Hero peacekeepers to guard Pope visit

MANILA, Philippines -  Two military battalions, including the more than 300 peacekeepers who figured in a standoff with Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights, will help secure Pope Francis in his visit to the country in January.

Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the 7th and 8th Philippine contingents to Golan Heights would augment the security for the papal visit while deployment to the Middle East is suspended.  

The two battalions will be placed under operational control of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the unit in charge of the overall security for the pontiff’s four-day visit.

“The peacekeepers’ experience beyond Philippine borders may serve them well as many people from all walks of life are expected to come to the Philippines to see the Pope,” Zagala said in a statement. 

“We believe that their exposure and experience in peacekeeping operations in Syria will be beneficial towards the successful security of Pope Francis’ papal visit to the Philippines,” he added.

The Papal visit will come amid concerns over threats posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a terrorist group that is reportedly recruiting members in different countries.

President Aquino has given assurance that the Pope would be given adequate security during his visit.

The Philippines has suspended the deployment of peacekeepers to the Golan Heights due to the deteriorating security situation in the area.

The 7th Philippine contingent, one of the military battalions that will secure the papal visit, is the same group that escaped surrounding Syrian rebels in Golan Heights last month.

The Golan Heights crisis started on Aug. 28 when Syrian rebels surrounded two forward positions manned by 75 Filipino soldiers and demanded that they surrender their firearms. Members of the Philippine contingent refused to yield, resulting in a two-day standoff.

The outnumbered Filipino peacekeepers managed to evade the Syrian rebels under the cover of darkness with the help of other UN troops.

Pope thanks Bacolod councilor for invite

During the papal visit, Pope Francis is expected to go to areas that were ravaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda last year.

Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to Bacolod Councilor Carlos Jose Lopez for inviting him to include Bacolod in his itinerary.

Lopez recently wrote the pontiff to ask him to consider visiting Bacolod, saying “at present the politics in our city does not reflect Christian values.”

“I am convicted by the Spirit that what we need in our country, most especially in Bacolod, is a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit which your presence can bring: grace and mercy, that a renewal and a revival can happen in our land. Thus, I would like to express my sincere invitation that you consider including Bacolod City in your visit to the Philippines next year,” Lopez noted.

Despite being told by Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra that such a visit would be impossible due to the Pope’s hectic schedule, Lopez still wrote the Pope after consulting former Manila Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales and Ambassador to the Vatican Mercy Tuason, who both said that it was worth a try.

Lopez also noted that former Pope and now Saint John Paul II had visited Bacolod on February 20, 1981 and “our city has been blessed and privileged” by such visit.

Lopez recently received a letter from the Secretariat of State of the Vatican, saying the Pope has received his letter.

“He has asked me to thank you. He appreciate your devoted sentiments and your kind invitation to visit Bacolod, which has been duly noted,” wrote Monsignor Peter Wells, assessor of the Secretariat of State.