While authorities had banned devotees from climbing on the carriage, some still clambered over other attendees, risking life and limb to be near the religious icon.
Ester Espiritu, 76, who travelled 35 kilometres (22 miles) from her home in Cavite province, said just catching a glimpse of the statue would be enough.
“Even If I’m struggling to come here because of my age… I feel happy and well whenever I see the Nazarene,” said Espiritu, a devotee of the icon for 40 years, who added she was praying for a lingering shoulder injury.
The life-sized wooden statue was brought to the Philippines in the early 1600s shortly after the start of the Spanish colonial conquest.
Its black colour was believed to have been caused by a fire aboard the Spanish galleon in which it was being transported.
Police said about 14,500 security personnel had been deployed along the procession’s six-kilometre route as a precaution.
Mobile phone signals were also blocked to prevent the remote detonation of explosive devices, police said.
Emergency response teams were stationed along the route.
The Red Cross said it provided first aid treatment to more than 100 participants in the first few hours of the procession, mainly for cuts, dizziness, nausea and body weakness.
© 2025 AFP
