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While I am at a point in my life where I have a deep relationship with God that I don’t really need Papal sightings to strengthen my faith, I greatly admire Pope Francis.
This is why I applied as a human barricade volunteer. I sent in my application early December 2014, following appeals from our parish, at the Vicariate of San Fernandeo de Dilao, Parish of Sto. Nino de Pandacan, and around Christmastime, I learned that my application was approved. I am a member of a church organization and I participate in many of our parish activities.
For Pope Francis’ Friday and Sunday events, human barricades were needed to make sure his motorcade goes as smoothly as possible. I was stationed along the stretch of Quirino Avenue in Pandacan, Manila for Friday morning, when Pope Francis headed out to Malancañan for his courtesy call with President Noynoy Aquino.
This is also where I will be on Sunday morning, when he heads out to UST from the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila.
Preparations cut it too close. They advised us last Sunday that our supplies — T-shirts, IDs, etc — will only be made available for pick up on Thursday, the eve of our assignment, on the very same day that Pope Francis will arrive. I picked mine up around lunch time on Jan 15.
I woke up at 430am on Friday morning. I had very little sleep. I quickly washed my face, got dressed in my official uniform T-shirt, grabbed my bag and my ID, and hitched a ride to our nearby Sto. Niño de Pandacan Parish Church with my dad. Other sleepy volunteers were already there when I arrived.
At 5am, the big, thick wooden doors of the church are opened. We pray the Holy Rosary and then the Angelus, after which our parish priest, Fr. Lari Abaco, gives us our briefing. He also blesses us before we walk toward the nearby highway.
Some sights that really helped put my game face on came one after another: I was stationed outside a house with an old tree in front. I heaved a sigh of relief; I will need its shade when the sun comes up high later in the morning. A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman comes out of one of the houses, carrying a stack of styro cups and a pitcher of hot coffee for the volunteers who held out their cups, smiling graciously.
Not long after, a man comes out of another house with a wooden bench that he offers to a group of elderly volunteers. As they take their seats, the man rushes back into his house again. Moments later, he comes out and does like the middle-aged woman: Carrying a stack of styro cups and a pitcher of hot coffee, he walks more than 10 meters offering coffee to more volunteers. And as though that’s not enough, after his pitcher empties, he goes around collecting the empty coffee cups.
At about 7am, a busload of police officers stops in front of us and they start pouring out. At first, they take their places right in front of us, who are standing just below the pavement. Then, in a line, they make their way up and down the stretch of road, trying to find out how many of them can cover the whole stretch. Eventually, they settle on five paces between police officers. We learn they are from Bicutan, who’ve been on duty since Thursday night.
By 8am, word quickly spread that the Pope will come around 9am. With no cellphone signals, we are unable to verify this.
There are now about 3,000 volunteers on this stretch. There are much more bystanders now, too. The pedestrian overpasses have been closed, so every so often, a few people would bravely run across the street to find and take their places.
At 8:30am, a straw rope is unraveled to keep us at our places. More policemen, who seem to be of higher rank, arrive in a car. They brief the people on the center island to make sure that they don’t rush forward as the motorcade passes. Where just a few minutes ago, there were no barangay officials nor police officers on that side of the street, some quickly take their places there. The crowd becomes thicker.
At 9am, someone from inside the house behind us shouts: ‘The Pope has left the Apostolic Nunciature along Taft Avenue!!!’ I did a quick time estimate in my mind: In about 10 to 15 minutes, the Pope will be where we are. Excitement builds.
The police officers take their places, their backs to the street. They are joined by some barangay tanods, then the volunteers. The public is kept on the sidewalks.
Suddenly, we hear people shouting excited. A few vans from the official party pass by us.
The policewoman in front of us calmly tells us, that wasn’t yet the Pope. She gives us a more tips: there will be several police on motorcycle, then more policemen in their patrol cars, before the Pope.
At around 9:10am, a more intense screaming and applause startled us. People behind and around us started pushing. Many were quick to say “Walang tulakan.” I held on to the kids that have managed to push their way beside me.
And then, policemen in motorcycles started arriving. They were moving at a very slow pace, stopping at about 10 meters away from us. Also slow moving are patrol cars and a pickup truck with a camera mounted on a crane. By this time, the crowd has become a sea of arms with phones and point-and-shoots and tablets, poised to take a photo of Pope Francis.
Finally: We see Pope Francis’ smiling face, his right arm stretched out of the passenger’s side window of a dark blue Volkswagen Touran MPV. He waves and he waves and the crowd goes wild. I instinctively snap three successive shots of him.
I had felt a bit of nervousness and anticipation right before his car drove by, mostly because of the throng of people behind and across me. But as he was passing in front of me, it was as if someone hit slow-mo button and everything else stilled to a hush. There were no loud shrieks in my ear, no strong push. Just me in the moment. I thought he looked straight at me, his whole being exuding love and the personification of Christ. I’m sure he touched many of those around me the same way.
And then, just like that, things quickly went back to normal. Pope Francis’ car has moved on, and the crowd has dispersed. Bottlenecks form at narrow street corners as they try to get back home.
It was a surreal experience. I still can’t believe that he was actually there, in front of me. I check my photo again and again and again to see if it really happened. And it’s there, the photo, confirming that it really did happen. I got a good picture! I was so close to him!
As though Pope Francis sprinkled some more good vibes in his trail, some members of the crowd helped the volunteers clean up the trash that was left in the crowd’s wake. Some of them threw their thras in proper garbage bags, some residents of nearby houses brought out trash bags to help clean up. One order of duty done in less than half a day.
On Sunday, we will man the same stretch of road but for a longer period, when he goes from the Nunciature to the University of Sto. Tomas and back. I am much better prepared now. I know what to expect. I am sure there will be more people this time around so I am both nervous and excited. I just pray things go just as smoothly as it did last Friday.
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