Not everyone in the Philippines was able to see Pope Francis when he began his current visit to the Philippines. A group activists carrying signs for social justice says the police prevented it from staging a demonstration in sight of the Pope's motorcade. There are also reports that law enforcement officers detained several street children during the Pope's public procession.

Pope Francis will tour the Philippines from January 15 to January 19. The visit, themed “mercy and compassion,” takes Pope Francis to the largest Catholic-dominated nation in Asia.

Some 2,000 activists gathered in Manila to greet the Pope by unfurling banners that highlight some of the issues that affect the nation's poor, such as hunger, landlessness, and injustice. Police blocked the march from getting near the motorcade, however.

In addition to interfering with protesters, the government also reportedly “detained” and “caged” street children a few days before the Pope's arrival. Manila Standard Today, a major daily newspaper, questioned the wisdom of this policy, saying it amounts to a Potemkin-Village approach.