Pope Francis visited the country between January 15 to January 19, and according to 'unverified' reports received by the presidential palace in Manila, there were plots to kill the Pontiff during his visit.
Philippines spokeswoman to President Benigno Aquino III's, Abigail Valte told a state-run radio station: "We knew about it.
"We were able to inform those in the security establishments about it, but I was told that they were aware of that particular piece of unverified information that was passed on."
An army source of the Armed Forces of the Philippines stated that the intelligence report indicated that a bomb plot was to be carried out by Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, during Pope Francis' five-day visit to the islands in January.
A Former Philippines Air Force officer Colonel Restituto Padilla, who is now appointed lead spokesman of the Armed Force of the Philippines, stated that: "We were aware of this piece of info but this was unverified and unconfirmed.
"Planning adjustments were done in consideration of this and to ensure protection of the Pope."
Few days later, on January 25, Zulkifli bin Hir, who is been hunted by the FBI since carrying out the murder of a Christian member of Malaysian parliament in 2000, was shot dead by Philippine special forces in a raid.
The 49-year-old's death was verified after DNA tests were conducted including that of his brother, who is presently imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.
According to reports, the terrorist was hoping to carry out a bombing on January 18 during the Pope's mass in Rizal Park, which attracted a crowd of 6 million Christians.
Hir until his death was the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, a south east Asian militant Islamist terrorist organization.
After his death, his daughter told local media: "For us, our Dad died a long time ago, there is no need to claim the body."
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