Pope’s visit—a Holy privilege

Last week, I failed to come up with a column, so my apologies, dear readers. I had a long overdue holiday with my family in Hong Kong, a birthday celebration actually, which means that the big motoring ‘dabarkads’ missed a blowout complete with a drinking binge! It’s been over a decade since we visited this shopping destination as a family, so we had four nights in bone-chilling weather, which actually whipped up our appetite even more. Hong Kong remains a gourmand’s paradise, though it has definitely been overtaken as a shopping destination by China, Bangkok and Korea. However, the plus side is I was able to wear my winter clothing, which isn’t very often.

Apart from the thoroughly aggravating experience of missing our luggage (which I wrote about extensively in my Business & Leisure column) for a full day, it was a much-enjoyed family holiday. I enjoyed a full day of Elvis Presley movies in our hotel room to commemorate his birthday while waiting for our suitcases to arrive and enjoyed Cantonese cuisine. A real eating binge! We also brought home a lot of the famous salted duck, their equivalent of our local ‘daing’ which only comes out between November and February—their winter months. By March, it is no longer available in the supermarkets.

Truth be told, I almost missed another column for this week simply because there were no developments in the motoring industry. For that matter, there were no other developments in the country as a whole this past week. Politics was set aside for a while, a truce called because the nation was one in preparing for the coming of Pope Francis, another milestone for this predominantly Catholic country. Business was at a standstill, and the common mindset only had the Pope’s coming in central focus.

I would like to take this opportunity, though, to commend the government for a well-coordinated and executed setup for this big event. Some quarters commented that the MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) was overdoing the road preparation and traffic management part as it was affecting business. But how often are we given the privilege of hosting the Vicar of Christ?  MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino must have had a huge headache preparing the roads leading to and from the airport to Mall of Asia for the apostolic mass, the University of Sto. Tomas, the long stretch of Roxas Blvd, to and from Taft Avenue where the Papal Nunciature is located, and the Quirino Grandstand where another 2-hour Eucharistic Mass was held. Imagine the logistics and precise planning involved in all these, the infrastructure that had to be laid, the pre-emptive planning for adverse occurrences. Dry runs were held for several days counting to D-day, and I imagine that the MMDA chief together with all the cooperating government agencies were on his feet much of the day everyday to ensure this, so let’s give them credit for that big logistical nightmare.

On television, our Metro Manila roads never looked this good—no clogs, no traffic. Of course, many roads were closed, so this created horrendous traffic in some parts of Paranaque, Pasay and even Makati, but I didn’t hear anyone really cursing. We can put up with this for a few days. Besides, if there was no real emergency, it was best to stay home and not brave the traffic, instead watching the Papal activities in the comfort of home.

I also take this opportunity to commend the PNP (Philippine National Police) for a well-coordinated security setup.  I think 90 percent of our police force was mobilized to provide tight security for the Pope and his party as well as for the public that came out in full force all throughout the Papal stay in Manila. Many even camped out outside the Papal Nunciature, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pope, or at least his Pope Mobile. At this point, I think it was a gracious gesture for Volkswagen to provide Pope Francis with a VW Touran, a people’s car as they call it in Germany, and the symbolism is not lost for all of us. I understand that Pope Francis, the people’s pope, requested for this, and I read that after the Pope leaves, the VW people have agreed to donate the vehicle to whomever the Pope designates. An inspiring move indeed from our friends at VW. Kudos to top honcho, JP Orbeta!

The final Mass last Sunday at the Quirino Grandstand saw some eight million Filipinos braving the rain and the cold to participate in the Eucharistic Mass celebration by Pope Francis.  I’m not entirely sure about this, but I think that is the biggest congregation yet that we have mustered, and it is not short of amazing, considering the weather conditions. Many people were in the vicinity as early as the crack of dawn, some even foregoing sleep just for the experience of hearing a Papal mass. From the comfort of our beds at home (for those who were not brave enough to do this), this was really amazing. The sea of devotees filled out the TV screen, but there were no untoward incidents—everyone toed the line, observed proper behavior and obeyed the rules. Since umbrellas were not allowed, many had to make do with raincoats to shield them from the rain, which, though it never worsened throughout the day, continued in a steady drizzle the whole day. Order was properly maintained throughout the entire papal visit. Kudos to the PNP!

And while we had to endure days of interrupted or even the absence of cellphone and Wi-Fi service, it was also a necessary and wise move of our telecoms providers to do this. A couple of days without internet or cell phone use is a small sacrifice but it gave our government leaders (and the telcos as well) much breathing space in ensuring the security of our beloved Pope Francis as well as the multitude of Filipinos who tirelessly lined the streets where the Pope Mobile was passing. Many of those in the crowd were women, children and babies, senior citizens or sick folks, and if one sick mind chose to light even a firecracker in those populated areas, the chaos would have been unimaginable.

Happy Motoring!!!

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