MANILA, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Thousands of troops and police in the Philippines have been placed on high alert for the visit starting this week of Pope Francis, his first to the country.
As many as 37,000 security personnel are involved -- including 17,000 active and reserve personnel of the Philippine Armed forces, and about 3,000 members of the Philippine National Police in addition to local law enforcement personnel – in the Metro Manila area and the island of Leyte, where the pope will make two stops.
The Argentine-born head of the Roman Catholic Church arrives in Manila on Thursday from Sri Lanka and departs on Monday, Jan. 19.
"We have prepared for all scenarios with all resources we have," said Department of Defense spokesman Dr. Peter Paul Galvez. All government security agencies are in close coordination to ensure that ... our (brothers and sisters) attending and observing this event concentrate and fully experience the spiritual encounter of the Pope's pastoral visit to the Filipino flock.
Added Philippine National Police spokesperson Chief Supt. Wilben (cq) Mayor: "All possible situations are being considered and appropriate contingency responses are studied for implementation if necessary."
The Philippines is predominately Roman Catholic. Latest studies show about 80 percent of its 100 million people are in various degrees followers of the denomination, which arrived with Spain's conquistadors in the 16th Century. The remaining 20 percent are mainly Protestants and Muslims.
The church's influence is strong. Local church leaders helped topple the martial law government of President Ferdinand Marco in 1986 by calling upon the faithful to demonstrate in the streets in the "People's Power" revolution. But increasingly secularization in Filipino thinking has also chipped away at that power. Philippine legislators in 2012 bowed to their constituents and passed a reproductive health bill to educate and provide people -- especially the poor in rural areas -- with birth control devices such as pills and IUDs. Passage of the law, and its approval by President Benigno A quino III – defied a campaign from Catholic church pulpits.
Church groups immediately launched appeals to stop the law, but the country's Supreme Court has ruled most of the key provisions of the legislation were not unconstitutional, thus clearing a path to its implementation.
The pope is expected to speak to inter-faith respect between Christians and Muslims and cooperation during his visit, which will include appearances in areas devastated by a major typhoon.
Philippine government officials say they have received no specific "credible" intelligence on possible terrorist plots against Pope Francis during his visit to the Philippines but are not complacent, especially following the recent terror events in Paris.
However, "it (the Paris events) can give people ideas so it can't be discounted," a Philippine national security source told UPI.
Neither can a lone wolf type of attack. In 1970, visiting Pope Paul VI was slightly wounded when he arrived on a visit to the Philippines. A disgruntled Brazilian artist, wearing priestly robes, lunged at him with a knife from a crowd at the airport when the pontiff arrived.
A spokesman for the Maoist New People's Army on the island of Mindanao said "since most of our fighters are Catholics, it was just fitting to pay respect during Pope Francis' visit in the country by extending the ceasefire" begun at Christmas, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. "We are extending the ceasefire (period) until after the visit of Pope Francis."
Mindanao is located in the southern Philippines, where government troops are also battling Muslim groups such as Abu Sayaf, which is linked to al-Qaida.
