MANILA, Philippines — Senator Richard J. Gordon, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross, noted that this year’s procession in celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene was more peaceful with no fatalities.

“With such a large crowd, we really have to be careful that no one causes a stampede or causes a stir where there could be more casualties or more people hurt,” said Gordon.

“I’m glad that it’s over and nobody’s hurt that bad. We took some people to the hospital and some of them were serious cases but no one died so far,” he said.

“And we’re happy about that. I’m really surprised that there were no fatalities because a lot of people jumping up and down the karo. We are thankful that this one was more peaceful,” further stated Gordon.

While the devotees were complaining that the barricade of police and military made the streets narrower, he said they ensured protection for the people attending the fiesta, prevented devotees from jumping up and down the Black Nazarene’s carriage so that no one gets hurt and their presence also made the procession a lot faster compared to the previous years.

For this year’s Traslacion, it took only 16 and a half hours to bring back the Black Nazarene inside the Quiapo Church, which was five hours faster compared to last year’s. The devotees who joined the procession was estimated at 2.3-million.

He expressed hope that the Traslacion would be more organized and disciplined next year, adding that fanaticism is fine but “religious worship should be more serious than that.”

The Senator also reported that the PRC teams deployed for the annual celebration catered to at least 1,081individuals, getting their blood pressure (BP), treating them for dizziness, shortness of breath, elevated BP, laceration, sprain and body pain for minor cases.

He  added that of the 1,081 individuals catered to, there were 26 major cases, such as difficulty of breathing, fainting, head injury, laceration, and elevated BP while there were 15 patients transported to the hospitals for hypertension, fracture, dislocation, and fainting.

The PRC also provided social welfare services, providing psychological first aid, tracing and referral to some 47 individuals. It also distributed 10,000 liters of potable water so some 2,000 individuals.

For this year’s Traslacion, the PRC deployed 13 First Aid Stations and Welfare Desks; one Emergency Medical Unit (Modular); one Advance medical post; 17 ambulances (deployed); 33 ambulances (standby); three rescue boats; two Humvee; two water tankers; one 6×6 truck; one amphibian; one rescue truck and a fire truck. A contingent of 1,000-manpower, composed of doctors, staff and volunteers, was also deployed. (Stacy Ang/JGo/Currentph.com)