Philippine police arrested three people for cracking jokes about a bomb while on their way to attend Pope Francis's mass in Manila, an official said Tuesday.

The man and two women were arrested at a police checkpoint on Sunday while heading to the mass in Rizal Park which attracted a record six million people, said officer Alberto de Guzman of Manila police radio control office.

Masses of cheering believers in the Philippines turned out to bid farewell to Pope Francis Monday, a fitting end to a week in Asia that saw him draw record crowds and campaign relentlessly for the poor.

The pontiff visited Sri Lanka as well as the Philippines on his second trip to Asia in five months, seeking to promote the Catholic Church in one of its most important growth regions.

Pope Francis drew a record six million people as he celebrated mass in the rain-swept Philippines capital Sunday, delivering a powerful message for the poor to a rapturous audience in a triumphant finale to an Asian tour.

Filipinos are famous for practicing a passionate brand of Catholicism and they turned out in force despite the wet weather, determined to see the charismatic 78-year-old pontiff, and in a celebratory mood that defied the gloomy skies.

Pope Francis was forced Saturday to flee a fierce storm in the Philippines that killed a papal volunteer, cutting short a mercy mission to weeping survivors of a catastrophic super typhoon.

Wearing a yellow plastic poncho to protect him from intense rain, Francis delivered an emotional mass to about 200,000 people in the typhoon-ravaged central Philippine city of Tacloban.

Pope Francis on Friday demanded leaders in the Philippines end "scandalous social inequalities", hitting out at corruption in a nation where tens of millions of Catholics endure brutal poverty.

The pontiff made the comments in his first speech of a five-day visit to the Philippines, after an electrifying welcome on Thursday enhanced the nation's reputation as the Catholic Church's vibrant Asian bastion.

Pope Francis on Friday demanded leaders in the Philippines end "scandalous social inequalities", hitting out at corruption in a nation where tens of millions of Catholics endure brutal poverty.

The pontiff made the comments in his first speech of a five-day visit to the Philippines, after an electrifying welcome on Thursday enhanced the nation's reputation as the Catholic Church's vibrant Asian bastion.

Pope Francis on Thursday condemned killing in God's name but warned religion could not be insulted, weighing into a global debate on free speech ahead of a rapturous welcome in the Philippines.

The pontiff made the comments to reporters as he flew from Sri Lanka to begin a five-day visit in the Catholic Church's Asian stronghold that is tipped to attract a world-record papal crowd.

Pope Francis urged respect for human rights in Sri Lanka as he began a two-nation Asia tour on the island Tuesday, bearing a message of peace and reconciliation after a long civil war.

His visit, days after the surprise election of a new president, will focus on unity in a country still struggling to heal the wounds of a decades-long civil war that pitted government troops against Tamil separatist rebels.

President Benigno Aquino urged the Philippine people on Monday to be alert against panic, stampedes or any attempts to sow chaos during this week's visit by Pope Francis.

Aquino said the large number of people trying to see or get close to the pontiff could be a source of danger, even to Pope Francis himself.

Pope Francis will immerse himself in some of Asia's most fervent Catholicism during a trip to the Philippines and Sri Lanka starting Tuesday, with millions of devotees set to turn out.

The Argentinian pontiff with a man-of-the-people reputation could attract one of the biggest gatherings ever for a pope during an open-air mass in the Philippine capital of Manila.