto Ave. is scheduled to start a 5 am on Wednesday, and organizers expect it to be concluded in about two hours.
Pumbaya’s assurance came following a series of meetings among members of the Task Force, local officials and religious leaders, including Muslim imams.
He said the police and military would be fielding enough law enforcers and soldiers to strategic areas during the Traslacion. “100 percent andam ang atong puwersa sa Task Force Oro in coordination with our counterpart, the Philippine National Police, dinhi sa atong siyudad. Gi-andaman gyud nato ang fiesta sa Black Nazarene,” Pumbaya said.
Pumbaya said the religious devotees would be secured by the police and soldiers with the help of barangay tanod members in the city.
He said authorities even asked Muslim leaders and the Ulama to help ensure the city would remain peaceful and orderly during the major Roman Catholic activity.
Security patrols and intelligence information gathering have been stepped up ahead of the Translacion, Pumbaya said.
He said the Task Force is anticipating a cellphone signal interruption during the Wednesday prepartion and so, it has prepared to other means of communication for close coordination.
“We have other means of communication kung madayon gyud ang shutting down of cellphone signals. Kami nga mga personnel sa Task Force Oro dali ra kayo ang among kaugalingon nga communication to set-up,” he said.
On Thursday, Mayor Oscar Moreno formally asked the National Telecommunications Commission through NTC regional director Teodoro Buenavista to direct telecommunication companies operating in the city to temporarily interrupt cellphone signals during the Traslacion procession on Wednesday.
Terrorists are known to use cellphone signals to explode bombs planted in crowded areas.
Moreno said the signals need to be tripped off in areas where the image of the Black Nazarene replica would be paraded from 4 am up to 8 am on Wednesday.
Moreno’s letter was based on the recommendation of city police director Senior Supt. Nelson Aganon.
He said his request is just to put in place a precautionary measure against a bomb attack.
“During sa Traslacion, mosunod lang ta sa patakaran sa kapolisan, sama sa dili pagdala ug back pack, dili magkalo, dili magus-ot ug sun glasses, dili mag-jacket nga na-ay kalo, dili magpayong, dili magdala sa mga botelya, ug ha-it nga kinigiban, ug kadtong mga bata nga menor de edad, ug kadtong mga person with disability. Kon mahimo, dili na lang mokuyog sa Traslacion, kay daghan raba kaayong tawo anang panahona,” Moreno said.
Meanwhile, Moreno issued an executive order for the implementation of a vehicular traffic rerouting scheme that would affect parts of CM Recto Ave. and the entire Don Apolinar Velez St. during the procession.
The mayor’s order is based on the recommendation of Roads and Traffic Administration chief Nonito Oclarit.
At the same time, Moreno also tasked city hall’s Incident Management Team and other emergency response personnel to help the police and soldiers during the Traslacion activities.
The activities would start on Tuesday night when the replica would be brought to the St. Augustine Cathedral from the Nazareno Church in Barangay 26.
The RTA and the police would then close areas near Gaston Park and the cathedral to vehicular traffic because of the “vigil.”
The procession would then take place from 5 am on Wednesday, from the cathedral to the Nazareno Church via Fernandez St., Don Apolinar Velez St. and towards the Nazareno Church on CM Recto Ave..
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