Palace aware, but threats vs Pope ‘raw’

Pope Francis, left, waves to the crowd beside Philippine President Benigno Aquino III before boarding his plane as he departs Manila, Philippines on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015. AP

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Saturday said it was aware of the reported threats on the life of Pope Francis during his four-day visit to Manila and Leyte but stressed that these were “raw and unverified information.”

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the security establishment knew of “that particular piece of unverified information that was passed on.”

Valte said that “out of prudence,” security personnel processed the information although it was raw and had no details.

Valte was commenting on a report quoting a retired intelligence officer as saying that there were attempts on the life of Pope Francis in Tacloban City and at Rizal Park where he officiated a Mass attended by a record crowd.

“It was not a confirmed report. It was raw information that was passed on and that was received. There weren’t many details, and as such, because our security establishment is also prudent, of course, they look into these things and they take it into account,” Valte said.

Asked if the information was the reason telecommunication companies were directed to turn off mobile phone signals wherever Francis went, Valte said it was not.

“No, it was not the reason. The decision to implement that particular security measure was made even prior to the reception of the raw and unverified information,” she said.

In preparing a visit as major as that of the Pope, Valte said the government “takes all of the situations in consideration and prepares accordingly.”

“We also adjust but at the start, there is already a plan and that was precisely what was implemented by the government. Thankfully everybody cooperated, from the media to those who attended the events. Everybody contributed to the success of the (Pope’s) visit,” Valte said.