Close to 80,000 crowd to welcome Pope

MANILA, Philippines - The government is 100 percent ready for the arrival of Pope Francis this afternoon and the succeeding events during his five-day visit in the country, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas said Thursday.

 

The commercial plane carrying the Pope arrived at 5:32 p.m. at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City. 

 

Roxas said that they have been following the President’s orders to use the "whole of government approach" to ensure the security of the Pope and the safety of the millions of Catholic devotees who wish to have a personal encounter with the Pope.

 

He said the government has separate plans for the security of the Pope and for the safety of the public during the Papal visit.

 

Roxas also said contingency plans are in place in case the Pope wishes to divert from his original schedule. 

 

"Aware tayo that the Pope in previous visits [changes his schedules]. We are prepared in case he will have unplanned stops or events," Roxas said.

 

He has also assured the public that the government is ready to manage the expected high volume of people who will attend the events. 

 

"We are ready however big the crowd may be," Roxas said.

 

Initial estimates said the crowd along the papal convoy route ballooned to almost 80,000 this afternoon. 

 

Roxas also said that the same security and safety preparations have been made in Leyte, especially in light of the expected entry of typhoon "Amang" in the Visayas and Bicol regions.