As Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Black Nazarene or the annual Traslacion, some commuters called out the alleged unruly behavior of devotees using the Light Rail Transit-Line 1 to travel.
A Reddit user named ‘leinnad1991’ claimed of being “cut” in the line twice in the LRT-1 Carriedo Station on the morning of January 9, Thursday.
RANT: Nasusunod mo panata sa nazareno yearly pero pag pila ng tama sa LRT di mo masunod from Philippines
“I was already waiting for almost an hour, there’s nothing wrong with religious tradition pero at least konting application naman sa pagiging mabuting tao,” the user wrote.
Another Reddit user shared a similar experience of commuting with devotees this morning.
“I came (from) LRT Tayuman at 7:35, nakasakay ako sa train ng 8:16, pagdating ng D. Jose (Doroteo Jose) at Carriedo Station, may batch ng mga namamanata, biglang pasok sila na feeling nila maluwag ‘yung train, lahat ng nasa loob nasaktan sa kilos nila,” user ‘Bella0422‘ wrote.
“Naipitan ako ng braso. ‘Yung kwentuhan nila, akala mo sila lang ‘yung nakasakay sa train, nagmumurahan sa isa’t isa, naglolokohan. Nahuhusgahan lang ‘yung pagkatao nila dahil sa actions nila,” the user added.
A commuter also requested for LRT-1 authorities to “manage passenger volume in the platforms.”
“It’s chocked-full to capacity here already at Roosevelt,” Twitter user @CelAlcoriza said on 5:52 a.m.
LRT-1 is the only transit system that traverses near Quiapo Church and other points of interest in Manila where the annual Traslacion passes through. The train’s predominant route is along Rizal Avenue, Rizal Avenue Extension and Taft Avenue.
RELATED: LIST: Closed roads, alternate routes for Traslacion 2020
The nearest station near Quiapo Church is Carriedo Station while Doroteo Jose or D. Jose Station connects LRT-2 passengers from the east to Manila.
LRT-1 has previously advised commuters to “expect heavier volume of passengers” from the stations of United Nations, Central, Carriedo and Doroteo Jose during Traslacion.
In light of the #Nazareno2020 activities from the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta to the Quiapo Church, here are some reminders for our #LRT1 passengers on January 9, 2020 (Thursday).
Ingat po sa biyahe! pic.twitter.com/M0ARKXtIYc
— LRT-1 (@officialLRT1) January 7, 2020
It also reminded passengers that it will strictly implement the “crowd control” scheme where the amount of passengers on each station platform will be limited, excluding priority travelers such as senior citizens, persons with disabilities and pregnant women.
REMINDER: Crowd Control. Magpapatupad ng “limit” o hangganan sa bilang ng mga pasahero sa bawat platform ng istasyon ng tren maliban sa priority passengers (Senior Citizen, PWD, buntis, at may kasamang bata) upang matiyak ang maayos na pagsakay ng lahat ng mga pasahero.
— LRT-1 (@officialLRT1) January 8, 2020
The scheme is typically implemented during rush hours in the morning and evening to “regulate the load capacity of the station platforms, prevent overloading of trains and congestion at the paid area,” according to the Official Gazette.
Skip trains are supposedly dispatched to stations with high volumes of passengers to enable a swift entry and movement of commuters in the stations.
However, it does not guarantee that passengers will be able to alight and leave the trains in an orderly fashion.
Big event for Catholic devotees
Traslacion is the annual procession of the image of the Black Nazarene from the Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church where devotees would typically touch the statue or wipe their towels to it as it traverses different parts of Manila.
The statue is believed to have miraculous attributes. Followers claim that it can heal sicknesses, grant petitions and help those in need.
According to a Philstar.com report, the procession “commemorates the time when the image was transferred from Intramuros to Quiapo in 1767 upon the order of Basilio Sancho de Santas Justa y Rufina, the archbishop of Manila at the time.”
The Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said that more than two million devotees have joined this year’s Traslacion as of 8:52 a.m.
It is considered a major religious event in the country that is called the “home of Asia’s largest Catholic population” where more than 86% of Filipinos are Roman Catholic.
