Huge force to protect pope in PH

From the Manila Standard Today (Jan 7): Huge force to protect pope in PH

AT LEAST three divisions comprising 37,000 policemen, soldiers and reservists will be deployed to secure Pope Francis during his visit here on Jan. 15 to 19, an official said Tuesday.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the government has not monitored any specific threats to the pope, but various law enforcement agencies have established security measures including enforcing a no-fly zone in the areas Pope Francis will be visiting in Manila and Eastern Visayas.

“So far, we have not monitored any threats against the activities that are going to happen,” Gazmin said.

“We have the coming Black Nazarene festivities plus the visit of the Holy Father, but we are looking into all angles, looking into all reports and acting on those.”

Gazmin made his statement even as the Metro Manila Development Authority said it was now preparing a security and traffic management plan for the pope’s visit to Palo and Tacloban in Leyte on Jan. 17.

The agency said a special team composed of 190 personnel from its Traffic Management Unit, Task Force Phantom and Rescue Unit will help the police and local government officials keep order in Leyte.

The MMDA team will leave Manila on Monday to preposition themselves in time for the pope’s visit.

Armed Forces Chief Gregorio Catapang said they will boost the security for the pope by deploying snipers.

About 6,000 to 7,000 Army troops will be scattered and some 5,000 reservists will help control the crowds during the pope’s engagements that are expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people.

“Our greatest worry is people surge, and that’s why we are putting up barricades. The pope is really very popular. Everybody wants to be near the Pope,” Catapang said.

Catapang said snipers will be inserted in all high-rise buildings on Roxas Boulevard, the main thoroughfare leading to the Quirino Grandstand where the pope will hold mass.

Air Force Chief Jeffrey Delgado said they will be providing air cover for the pope. 

PNP spokesman Wilben Mayor said the PNP will deploy around 25,000 policemen for the papal visit.

Aside from his scheduled mass at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, Pope Francis will be flying to Tacloban and Palo in Leyte to visit the victims of super typhoon “Yolanda.”

MMDA assistant general manager for operations Emerson Carlos said the agency’s special team will also escort the pope. The agency’s rescue vehicles and ambulances will also be sent to Palo and Tacloban City to provide emergency medical services.

The MMDA earlier formed Task Force Phantom, a joint team from the National Police Highway Patrol Group and the MMDA’s traffic management unit, to ensure smooth vehicular traffic when Pope Francis arrives in Manila.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/01/07/huge-force-to-protect-pope-in-ph/