Archdiocese closes pilgrims’ registration

CEBU, Philippines - Registration of pilgrims who will be attending the Papal Mass at the Tacloban City Airport had ended since Wednesday.

The Palo Archdiocese confirmed this to the media, but announced that those who failed to register will still be allowed to enter the venue and join the Mass.

Father Amadeo Alvero, archdiocese communications director, said the closure of registration was done considering that there are still a lot of things to do in the preparation of the papal visit on Saturday.

Alvero admitted that the archdiocese failed to reach the targeted number of 120,000 pilgrims for the Papal Mass, the reason why walk-ins will be allowed into the venue, for as long as they will abide with security checks.

“More or less 80,000 Catholics from all over Eastern Visayas have registered, but those (unregistered) may just go directly to the airport and submit themselves for inspection by the authorities,” Alvero said.

Palo town Mayor Remedios “Matin” Petilla, for her part, said she has been helping the committees tasked in the papal visit preparations, up to the last minute, adding that she deemed this event as great blessing and honor to all, especially the victims of typhoon Yolanda.

The mayor, who is the mother of Leyte Governor Dominic Petilla and Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, said she has been preparing herself spiritually also, as she can get the blessing from the Pontiff.

“This historic papal visit excites me so much, and the first thing that i would tell the Pope is to thank him for choosing Palo, though its only a small town in Leyte, and am hoping that his visit would change the Christian attitude in our faith to God. I am not expecting anything from pope except for the great blessings,” Matin said.

The security forces yesterday also conducted their final dry run of the papal motorcade from the airport to the Palo Cathedral and the Archbishop’s Residence.

Chief Superintendent Asher Dolina, director of the Police Regional Office-8, said it was successful this time without the snags experienced the other day. “What is now left is for the public to cooperate and behave accordingly to make the motorcade smooth and peaceful,” he said.

However, while the second dry run by the security forces went on, the popular running priest, Father Robert Reyes caught the attention of the media and the public who saw him marching along the highway with hundreds of members of an urban poor group of Tacloban, or Yolanda survivors.

Reyes, carrying a bamboo stick with a statuette of Saint Francis of Assisi (patron for rebuilding the environment), led the group on their walk from the city to the Palo Seminary building where he handed over to Church officials a letter for Pope Francis.

The letter, signed by hundreds of Yolanda survivors in Tacloban, sought from the Pope for help in implementing assistance program to them. “It is more than just material relief and the process of participation and adequate information for us to make the right choice, the process in providing these relief and rehabilitation is equally important,” the letter said.

Reyes and the group also mentioned the issue on climate change, saying that the destruction is denoted in the bamboo walking stick he was carrying. “This walking cane has been passed around and made our pledge during our dialogues in several communities. Our message was culled from the actual written answers and we have not completely finished,” the letter further stated.

They said the visit of Pope Francis had inspired them to begin a one-year journey with the declaration of 2015 as the Year of the Poor.

Yesterday was a sunny day in Leyte and all Leyteños have prayed that the fine weather will continue until the day of the Pope’s arrival to the province, amid the threat of tropical storm Amang that was forecast to hit Eastern Visayas by Saturday.

In a related development, Director Pedro Noval Jr., of the Department of Interior and Local Government-Region 8, issued a revised public advisory on Amang and the papal visit, calling the public and local government units to be on alert of the possible impact of the storm.

Amang, already within the country’s area of responsibility, was as of yesterday estimated to be at 950 kilometers east of Guiuan town in Eastern Samar. It has a maximum sustained winds of 65 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 80 kph as was forecast to move west northwest at 19 kph.

PAGASA estimated Amang to be at 640 km east of Guiuan by today, and may bring heavy to intense rains within the 300-km diameter.

Noval advised LGUs to take precautionary measures against flashfloods and landslide and to activate their respective local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils as soon as possible. He said DILG travel assistance centers have been established along the roadsides to make travel of pilgrims to Tacloban safer and unhampered for the papal visit. (FREEMAN)