Nation

Bring raincoats in Leyte papal venues, faithful told

Dennis Carcamo - The Philippine Star

January 15, 2015 | 2:51pm

MANILA, Philippines - A priest on Thursday reminded the thousands of faithful who will flock to the venues of the papal visit in Leyte to bring transparent raincoats to protect them from drizzle brought by tropical storm Amang on January 17.

Father Al Cris Badana, Archdiocese of Palo Relief and Rehabilitation Unit director, said that those going to the papal visit activity areas to take extra precautions and expect to be rainy on Saturday.

The prelate said so far that there are no reported changes on the scheduled papal activities in Leyte despite the rains.

Earlier, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) discounted the probability for ‘Amang’ to make landfall, but warned that it may still bring rains over parts of Luzon and the Visayas.

The tropical storm was last spotted at 960 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar in its 5 a.m. bulletin Thursday.

Meanwhile, Fr. Badana reiterated calls by the Church not to forget the spiritual preparation and obligation that come with the celebration.

"Aside from the physical preparations which we and other groups are doing, let us not forget above all our spiritual preparations and obligations. The Pope’s message of ‘mercy and compassion’ would only have meaning once we submit ourselves to God’s call," Badana said.

Badana is in-charge of identifying the 30 survivors of supertyphoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake that will have a special luncheon with the Pope at the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo on January 17.

The priest refused to provide further details on the names of the survivors for security reasons until the day itself.

But Fr. Bedana said that five survivors will each come from Calbayog, Borongan, Palo, Tanauan, Tolosa and Bohol.

Aside from the luncheon with typhoon survivors, other activities lined up in Leyte are the blessing of the newly-built Pope Francis Center for the Poor, a concelebrated mass at the Tacloban Airport, and a meeting with priests, consecrated persons and lay representatives at the Palo Cathedral.

The Relief and Rehabilitation Unit, which Badana heads, has been doing various rehabilitation efforts for Typhoon Yolanda survivors in Leyte for almost a year now under the Reach Philippines program of NASSA-Caritas Philippines.

The same group, also have organized relief operations during the recent onslaught of typhoons Ruby and Seniang in Leyte and in Catbalogan, Samar.

NASSA-Caritas Philippines is the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines representing the country to Caritas Internationalis—the umbrella organization for Catholic charities around the world that works hand-in-hand with the Pope.