Depending on whom you ask, the Feast of the Black Nazarene or Traslación was either a mess or a success. In some photos, devotees can be seen neatly lined up a few feet apart; in others, it’s as if COVID-19 never existed. Either way, Sto. Nino de Tondo Parish Church is not taking any chances, having learned from the previous week’s event. For the feast day of its patron saint Sto. Niño on Sunday, it has marked the church’s periphery with white and yellow dots to help ensure social distancing among devotees.
Aerial photos of the vicinity of Sto. Niño de Tondo Parish Church makes it look like it has been mapped out in a 3D render with equidistant dots everywhere.
The Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office is overseeing the whole affair on Sunday. Apart from the dotted grounds, there will be strict monitoring of Barangay 4, Zone 1, District 1, Manila through closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
Sto. Niño devotees are also being encouraged to just attend online masses to avoid huge crowds, while those who choose to go anyway will be required to wear face masks and face shields.
No street festivities
The city of Manila has also implemented a ban on street festivities characteristic of the Sto. Niño feast. There will be no whole-day mardi-gras or street dancing known as Lakbayaw, Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso assured the public.
“No street party, stage show, parade, palarong kalye (street games), or other similar activities that will draw crowds shall be held upon effectivity of this executive order and until such time that national and local authorities will allow the same,” the order read.
The feast of Sto. Niño is observed every third Sunday of January. The Child Jesus is venerated by many Filipinos around the country, including in Cebu where a feast was held last week amid a new virus surge.