The 51st International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) may be over but some delegates are extending their stay to visit tourist destinations in Cebu and neighboring provinces.
Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, Task Group IEC Cebu commander, said their job won’t end until the last delegate leaves the country safely.
“Some delegates are still on tour in nearby provinces, (like) Bohol. They are still enjoying the sceneries of our country. They are a big group, though I don’t have the exact number yet. But most of them are Taiwanese and Canadians,” Gaerlan said in a press briefing.
The Simala-Lindogon Church in Sibonga town, southern Cebu is one of the top destinations among the IEC delegates, who also visited the beaches in the south, specifically in Oslob and Moalboal towns.
Some opted to visit Bohol for its beaches and attractions such as the Loboc River, the tarsier and the Chocolate Hills.
During yesterday’s Cebu City Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC) meeting, chairman Eugene Elizalde said Cebu City may host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit either in March or August next year.
“If that’s the case I think we are ready (Cebu City). I would fairly say we are ready. We have gone through the test already in IEC, APEC and Mega Sinulog,” he said.
Elizalde said adjustments on traffic and crowd control based on the security template used for the IEC and last year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings can be used for the Asean Summit.
One such adjustment will be the dispersal of vehicles after the event which created traffic congestion on N. Bacalso Avenue in Pardo area compared to SRP.