The send-off ceremony of some 15,000 personnel on Saturday, January 6, at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila for feast-related activities, marking the first Traslacion since 2020. (Photo courtesy: Office of Civil Defense-NCR Facebook page)

MANILA, (PIA) -- The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Sunday elevated its alert status to blue in anticipation of the upcoming traslacion or the grand Catholic procession of the holy image of Jesus of Nazarene scheduled on Tuesday, January 9.

A blue alert means half of NDRRMC’s disaster response force is placed on standby, ready to respond to emergencies.

Under the blue alert status, the NDRRMC its emergency operations center in Camp Aguinaldo will conduct heightened monitoring of peace and order situation around the vicinity of the event and maintain close coordination with relevant agencies and uniformed services.

Acknowledging the significance of the feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has declared January 9 as a special non-working day in the City of Manila as millions of devotees are expected to participate in the traslacion.  

Simultaneously, the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO) office will activate an incident management team that will oversee the situation and coordinate the deployment of resources during the procession.

The Department of Health (DOH) has also placed hospitals in Metro Manila on Code White which means key medical personnel are on standby. 

The DOH also plans to deploy eight Health Emergency Response Teams along the procession route. (SDL/PIA-NCR)