Officials struggle with crowd control for Pope Francis event at UST

The police and the marshals assigned to help secure Pope Francis and control the crowd during the papal event Sunday morning at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) have asked the people to keep off the fountain area at the Quadricentennial Square for safety reasons.

 

But most of the people who entered through the Dapitan gates nevertheless went to occupy the plaza, including the fountain area, to get a glimpse of the pope.

 

Below the fountain is a hollow space for water and the weight of the crowd might cause the floor to collapse, US Faculty of Arts and Letters assistant dean Nancy Tabirara told GMA News Online.

 

Earlier, the official said the Quadricentennial Square, which has been barricaded, is the best view for the public to see the pope's motorcade around the campus.

 

As early as the break of dawn UST marshals have been asking people to move away from the fountain. "'Pag-nasira, six feet ang babagsakan n'yo," an exasperated marshal said.

 

By 8 a.m., the plaza was already full of people eagerly waiting for the papal motorcade.

 

As soon as Pope Francis entered the campus, people started cheering and raising their gadgets to capture the once-in-a-lifetime moment of personally seeing the pope. Those standing behind jeered as those taking photos of the pontiff blocked their view.

 

The UST encounter is one of two main events on the papal schedule Sunday.

 

Pope Francis met with 10 leaders of different religions at the university's Arch of the Century and some 24,000 representatives from the youth sector at the UST Grandstand.

 

He was the third pontiff to visit in the university, following the visits of Blessed Paul VI in 1970, and Saint John Paul II, who went there in 1981 and in 1995.

 

After the UST event, the pope headed back to the Apostolic Nunciature – his official Philippine residence. 

 

The pope is scheduled to celebrate Mass at the Quirino Grandstand Mass in the afternoon, where an estimated 6 million people are expected to attend. – VS/JST, GMA News