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Quiapo church exec admits lapses in Nazarene trampling

The administration of the Quiapo Church in Manila admitted lapses in the trampling of six devotees of the Black Nazarene during the traditional thanksgiving procession on New Year's Day, ABS-CBN News reported Wednesday.

Fr. Alvin Fullon said there were lapses on the part of church administration and the people tasked to provide protection for the devotees.

“May lapses din, supposed to be ang mga taong magpoprotekta hindi lahat nakarating, undermanned (There were lapses because some of the people supposed to provide protection failed to come),” Fullon said.

The victims of the trampling were identified as Norberto Dulce, Rodolfo Noveda, Willie Ramada, Aron Apostol, Michael Rodriguez and Reynaldo Sugi. They all sustained injuries on their feet and were immediately brought to the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center for treatment.

More than 4,000 people flocked to the Quaipo Church to take part in the traditional thanksgiving procession of the Black Nazarene.

The organizers decided to place the Nazarene on a carriage with iron wheels after it tilted when devotees lifted the base that holds the image.

“Tumatagilid na ang Señor kaya nag-desisyon na ang organizer na ilabas ang patungan na me gulong para mailabas siya (The image tilted so organizers decided to put it on the wheeled carriage for the procession),” said Fullon.

As a result, six devotees were injured after the statue’s carriage ran over their feet while it was being taken out of the church.

“Nagpilit sila pumasok sa ilalim, karamihan mga lasing (They insisted on walking under the carriage, most of them were drunk),” said Peter Madela, one of the image's caretakers at the Nuestra Padre Jesus Nazareno Basilica.

The church administration said that the carriage was not the same one used during the annual Nazarene feast on January 9.

Fullon added that they will also ask the assistance of the Philippine National Police to help them control the crowd during the procession.

“Hihingin natin ang tulong ng PNP sa crowd control, iba na rin kasi kapag naka-unipormado ang sisita sa mga walang disiplina (We'll seek the help of the PNP for crowd control, it's different when uniformed personnel discipline the rowdy ones,” he said. With reports from Maan Macapagal and Ron Gagalac

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