Over 100 blacklisted for papal visit to RP

Over 100 blacklisted for papal visit to RP

MANILA (Reuter): Philippine police and immigration agents have
been placed on alert for 109 foreigners considered threats to the
life of Pope John Paul, who will be visiting the Philippines next
month, the Philippine Daily Enquirer reported yesterday.

The newspaper said immigration agents at all the country's
entry points were ordered to ensure none of those on the list
enters the Philippines before or during the pope's visit to
Manila from Jan. 12 to 16.

The list was submitted by the Vatican to the presidential
palace. Most of those on the list are from the Middle East, the
Manila paper said.

There was no immediate comment from the presidential palace
but a church official expressed confidence in the Pontiff's
safety in the city.

"We're very confident that the government can handle any
(threat)," Archbishop Cirilo Morelos, head of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said in a radio interview.

The government has said it expects more than 300,000 foreign
delegates and at least three million local visitors in Manila for
the papal visit and celebrations for World Youth Day on Jan. 15.