Not taking chances

Security officers have an unenviable job these days. Pope Francis has to be the most beloved pontiff in my lifetime, but there are so many wackos and other troublemakers out there whose idea of achieving immortality is bringing harm to a global superstar.

How does the Vatican secure the pope, day in and out?

Apart from having elite Swiss guards to protect him, it surely helps crowd management that the pope personally meets and greets devotees at every opportunity, sometimes a few times a day – something this pontiff seems to enjoy doing.

With so many opportunities to see him, there’s no need for the faithful to assemble by the millions for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to catch a glimpse of the pontiff. Lucky visitors to the Vatican may even have a selfie with Pope Francis or have him carry their babies.

Maybe the pontiff should visit the Philippines more often. Going by Pope Francis’ exhortations for a simple lifestyle, however, it doesn’t look like he intends to become a jetsetter. And even if he gets bitten by the travel bug, there must be over 100 other countries that will welcome a visit from him. So this week’s visit in Manila is likely to be it – the one and only chance to see Pope Francis – for the vast majority of Pinoys who can’t afford a trip to Rome.

Mercifully, a number of notorious epals are reportedly staying away from the papal events. Anyway, they are among the tiny segment of the population that can afford to visit the Vatican.

So here we are, doing the best we can to roll out the red carpet for a pontiff who isn’t keen on red carpet treatment. Here we are, trying to protect a pontiff who eschews anything bulletproof and leaves his personal safety to God.

For the millions expected to attend the mass at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila’s Rizal Park, organizers have designed a new system of crowd management, using concrete barricades topped with metal-and-wire-mesh railings.

The barricades didn’t work too well during last Friday’s Black Nazarene procession, but perhaps we’ll see a better disciplined crowd for the pope’s Rizal Park mass.

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After the papal visit, authorities should be able to fine-tune security, crowd management and traffic rerouting measures for the visits of dignitaries to ensure the least disruption in normal activities.

There are many reasonable measures being taken to secure Pope Francis, even if they mean temporary inconveniences to the public, but some are overreactions.

Tight security around Rizal Park is understandable, considering that the pope will be at the grandstand for some time and wants to mingle with the expected massive crowd. But if his convoy is just passing through a certain area, roads need not be closed to traffic several hours beforehand. Flight disruptions can also be kept to a minimum.

The traffic rerouting for the Black Nazarene procession and rapid cleanup in its wake were generally efficient and can be duplicated for the pontiff’s visit.

Declaring holidays for VIP visits must be carefully studied. A recent Rappler report said each working day that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is closed for a holiday costs the government P14 million in taxes from trading in the capital market. Manufacturers, particularly exporters who must strictly follow production schedules to meet contracts with clients overseas, do not stop work during holidays. They reportedly incur 30 percent additional labor costs when the government declares non-working days for the visit of foreign dignitaries.

Last year, 20 non-working holidays cost electronics manufacturers P24 billion in losses, Rappler reported, quoting a study conducted by the Makati Business Club. Businessmen have also blamed holidays for aggravating congestion in the Port of Manila.

People acknowledge that Pope Francis is a special celebrity among celebrities, but certain businessmen are asking if three non-working holidays for his visit are necessary in Metro Manila.

With the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit coming up later in the year, businessmen are worried that the government will declare a protracted holiday covering even areas where no APEC events are scheduled.

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Pinoys like putting the best foot forward for visitors. This includes ensuring that visitors will be safe from harm.

Obviously, declaring a holiday makes the task of securing VIP visitors easier. But a better approach is improving the efficiency of security services so that a visiting VIP can be secured even with business as usual.

The ease by which a country secures visiting dignitaries serves as a good gauge of its level of development. Paris, which can host an event like the Olympics or World Expo with its eyes closed, made no special preparations to welcome all those world leaders (including the heads of mortal enemies Israel and Palestine) who attended Sunday’s unity march in the wake of last week’s terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket.

Welcoming global VIPs is also routine for Washington and New York, home of the United Nations, and cities such as London and Geneva.

Ours is, of course, a developing country, and our security forces are among the most poorly equipped in the region, so perhaps the additional security measures – which strike critics as over-acting – are unavoidable for the papal visit.

On top of the limited security resources, we have homegrown Islamists who had plotted to assassinate Pope John Paul II when he visited Manila 20 years ago. Code-named Oplan Bojinka, the threat was serious. Among the plotters were Ramzi Yousef, convicted mastermind of the first attack on the Twin Towers in New York, and 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

For the visit of Pope Francis, even without intel noise about any terrorist plot, our security forces aren’t taking any chances. Better safe than sorry.

This shouldn’t stop the government from upgrading security capabilities as we prepare for the APEC summit. In this global village, we must be prepared for increased visits from the world’s most important VIPs. Others have shown that the red carpet can be rolled out for VIP guests with minimal disruption to ordinary activities. We can strive to achieve a similar level of efficiency.