Pope Francis has not arrived yet, but his visit is about to cause traffic already. Monday’s dry run for the arrival of Pope Francis is expected to cause heavy traffic in Manila, with roads near Ninoy Aquino International Airport being closed starting at 5:45 p.m. for testing the government’s security plan.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino urged travelers to be at the airport three hours before their flights’ departure in the afternoon to avoid inconvenience as a result of the rehearsal for the Pope’s arrival at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City and his motorcade’s run to his official residence at the Apostolic Nunciature on Taft Avenue in Manila.
“We will start closing roads as early as 5 p.m. to simulate the routes going outside Andrews Avenue where the papal convoy is expected to pass westbound,” Tolentino said.
Papal route
He said the papal motorcade would start from Villamor Air Base, going to the domestic airport, turn right at Park ‘N’ Fly on Domestic Road, head toward Roxas Boulevard, then take Quirino Avenue to get to Taft Avenue.
The dry run, which would be conducted by the Presidential Security Group (PSG) together with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and members of the Vatican security, will also be the traffic simulation for the event during which the crowd response will be studied for necessary adjustments along the routes to be taken by the papal motorcade.
Tolentino said the dry run would also test the capacity of security cameras at the airport and along the roads leading to the nunciature.
“This will also help security experts evaluate what other necessary adjustments to be made, like the needed actual travel speed of the papal convoy,” Tolentino said.
As to why this couldn’t be done on a Sunday or during hours of light traffic, Tolentino said the rehearsal would be done during the afternoon rush hours on the request of the Vatican, which wanted to simulate and test road conditions during the actual time of the Pope’s arrival.
The MMDA will also announce traffic management measures and road closures for the Pope’s visit, especially near University of Santo Tomas, SM Mall of Asia and Rizal Park—venues of big public events to be led by the Pontiff. –Christian V. Esguerra, Maricar Brizuela
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