Duterte urges Church to forgo Traslacion 2022, mass

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday urged the suspension of mass gatherings, including the traditional Traslacion and the mass for the Black Nazarene, due to the rising cases of COVID-19 infections in the country.

"Itong procession na ito, it's a very important event for the Roman Catholic Church. Now, I have to appeal to them for their understanding and to really look at it in the broader context of our liability to the people if we do not act correctly," Duterte said in his Talk to the People briefing.

"Our job is really to come out with critical decisions to protect public health and public safety. Kung nakikinig ang Roman Catholic Church [If the Church is listening], I am now appealing to you to forego and cancel all physical gatherings including the procession and the celebration of mass sa church because marami yan sila [there will be a lot of people]," he also said.

"There are millions of devotees there and you cannot just be complacent about the transmission of the disease. Sana maintindihan ako ng Roman Catholic na [I hope the Church can understand that] all gatherings are not allowed."

Duterte was echoing the sentiments of the Department of Health, which at the same briefing urged the suspension of the yearly procession during the Feast of the Black Nazarene.

“Dahil sa patuloy na pagtaas ng mga kaso nitong mga nakaraang araw, nanawagan po kami na isuspende muna ang mga mass gatherings kasama po dito ang darating na pagdiriwang ng Traslacion,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque said.

(Due to the continuous increase of cases in recent days, we call for the suspension of mass gatherings, including the celebration of Traslacion.)

“Piliin po natin makilahok dito sa ating mga bahay na lamang upang maiwasan ang pagkahawa at pagpasa ng sakit,” he added.

(Let us choose to participate in this event in the comfort of our homes to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 infections.)

The Traslacion is the procession that carries the statue of the Black Nazarene from Quirino Grandstand back to Quiapo Church and takes place on January 9. It usually attracts millions of Filipinos from all corners of the country. Last year, however, the event was officially cancelled and a "New Normal" version gathered only around 300,000 devotees due to quarantine measures.

Online masses

Quiapo Church earlier announced that it will be closed from January 3 to 6, 2022, amid the increase in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Rev. Fr. Douglas Badong, the church's parochial vicar, urged devotees not to go to Quiapo Church on those three days.

The National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 on Tuesday also approved the following measures:

1. The "Traslacion" or the procession of Black Nazarene's image and all other activities related to such is suspended.

2. The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo Church will be closed on January 7 to 9. No Holy Mass shall be physically conducted on these dates.

3. All Holy Masses will be aired online nationwide.

4. The Manila Police District (MPD) and Joint Task Force Coronavirus (JTF CV) Shield shall ensure establishment of checkpoints and deployment of officers to discourage devotes from gathering in the premises and coming in the Basilica

5. Regional Director Romulo Cabantac, Office of Civil Defense- NC is designated as chief enforcer or implementer of relative ATF and NTF resolutions/guidelines in relation to the Feast of Black Nazarene 2022 celebration.

Deaths decline but cases increase

During his presentation on Tuesday, Duque also said the number of deaths due to COVID-19 is on a decline, even as COVID-19 infections have jumped.

“Yung death curve nananatiling bumababa sa kabila ng pagtaas ng kaso, isang patunay na epektibo talaga ang vaccination program laban sa COVID-19. As of January 4, nakatala po lamang tayo ng dalawang namatay,” he said.

(The death curve continues to decline despite the increase in cases, a proof that the vaccination program against COVID-19 is really effective. As of January 4, we only recorded two deaths.)

Duque said at least 3,313 average daily reported cases were recorded on December 29, 2021 to January 4, 2022, which was higher by 849% from the previous week of 349 average daily reported cases on December 22, 2021 to December 28, 2021.

Almost 70% of the cases were from the National Capital Region (NCR).

The Health secretary said the country is now at “high risk” case classification with 849% increase in the seven-day moving average of reported cases.

Duque encouraged the public for alternative work arrangements and resorted to online activities.

Avoid superspreader events

At the briefing, epidemiologist Dr. John Wong also said that the vaccination program must be administered efficiently and that superspreader events must be avoided to curb the transmission of the virus.

Aside from the Traslacion, Wong said, the public must also avoid mass events at the Sinulog or Santo Niño festival, and Chinese New Year.

“We have to be able to tell the people to avoid these events. Because of the very fast transmission of Omicron we need widespread use of antigen tests. People have to be able to access this,” he said.

He also encouraged home care of mild cases to preserve the capacity of hospitals.

Several hospitals in Metro Manila earlier announced that they temporarily stopped admitting patients due to the rise in COVID-19 infections among hospital employees and personnel.

Meanwhile, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) placed the National Capital Region (NCR) under Alert Level 3 from January 3 to 15, 2022, following the sharp increase in new COVID-19 cases.

The Philippines on Tuesday posted 5,434 additional COVID-19 infections, bringing the total tally to 2,861,119. — BM, GMA News