‘Pahalik’ devotees now at 17,500

Devotees gathered for the annual “Pahalik” and mass at Quiapo Church have grown considerably, the Manila Police District (MPD) said in its Monday update. (Photo by Glendale Lapastora/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

MANILA — Devotees gathered for the annual “Pahalik” and mass at Quiapo Church have grown considerably, the Manila Police District (MPD) said in its Monday update.

As of 11:30 a.m., the crowd at the Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park, Manila where the traditional “Pahalik” for the ebony statue of the Black Nazarene is now at 17,500 while those hearing mass at the Quiapo Church are now at 2,000, MPD spokesperson Supt. Erwin Margarejo said.

No untoward incident has happened so far, he added.

People started flocking to the Quirino Grandstand as early as 5 a.m. with crowd reaching up to 3,000, Margarejo disclosed.