Travel advisories ‘won't affect summit'

By Pia Lee-Brago l The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines — The government is confident that despite the advisories of three foreign governments on possible terrorist attacks during the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cebu this week, attendance to the high-level meetings would not be affected.
Malacañang said it hopes for a real “moment of glory” for the Philippines with the successful hosting of the ASEAN Summit and the 2nd East Asia Summit, also in Cebu.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said in a radio interview over dzMM that the national and local governments would implement extraordinary measures to ensure the safety of the ASEAN leaders and the ASEAN dialogue partners as well as the other delegates to the summit, which is taking place from Jan. 10 to 15.

Although there are always apprehensions about security during high-level international meetings, Garcia said over 6,000 members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the military are now in Cebu to augment the local police force.
“These (travel advisories) will not affect the attendance of heads of state and government and delegates,” Garcia said. “They've given us their commitment to attend the summit.”
The advisories issued last December by the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia for their citizens to avoid travel to Mindanao and Cebu have not been recalled.
“Our hosting establishes the country's key role in global peace, prosperity and trade,” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, for his part, said. “This opportunity comes only once in more than a decade.”
“All patriotic Filipinos are called upon to work together, putting their best foot forward, in order to reap the confidence and goodwill that this opportunity brings,” Bunye said.
All the 16 leaders participating in the two summits confirmed their attendance, although Foreign Ministers Alexander Downer of Australia and Taro Aso of Japan will no longer be able to make it.
World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Pascal Lamy will also be unable to attend the summits, though he was earlier set to meet the ASEAN leaders and their dialogue partners during the Dec. 10 to 14 schedule of the summits.
Security measures in place
Philippines-ASEAN National Organizing Committee Secretary-General Ambassador Marciano Paynor said in a radio interview that measures are now in place for the security of all the leaders and summit delegates.
“Security is always a concern every time there's a gathering of heads of state and government, regardless where it is,” Paynor said. “There's always a terrorist threat and it's an everyday fact of life. We increased the security because of the arrival of the leaders.”
The advisories warned that terrorist threats against foreigners in the Philippines remain very high.
The UK, Canada and Australia discouraged their citizens from traveling to Mindanao and Cebu by saying terrorists are in the final stages of planning attacks.
Six countries, including the United States and Japan, issued travel advisories in December last year warning their citizens against all travel to Cebu because it is a target for terrorist attacks.
The Philippine government said postponed the ASEAN Summit because Cebu was in the path of an oncoming typhoon, not because of the travel advisories. Dismay over flags
Meanwhile, foreign embassies in the country were dismayed when the ASEAN Summit organizers disallowed the installation of their national flags on the leased BMW limousines that will be used by their leaders during the summit in Cebu, diplomatic sources said.
Sources said the embassies are planning to use their own vehicles in Manila and bring them to Cebu for the use of their leaders.
They said that the organizers did not approve the request for the installation of a metal rod on the pre-sold vehicles to display the flags of ASEAN nations and its dialogue partners China, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India during the Cebu Summit on Jan. 13 to 15.
Because it is a standard practice to fly the flags of countries attending international and high-level meetings, the embassies consider it “unusual” not be allowed to display their flags on vehicles to be used by their leaders and officials.
Luxury car manufacturer BMW leased 50 730i and 520d model, limousine-type vehicles to the government worth over P300 million for use by the heads of state and their staff during the ASEAN Summit.The cars were flown in from Germany.
The BMWs will be equipped with automated controllers for functions like entertainment, climate control and navigation, as well as special detailing.
The vehicles will be sold after the Cebu Summit at P7.5 million for the 730i and P4 million for the 520d. BMW said prospective buyers have already placed reservations for the cars because of their special features. Driver training Honda and BMW will train 77 police personnel assigned to drive the vehicles. Both car manufacturers Saturday trained the police personnel who are replacing colleagues from Luzon who were no longer assigned to Cebu for summit duty.

Some 41 police officers were assigned to drive the Honda Accord sedans while 74 other police officers were assigned to drive the BMW limousines.
Arturo Briones of Honda's marketing and sales department told The Freeman Newspaper that the summit's National Organizing Committee has replaced all the 41 police personnel they had trained before the original schedule of the summit. Of those assigned to drive BMWs, the NOC has only replaced 36.

