MANILA - Tens of thousands of Philippine Catholics twirled white cloths and chanted "Viva, viva" as a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ was paraded through the streets of Manila on Friday in the nation's biggest annual religious event.
The day-long procession began before dawn, with barefoot volunteers pulling the heavy carriage through narrow streets where the devout waited in hopes of touching the icon, believed to hold miraculous powers.
Thousands of police were deployed to manage crowds that officials believe could number in the millions by the time the statue reaches its home in central Manila's Quiapo church around midnight.
More than 800 people had sought medical attention along the cloudy but humid parade route by early afternoon. AFP journalists saw at least four gurneys being pushed through the thick crowds.
This year's festival of Jesus the Nazarene comes on the heels of deadly typhoons, earthquakes and a high-level corruption scandal that has rocked the archipelago nation of 116 million people.
The annual religious parade commemorates the arrival of the wooden statue of Christ from Mexico in the early 1600s.
Many believe the statue got its dark colour when it survived a fire aboard the Spanish ship that carried it to the Philippines, leading to it being known colloquially as the "Black Nazarene".
Crowd estimates for the procession and its final destination had topped 200,000 people by 1pm.