2 groups brawl over andas rope during Traslacion 2025

A scuffle sparked shortly after the procession began at the Quirino Grandstand on Thursday morning, where two groups of devotees fought to touch the rope of the andas or the carriage of the Jesus Nazareno image.

In John Consulta’s report on "24 Oras," a male devotee was brought to the Manila Police District  (MPD) Station 5 for allegedly punching a fellow devotee. He had a bloodied nose and hand.  His shirt was torn. 

Some people complained that the man punched a fellow devotee, an allegation he denied. Instead, he said he was the one who got mauled by the other group.  

“Sinapak-sapak po ako, umagos lang po kami. Kinuha nga po uniporme ko,” he said. 

(I was punched, we just went with the flow of people They even took my uniform.)

The MPD warned the devotees to follow the guidelines imposed by the Quiapo Church and the police. 

“Sa mga deboto natin, sumunod sila sa tagubilin ng simbahan, ganun din sa paalala ng kanilang kapulisan,” said MPD director Police Brigadier General Thomas Ibay.

(To our devotees, please follow the guidelines of the church as well as the reminders of the police.)

For the first time, the MPD deployed its SWAT vehicle which played a recorded message and roamed around to remind the devotees of the protocols. 

Earlier, the Philippine Red Cross provided medical assistance to 401 devotees during the ongoing Traslacion.

In its 1 p.m. update, the Philippine Red Cross said of the total patients, 15 have been hospitalized due to nausea, chest pain, deviated nose, dislocated shoulder, nose bleeding, pain in the left ankle, difficulty breathing, chills, and back pain.

A total of 215 devotees complained of minor concerns such as abrasion, puncture, neck pain, avulsion, burn, hyperacidity, dizziness, laceration, headache, open wound, ingrown nail pain, detached nail, difficulty of breathing, contusion, sprain, and sore throat.

At least eight devotees reported major concerns like dizziness with blurry vision, nausea, body weakness, and difficulty of breathing.

According to the Manila City government, an estimated crowd of 2.2 million attended the Traslacion 2025 as of 2 p.m. —Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News