APEC organizers in Cebu prepare Plan B
STILL MORE FUN IN PH? A foreign visitor and his wife board a wooden cart for P20 per person to cross knee-deep flood water outside SM City in the North Reclamation Area, Cebu City after Monday’s afternoon downpour lasted over an hour. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Monday’s downpour, which caused knee-deep urban flooding, posed a new test for planners of the upcoming APEC meetings in Cebu City.
What happens if it floods again?
Lito Maderazo, APEC local organizing committee consultant, said typhoon resilience and street flooding poses the biggest challenge in Cebu City for APEC local organizers, since the city’s drainage system is limited.
“Two days ago, we had knee-deep flooding, especially close to the main meeting hub Radisson Blu Hotel after only an hour of downpour. We have already tasked committee officials to find ways to address this problem because we can’t risk anything happening to our delegates,” he said.
ROAD CLOSURE
In a worst-case scenario, part of Pope John Paul II Avenue (formerly San Jose dela Montaña and Juan Luna) and S. Osmeña Avenue would be closed, said Rafael Christopher Yap,Cebu city traffic manager.
“This is not automatic. Road closure is only one of our options. But if worse comes to worst, we will close the road to prioritize APEC delegates,” Yap told Cebu Daily News in a phone call.
Yap emphasized that the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) won’t close roads right away when it rains and floods occur.
Other possible solutions will be exhausted before closing it off from public access.
He said Citom enforcers will be at junction points and traffic signals can be adjusted to allow APEC delegates to pass through traffic.
Vehicles of delegates can also take alternative routes in case of flooding in the original route and increased congestion.
The corridor of John Paul II Avenue, Salinas Drive and Veterans Drive are considered key roads because APEC vehicles will pass through them in moving from Radisson Blu all the way to Marco Polo Plaza.
NO WANG-WANG
“APEC delegates will also be accompanied by motorized police escorts to ensure their safety, but I can assure that there will be no wang-wang (siren),” Yap said.
The “no siren” rule is a policy set by President Benigno Aquino at the start of his term to set an example of following traffic rules with no abuse of privilege by those in power.
Citom will be reinforced with barangay tanods from Mabolo, Apas, Lahug, Kasambagan, Carreta, Luz, Busay and Kamputhaw to cover all junction points in Juan Luna Avenue, Salinas Drive and Veterans Drive.
Yap said he hopes non-working holidays will be declared during key meetings such as the Third Senior Officials Meeting (SOM3) on Sept. 4 to ease traffic and lessen safety threats for delegates.
“I hope we can push for holidays on APEC. It will definitely make things easier, especially in disaster mitigation. But CITOM is still using the traffic management plan under the assumption that it will not be a holiday,” he said.
A dry run for the traffic plan in Cebu city will be held after Mandaue’s own pilot run, which starts today for one-way traffic in four main roads.
READY FOR DISASTER
With about 3,200 delegates expected from 21 economies, Maderazo, APEC Cebu Organizing Committee chairman, said their safety is a top priority.
That includes being prepared for disasters.
“Yes, I believe we are ready. We have various contingency plans from related government and non-government organizations, in the case that any emergency occurs during the meetings, on the road, or even on their way here to Cebu,” he said.
A total of 65 meetings will be held in four major Cebu hotels – Radisson Blu, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel & Casino, Marriot Hotel and Marco Polo Plaza .
Their employees have undergone disaster training.
“We are more than ready. We are actually 110% ready for emergencies,” said Nisham Silva, general manager of Radisson blue, and a trustee of the Hotels, Resorts, Restaurants Association of Cebu.
Silva said hotel employees have already been applying intensified disaster guidelines from APEC’s National Organizing Committee (NOC) for the past six months.
They underwent basic training on disaster response in case of fire, earthquakes, flooding, and strong typhoons, he assured in yesterday’s forum of the Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO).
Radisson Blu is the main meeting hub where 47 out of 65 APEC meetings will be held.
“The Department of Health conducted a rigorous two-day course on ‘Mass Casualty Management Training’ for all our employees, so rest assured, our hotel and employees are ready,” said Silva.
He said Radisson Blu has blocked the whole hotel for APEC delegates and family members and will only open rooms on a case-to-case basis to ensure their security.
Quest Hotel, Parklane International and Harold’s are among APEC’s designated and accredited hotels as well.
“All we wish is for the safe arrival, stay and departure of our delegates, and that they will find Cebu’s accommodations up to par,” added Silva.
Maderazo, assured that when disasters occur during the APEC months in August and September, most search and rescue teams will still be dedicated for the safety of Cebuano civilians.
“Of course, as much as we prioritize our APEC delegates, we still want to ensure the safety of all citizens, as in the end, the beneficiaries of APEC will be the Cebuanos,” he said.