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.