Rama not keen on holidays during APEC meetings

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama doesn’t want the national government to declare holidays on the dates when the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) meetings will be held in Cebu next month.

“I have never been in favor of that. Tinapulan na nga pagsulbad (That’s a lazy solution),” he said.

Instead, the mayor said certain roads should be covered by an open-close route scheme.

Rama said some roads where APEC delegates will pass through when going from one venue to another should be closed and later opened to regular traffic.
He said high police visibility is also essential in routes covered by the APEC meetings.

Too much
Rama said it’s being done in other countries around the world and there are no holidays declared by governments there.

The local APEC organizing committee suggested that the national government declare holidays on dates when APEC meetings are held to ease traffic congestion in Cebu.

Former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña also said classes shouldn’t be suspended during APEC meetings.

While saying that holidays may ease traffic during the meetings, he said it’s too much.

“How many meetings are there? How many APEC people will be moving around? 1,000? 2,000? 10,000? Are 400,000 students going to stop studying because of that?” Osmeña said.

Welcome
“It may ease traffic in Guadalupe and the south district, downtown, in Talamban and other areas but the students may visit Mactan beaches and malls that are along the route of the APEC meetings. It may only worsen the problem,” he said.

The Mandaue City government welcomed the APEC organizing committee’s idea.

Architect Florentino Nimor, head of the Mandaue City Planning and Development Office (MCPDO), said it may help decongest traffic in Mandaue City.

“(It will be) more effective if it is in succession. If it’s only one holiday, it’s not effective,” Nimor said.

He cited the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) summit held in Cebu in 2007 when traffic was light because there was a series of holidays scheduled on the dates.

For their part, the Department of Education is waiting on word from the province and the national government on confirmation of suspension of classes during the APEC meetings.

“We understand also what is their purpose (planned holidays). We need to conduct a meeting for us to decide on how many make up classes are needed once it is approved,” DepEd regional director Dr. Juliet Jeruta said.