By the time the image of the Black Nazarene returned to its home at the Quiapo Church around 10:30 in the morning of January 10, almost 31 hours had already passed, with four deaths recorded.
What was expected by authorities to last 10 to 12 hours ended up becoming the longest Traslacion in recorded history.
It was the Traslacion that felt the longest—not only because of the time, but because of everything that had happened in those hours.
It was also in this Traslacion that Saksi photographer and a member of the Press Photographer of the Philippines (PPP), Itoh Son, passed away due to a heart failure while covering the “Pahalik” in the morning of January 9.
“Gusto ko sana makunan yung harapan ng Nazareno na may mga pulis [I wish to capture the front of the Nazarene with the police],” Itoh told me during the event.
“Dong akyatin mo na sa taas at mainit na. Mahaba na ang pila. Hindi ka magkakaroon at hindi ka rin mawawalan, [Dong, start climbing to the top; it’s already hot. The line is already long. You won’t have anything and you won’t lose anything],” I said to him in our local parlance.
I was with Gonzalo Labudahon II, also a member of the PPP, in the vicinity of the Quiapo church when we decided to join the “Pahalik” as well.
We chanced upon Itoh while we were trying to leave the scene. We have already taken the shots that we wanted. Itoh had just arrived, telling us that he already had several photos to support his photo story for the Traslacion, but went back needing some more. He only needs the morning mass and the procession to start before he submit his photos on January 9.
He suffered a heart attack according to some witnesses. Yancy Lim, a photographer for the Philippine News Agency, told me that he fell and was helped by a policeman, asking him to sit and rest.
At first, he was okay. Then bubbles came out from his mouth. Emergency responders were called and he was taken into an ambulance.
“Hinanap namin siya nila Hepe Rene Dilan pagkatapos namin mag-kober sa Luneta. Nagtanong kami sa mga hospital, busy kasi lahat. Iniisip namin na okay na siya [Chief Photographer Rene Dilan and I were looking for him after we covered Luneta. We asked the hospitals, everyone was busy. We thought he was already okay],” Yancy said.
The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) said in a statement that Itoh Son had already been experiencing flu-like symptoms several days before the event.
Luke Maclang, a PPP member covering Southern Metro Manila beat, said that Itoh died in the morning of January 9.
I felt confused. I decided to see the procession after offering a prayer.
After several years of absence covering the Traslacion, I managed. But this year it was different. I wanted to see how most photographers try to capture the procession, from wire photographers and local shooters’ perspective.
But I ended up in the periphery, walking—trying to capture images of fiesta and devotion.
After 31 hours of non-stop drama, four deaths and hundreds of injured devotees, this photographer almost got in the list of being injured himself during the commotion that happened in Arlegui.
To all the press photographers out there, sadness fills our hearts. Whether we die covering earthshaking events, disasters, conflict areas, we only ask for one thing: compassion.
Given all the odds, we try to be better, we strive to be good, we hope to be fair and equal. But life is unfair, so it seems.
Religion is the opium of the people, they say. Marx believed that religion had certain practical functions in society that were similar to the function of opium in a sick or injured person. It reduced people’s immediate suffering and provided them with pleasant illusions which gave them the strength to carry on.
A colloquial media term coined by most news veterans in the field always seems appropriate: “Hindi ka magkakaroon, hindi ka rin mawawalan. [You won’t have anything, you won’t lose anything.]”
It’s just a job. To Itoh and all press photographers out there, salute. — Bernard Testa/PG
GALLERY
