Cops crack down on 'criminal dens' in Quiapo ahead of Nazarene Feast

Manila police have started an anti-criminality drive zeroing in on lairs of suspected criminals in the city's downtown area in time for the yearly feast of the Black Nazarene. A report by radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo said the Manila Police District (MPD) has fielded teams in the Quiapo district and other areas where the Nazarene procession will pass, in a bid to flush out muggers and snatchers. MPD spokesman Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo said the police teams searched "small-time" motels, inns and similar establishments for suspected criminals. He also said the MPD has intensified its intelligence gathering efforts to detect any plot to disrupt the annual festivities, adding they have not received any intelligence information indicating a threat to the event. Devotees of the Black Nazarene are expected to join the festivities on Jan. 8 and 9. Police earlier said they have mapped out security plans for the procession from the Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church. The MPD also said it has assigned patrol cars to key areas of the procession.

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation and Communications said it has not made special arrangements for the devotees, saying they expect only an increase in Light Rail Transit ridership this weekend. "We do not see the LRT operations being hampered by this weekend's procession, other than we expect an increased ridership. But we appeal to the devotees not to ride the LRT naked," DOTC Undersecretary and spokesman Dante Velasco said in an interview on dzBB radio on Wednesday. On the other hand, volunteers from ecological group EcoWaste Coalition on Thrusday campaigned in Quiapo for a clean and safe celebration. The group had volunteers wearing maroon and yellow shirts to stage a "silent action" in front of Quiapo Church. “We have gathered here today in silence in the hope that our plea for an ecological feast of the Black Nazarene will be heard and heeded by all caring citizens. We strongly believe that the faithful, led by the Hijos del Nazareno, can reverse the deluge of garbage that has been messing up the mammoth celebration," group president Roy Alvarez said in an entry on the group's blog site. Citing information from Manila’s Department of Public Services (DPS) Operation Division, EcoWaste said garbage generation in Quiapo area rises from 18 tons to 36 tons per day or 72 tons during the two-day fiesta period on January 8 and 9. Of this, 80 to 85 percent are biodegradable discards. “The waste data from DPS tell us that the biggest chunk of fiesta garbage is comprised of organic discards that can be fed to animals or composted to produce soil conditioner or fertilizer," said Eileen Sison, NGO Representative to the National Solid Waste Management Commission. "By segregating the biodegradable from the non-biodegradable discards and turning them into animal food or compost, we avoid creating filthy mounds of mixed garbage in Quiapo and elsewhere," she added. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV