The devotees, wearing maroon and yellow shirts, jostled against each other on Thursday during the nearly six-kilometre procession called Traslacion - the highlight of the feast of the Black Nazarene, a life-size wooden statue of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns and bearing a cross.
Devotees believe the statue grants prayers and wishes to the faithful. Many wish to get near the carriage carrying the 400-year-old statue to touch any part of it.
Devotees pull a carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila (AP PHOTO)
A glass enclosure was installed around the statue in a bid to stop devotees from jumping on the carriage, but this did not stop the faithful.
In one area of the procession route, devotees clashed with police officers after ignoring warnings not to cross a bridge to get closer and jump on the carriage, resulting in a scuffle.
In another area, civilian marshals shouted at and blocked devotees from rushing to the carriage to prevent a group of elderly women from being crushed by the crowd.
As the procession neared Quiapo Church, devotees became more frenzied, jumping over people's heads to climb up the carriage. Some devotees hung on the end part of the statue's cross that was protruding from the glass enclosure.
This year's number of participants of 7.4 million was up from more than six million in 2024 and is considered one of the biggest crowds to join the procession, overnight vigil and masses during the feast.
The procession lasted for more than 20 hours, compared to around 15 hours in 2024.
More than 500 devotees were treated for various ailments and injuries, such as dizziness, cuts, bruises, high-blood pressure and other conditions due to the huge crowd and heat, according to the Philippine Red Cross.
Nearly 80 per cent of the Philippines' 110 million population are Roman Catholic.
Cardinal Jose Advincula, archbishop of Manila, urged devotees to shun vices, greed and other evil things.
"Let us live by his commandments, let us take his lessons to hear and let us follow his example," he said in his homily at a mass held ahead of the procession. "It is better to follow the Dear Lord."
The Black Nazarene statue is believed to have been brought from Mexico to Manila in 1606 by Spanish missionaries. The ship that carried it caught fire, but the charred statue survived and was named the Black Nazarene.
