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MANILA (UPDATE) — The Philippines Red Cross has given medical assistance to nearly 400 devotees who participated in the mammoth Traslacion or procession of the Black Nazarene in Manila on Tuesday.

According to the PRC's update before noon, a total of 382 patients were brought to them, of which 135 had minor concerns like dizziness. Five were major cases such as head trauma and fainting.

Sixteen people were rushed to the Red Cross emergency field hospital while five were brought to the Philippine General Hospital due to chest pain, sprain, numbness, and body weakness, including a pregnant woman who experienced abdominal pain.

The PRC said some 319 personnel were deployed to their medical stations for this year's Traslacion. Department of Health hospitals in the capital region have been on alert since January 5 for the religious parade.

• DOH on code white alert starting January 5 for Traslacion 2024

DEVOOTEES DEFY PROTOCOL

Some barefoot devotees risked injury to reach the float by clambering over others and clinging to the clothes of guards protecting the icon, causing some to fall off the float.

Other guards on the float pushed unruly devotees to the ground to keep them away from the icon enclosed in a glass case and allow the parade to continue on its journey of several kilometers.

But even before the carriage of the Black Nazarene reached Quiapo Church, some devotees already sought medical attention.

Sixty-one-year-old Ronaldo Suarez, who has been a devotee of the Black Nazarene since 1980, said he felt dizzy after walking for long and being caught in huge crowds.

“Bago dumating ng UST gate, doon na lang pwede. Nilakad ko na lang. Medyo nahilo ako,” Suarez told ABS-CBN News.

Suarez said he had suffered and survived a mild stroke four times in 2016, something he considered a miracle.

“‘Yung nangyari sa akin, kahit papano, hindi naman ako nagrabehan. Mild stroke lang. Sabi nga ng doctor ko, ang lakas ko sa itaas eh,” he said.

“Hindi ako papasan na. Magsasamba na lang ako. Mula nung na-stroke ako 2016, hindi na ako pumapasan,” he added.

Some also suffered cuts on their feet, especially those who walked barefoot.

One of them is 27-year-old Chloe Osea, who walked with her family and friends from Blumentritt to the Quirino Grandstand and back.

“Eight p.m. nasa Grandstand na kami, naghintay hanggang lumabas siya. Paglabas, sumali ako sa pagsalang since deboto kasi ako. Panata ko iyon,” Osea said. “Since the pandemic, ngayon lang siya ulit lumabas, so it’s really special for us.”

She continued, “Since hindi talaga makapasok ang mga sasakyan, kinailangan naming maglakad, kaya napaltosan ako.”

Osea has been a devotee of the Black Nazarene for six years now.

“Nag-start ‘yun sa family ko. Nagkasakit sila, then may mga paniniwala sila sa Poong Nazareno since deboto sila. Naipagpatuloy na ng mga generation ngayon. Nahikayat din ako ng mga kasama ko sa chapter namin na sobrang dedicated nila,” she said.

“Hindi ako titigil na gawin ito kahit marami pa akong sugat, okay lang,” she added.

Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna earlier in the day told Black Nazarene devotees to stop climbing on the "andas" or carriage of the statue, as some defied the prohibition during the start of the procession.

• Stop climbing on Black Nazarene's carriage, Manila mayor tells devotees

Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon meanwhile urged pregnant devotees or those with children to refrain from participating in the procession.

"Hindi gusto ng Diyos masugatan kayo, hindi gusto ng Diyos mapilay kayo," Gordon told TeleRadyo Serbisyo, adding that they could also watch the procession from their homes.

Some 15,000 security and medical personnel were deployed along the route of the procession, which authorities estimated would attract around two million people as it crawled towards its destination, Quiapo Church.

It is the first time the traditional parade featuring the life-sized statue was held since 2020, after COVID forced officials to drastically downsize the event.

• Filipino Catholics swarm Black Nazarene in feverish parade

— With reports from Agence France-Presse and Bianca Dava, ABS-CBN News