THE number of devotees who attended the ‘Traslacion 2026’ reached at least five million, according to authorities.
It was also learned from officials of the Quiapo Church that the event took all of 30 hours and 50 minutes or almost 31 hours. This is the longest in the history of the annual tradition marking the Feast of the Black Nazarene.
The Manila Police District (MPD) said at least 2,784,000 devotees joined the actual procession which began at dawn on Friday after a mass at the Quirino Grandstand and ended at 10:50 a.m. on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,054 devotees were given medical assistance by the Department of Health (DOH) personnel while two incidents of death were reported— Saksi photographer Armelito “Itoh” Son reportedly suffered a heart attack while covering the procession although he was not within the crowd of devotees,while a devotee was reportedly ran over in the course of the Traslacion.
Fr. Ramon Jade Licuanan, parish priest and rector of Quiapo Church, thanked all those who took part in the event, the volunteers and all those who helped keep the occasion peaceful and orderly.
In another development, police arrested a devotee wanted for a theft case during the ‘Traslacion 2026‘ in Quiapo, Manila on Friday.
The suspect identified only as ‘Neil,’ 24, of Pasay City, was detained at the Manila Police District (MPD) – Sta. Cruz Police Station (PS-3), following his arrest at 1 p.m. by operatives from the Warrant and Intelligence section of the said station.
He was clad in a shirt related to the occasion when arrested on Villalobos Street in front of the Quiapo Church.
It was learned that the police acted on tipped information and the arrest was pursuant to a Warrant of Arrest for theft, issued by Hon. Jose Cordero, Jr., presiding judge of the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) Branch 11, on November 18, 2025.
A P10,000 bail for the suspect’s provisional liberty was recommended by the said judge.
