Say something!

Today is the day that the famous procession of the image of the Black Nazarene of Manila will be held. This is one of the most spectacular, and also the biggest collection of the faithful who will brave any kind of weather to participate. Surprisingly, devotees who jostle against each other to get near the image are mostly men. The women seem to be content to watch from the sides of the streets.

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I have watched the Black Nazarene procession only once in my entire life – in person, I mean – and really, it is an awesome sight. Men, mostly in their early thirties up to the sixties, are the ones who pack the streets where the image will pass. All along the way, other devotees implore those riding on the carriage carrying the image, to touch the image with their handkerchiefs, towels, scarves, even their shirts. And those on the carriage try to accommodate them all.

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Even now I can still imagine the grunting and the crowding of the sardines-like situation on the street, where perspiring and exhausted-looking men attempt to get as close to the image as they can. Surprisingly, however, the mass is well behaved, there is no pushing or elbowing, and no shouting either. That was in the early 1980s, but when I watch the procession in the next years on TV, I noticed that practically the same thing is going on.

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There is something different this time, however. Yesterday, President Benigno Aquino III himself came out on TV warning the people about the possibility of terrorists infiltrating the gathering and causing trouble among the participants. If true, this is really the most evil thing that such people could think of because the crowd, millions of which are expected today, are just peace and God-loving people who want to worship and show their devotion in a traditional way.

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But it is good to know that the authorities are aware of such plans and are making adequate preparations to counter them. I am sure not even the President would think of telling the people to stay away, knowing how important to them this celebration is. By the way, some Church officials are stressing that it is incorrect to call today the “Feast” of the Nazarene, or even of Quiapo. They say the procession is only a commemoration of the time the image was moved from another church to Quiapo, hence the procession.

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I understand the police is fielding hundreds of its men to secure the areas where the procession will pass, and also the Quiapo church vicinity where it will return. Those who are going to be there should heed the appeal of officials for them to be vigilant, and help look out for any suspicious personalities in the area, and immediately report them to the roving cops. I am reminded of the domestic airport in Los Angeles, California where there are so many warnings posted around against suspicious characters or actions. The poster I immediately memorized was the one that said: “IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING”. I wish I could relay that to the crowds in Quiapo today.

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Seems the Tourism VIPS are adamant about their new slogan that, at first, was so widely accepted,  and then got bared as a plagiarism, when evidences came out that “It’s more fun in the Philippines” is not only similar to the one used by Switzerland way back in 1951, but the EXACT copy – except for “Netherlands”, of course. As of yesterday print media was having quite a day spoofing or making “fun” of the copycats involved. Interestingly, too, one national daily reproduced the slogan, but beneath it was the headline “US retains RP on dangerous, unstable list.” Oh what fun!

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Probably one person who is relieved at the release of the unoriginal DOT slogan is Chief Justice Renato Corona, as well as his lawyers, because it drew attention from him for a while. Nevertheless, some enterprising media people have managed to unearth copies of his Statements of Assets and Liabilities for 1992, and 2002, and they don’t seem to indicate a capability to buy condo units for P14 million or so. But maybe they were sold at what they call “precio amigo?”*

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