SECURITY UP

Asean Summit meetings in Cebu 

AT least 5,000 policemen, soldiers and other security forces have been tapped to secure Cebu as it hosts next week seven finance and defense ministerial meetings that will precede the Association of Southeast Asian (Asean) Summit chaired this year by the Philippines.

Amid proposals to shut down telecommunication facilities in Cebu during the meetings from April 3 to April 7, airports, major thoroughfares, hotels and cell sites will be among establishments and facilities that will be placed under tight security.

According to the schedule posted on the Asean website, five finance-related ministerial meetings will be held simultaneously from April 3-7, namely, the Asean Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting (AFCDM); Asean+3 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting (AFCDM+3); Asean Finance Ministers Meeting (AFMM); Asean Central Bank Governors Meeting (ACGM); and Asean Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (AFMGM /3-7)

Cebu will also be the venue for the 1st Asean Defense Senior Officials’ Meeting (ADSOM) and ADSOM-Plus Meetings that will be held from April 5-7.

Organizers have still to announce the venues for the meetings.

With the theme “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World,” the 31st Asean Summit will culminate with the Leaders’ Meeting at Clark Field, Pampanga on Nov. 10-14, to be attended by leaders from the ten Asean member-countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The country’s hosting of the summit will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the regional bloc.

In order to ensure the safety of Asean officials who will be joining the pre-summit meetings in Cebu, security preparations began in earnest this week, including the arrival yesterday of teams from the Special Operations Unit K9 (SOU) of the Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup) and the Special Action Force (SAF) from their main headquarters in Manila.

The SOU team led by Senior Supt. Joselito Salido, deputy director for Operations of Avsegroup, yesterday inspected the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) using three K9 dogs.

The 12-man team, armed with MP-9 submachine firearms and especially trained on airport security including plane hijacking incidents, assembled yesterday morning at the Silangan Hotel located at the back of Waterfront Mactan Hotel for the inspection to ensure that the airport is safe from any terror attack.

The SOU will augment the existing Aviation Security Unit at MCIA and will be in charge of airport security for the duration of the ministerial meetings, Salido said.

According to Salido, they will also inspect the airport in Tagbilaran City in Bohol, which will host the 10th Meeting of the Asean-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) Trade Negotiating Committee and Related Meetings set on April 18-22.

Last Sunday, 19 SAF personnel also arrived on Mactan Island and now housed at the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LCPO) headquarters.

Chief Insp. Junnel Caadlawon, chief of the LCPO Tourist Police Unit, said about 60 more SAF personnel are expected to arrive here next week, to augment the 100 police personnel from LCPO.

SAF will also conduct routes inspections, particularly along the venues on Mactan Island, in coordination with augmentation force from the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), which comes to a around 5,000 security personnel including force multipliers.

Public understanding

Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, the deputy mayor for police matters, said the tight security measures will continue until the Holy Week, or from April 10-16, but there is no reason to be alarmed.

“We just like to request the public not to be alarmed because we will have police presence and other law enforcement agencies along the streets, ports and terminals,” he told reporters.

Tumulak said that one of the venues for the ministerial meetings is near the port area in Cebu City, which is why more uniformed personnel can be seen in this area.

“Our ambulances and firetrucks are all prepared. We are all ready for the Asean summit meetings,” Tumulak said.

If there will be shut down of cellphone signals during the meetings, Tumulak said he will support the idea.

“As chairman of the committee in public order and safety, we will depend on the PNP (Philippine National Police) because they are much more knowledgeable in terms of intelligence and enforcement,” he said.

Tumulak said that if the signal shutdown pushed through, it should only be during a specific period of time.

However, he said the signal shutdown may affect not just Cebu City but also nearby cities.

Telco shutdown not needed

Senior Supt. Joel Doria, director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said they have so far not entertained the possibility of implementing a signal shutdown by telecommunication companies during the pre-summit conferences in Cebu since, unlike the Sinulog Festival grand parade and procession, the Asean meetings are confined in indoor venues.

“Hindi na kailangan yan. (That is not needed anymore),” he said.

Police had shut down wireless signals during the Sinulog Festival as a measure against attacks from terrorists who might use a cellular phone’s signal to detonate a bomb.

For next week’s events, Doria said the CCPO will be deploying at least 300 policemen to secure delegates and other participants.

Doria appealed to the public to be considerate and cooperative if there are checkpoints in their areas.

Tumulak, meanwhile, said the city’s police, firefighters and paramedics will not be allowed to go on leave during Holy Week since their priority is to safeguard the city.

“We just also like to remind the residents to be safe at all times. As we all know during Lenten season, people will leave their homes, making them susceptible to robbers or accidents like fire,” he said.

Tumulak urged barangay captains in the city, through Association of Barangay Council (ABC) President Philip Zafra, to make sure that their barangay tanods regularly conduct patrols, especially at night time.

Tumulak also urged the public not to post on Facebook their Holy Week vacation plans or activities as these can alert robbers that nobody is home.
During Holy Week, he said security will be focused on religious sites like the Way of the Cross in Barangay Banawa; and in ports, bus terminals and churches.

TAGS: field, Malaysia, meetings, Philippines, security, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam