Adult diapers would likely enjoy an unexpected temporary boom in sales, thanks to a requirement by Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino that all Manila cops wear one while on duty during the five-day visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines.

Tolentino likewise advised people who would want to attend the public events where the pontiff would be to also wear adult diapers.

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The order is to ensure that the 2,000 traffic enforcers would not have to leave their posts and worsen Metro Manila's notorious gridlock if they need to urinate. Filipinos attending the papal events who have to wait for hours to get a good seat to see Pope Francis would also be spared the long queues at toilets if they had adult nappies on.

While the use of adult diapers is associated with seniors who are suffering from incontinence or other bladder and bowel problems and not by regular people with properly functioning kidneys, Tolentino said the cops are open to the idea.

To test if it is an effective strategy, the 800 enforcers who would be on duty for the yearly Black Nazarene procession on January 9 would be required to wear the adult diapers. The procession from Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church could take as long as 24 hours due to the sheer number of procession participants that run into hundreds of thousands of Catholic devotees.

The papal mass will also be at the Quirino Grandstand on January 18 when millions are expected to attend. During the 1995 World Youth Day festivities at the same venue, five million Filipinos attended the mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II.

There will be hundreds of portalets in the places where the leader of the Roman Catholic Church will visit, but Tolentino reasons out that the facilities cannot handle the expected crowd.

"If you attend an event that will last for 24 hours, you cannot go around looking for a (portable toilet)," TVNZ quoted Tolentino as saying.

He said he would likely wear one also, but Tolentino is also planning to drink less liquid those days so he would require fewer trips to the loo.

The MMDA chairman also encouraged the religious as well as elderly Filipinos attending the papal events to wear adult diapers, too.

At the rate how Metro Manila's notorious traffic continues to worsen, the idea may eventually catch on among office workers and students who have to endure hours of travel on public transportation or private cars daily.

As it is, there are anecdotes going around that some vehicle owners have already purchased urine bags which they use when caught in the city's gridlock - actually an everyday occurrence in the national capital region which has a population of 12 million people.