The orientation and test-driving took place at the ASEAN Summit Cebu Task Force headquarters across the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) in Mandaue City.
The task force headquarters will also serve as the garage for the vehicles that will be used by the spouses of the ASEAN leaders and as official patrol cars for security personnel.
Members of the augmentation force who returned to Cebu for the sumit were required to have the serial numbers of their firearms recorded. The patrol cars earlier assigned to them were returned to them as well.

Briones said the orientation was necessary so the drivers would learn about the salient features of the newest Honda Accord.
Besides this, Honda also wants to ensure that the drivers are capable of driving at the required speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
Each of the summit's Honda Accord sedans comes with a P1.6 million price tag, but Honda has given the buyers of the 41 vehicles to be used in the summit a P500,000 discount each. The buyers will also get to keep the special ASEAN Summit car plate that will be attached to their sedans.
Malacañang declared on Friday that Jan. 12 and 15 would be special holidays for government offices and schools in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.

The summit officially begins on Jan. 12 and will be preceded by a series of meetings for senior officials. Over 52 meetings will be held at the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and the CICC.
The augmentation force of 1,420 military and police personnel from all over the country began returning to Cebu to provide security along streets and key areas where summit activities will be held.

The heads of state are expected to arrive on Jan. 12, as their meetings with their dialogue partners will commence on Jan. 14.
Ceremonial route
Meanwhile, the “ceremonial route” through which the ASEAN leaders will pass upon their arrival will be closed on Tuesday for a dry run conducted by police and

Police Regional Office 7 director Chief Superintendent Silverio Alarico said the ceremonial route for the ASEAN Summit will be closed for the dry run, but he added that they will now employ measures to alleviate traffic congestion that the dry run may cause.

The dry run is designed to check the readiness of the security forces that will handle the convoys of the visiting heads of state, who will all use the route to go to their meeting venues from their hotels.
The leaders are billeted at the Cebu City Mariott Hotel, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, Marco Polo Plaza Hotel and the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort.
Alarico, who also heads the summit's security task force, said they have gone over the feedback from the dry run they conducted on Dec. 1, 2006 and will make sure that the activity will not last more than an hour to minimize the inconvenience to affected motorists.

He said traffic enforcers and police personnel manning key intersections along the route will also allow some motorists to pass through when there are no passing convoys to ease traffic.
He also said they took into consideration the complaints made by some airline passengers last month. According to him, the outer lane of the road leading to the Mactan Cebu International Airport will be open, but added that there will be tight security checks and checkpoints along this road.

Alarico said he will also check the performance of security cameras set up in strategic areas during the dry run to ensure that they are properly installed and for last-minute adjustments to be made.
Monitors for these cameras have been set up at a tactical operations center, where Alarico will also be stationed during the rehearsal.
An estimated 1,500 security guards who are employed by business establishments lining the ceremonial route were also tapped by the PNP to assist them in monitoring the area.
The security guards were provided by the security task force with access to hotlines so they can communicate swiftly and easily with the security group should they see anything suspicious in their areas.

Sinulog festival

Police officials have admitted that the security concerns for the rescheduled ASEAN Summit are different from the security concerns they faced in December due to the annual celebration of Cebu's Sinulog festival in honor of the Christ Child or the Santo Niño this January.
“If there were fewer people, the security would be easier to put in place, Alarico said. “Now it's different because of the Sinulog celebration,” the festivities of which also begin on Jan. 12.
To address this concern, Alarico said there 500 more police officers will be deployed to Cebu from the PNP's Regional Training School 7 and the different regions.

The additional police personnel will be deployed in the Sinulog venues, while regular security troops assigned to the summit will be in their assigned posts.
On a lighter note, the music and dances of the Sinulog festival – with a few touches taken from ASEAN member-states, will greet arriving ASEAN leaders and delegates.
Garcia said in a radio interview that “since we are celebrating the Sinulog on Jan. 21, they'll see streamers from the airports and every head of a country will be given a special Sinulog welcome. When, for example, the Vietnamese leader arrives, the beat of the song when he is welcomed at the airport will be a Vietnamese beat.”

Tony awardee Lea Salonga will also sing before the ASEAN leaders.
Via Mare was contracted as the summit's caterer and will provide world-class cuisine.
The leaders' spouses, Garcia said, will be treated to a special tour of Cebu to see the various festivals and giveaways of Cebuano delicacies and handicrafts will be given to them as well.
First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo will host a dinner for the leaders' spouses on Jan. 13.

January 11, 2007   Posted in: Philippines