CLOSED TO TRAFFIC

CCTO proposal: No vehicles allowed on Pope John Paul II Ave. during IEC week

Get ready to walk during the International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) week. Leave your cars behind.

This was the advice of Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan, acting director of Police Regional Office (PRO) 7, during last week’s closed-door coordination meeting on the IEC.

Gaerlan, who heads the newly created Ad Hoc Task Group Cebu that oversees security preparations for IEC, said private vehicles will only worsen congestion.

“We expect heavy traffic so the people should be prepared for traffic,” he said.

CONCERNS

Traffic congestion was among the concerns raised during the meeting last week. Others were security preparations, crowd control and threat assessment, considering that the event on January 24-31 is expected to draw at least 15,000 people.

Traffic authorities are thinking of closing Pope John Paul II Ave., from the corner of Archbishop Reyes Ave. to the corner of Cardinal Rosales Ave. (Ayala access road), to all vehicles during the 51st International Eucharistic Congress on January 24 to 31.

The Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) is inclined to propose that half of Pope John Paul II Ave., from the corner of Archbishop Reyes Ave. (Tesda regional office) to Cardinal Rosales Ave. (Ayala access road), be closed to all vehicles for the week.

The same stretch was closed to private vehicles for two days during the dry run for the IEC last November. Along this road is the newly built IEC Pavilion, where most of the activities will be held.

Jonathan “Joy” Tumulak, CCTO operations chief, said they have not finalized their proposal.

“Wala pa gyud na siya na-finalize. Ang mga bus ra ang makaagi sa kana nga road. Nagsige pa mi’g konsulta (The proposal has not been finalized. Only buses will be allowed on that road. Consultations are ongoing),” he told Cebu Daily News yesterday.

Ceres buses will be used to transport the delegates.

Raphael Yap of Cebu City Traffic Office (CCTO), who attended the coordinating conference, said Osmeña Blvd. will also have to be closed to traffic for the procession from Plaza Independencia to the Capitol grounds.

“This will be a very busy time for CCTO (and) for the entire Cebu City. We only have a week between the two major events, (and) usually the population, we don’t expect this to reduce,” he said, referring to the Sinulog Festival and the IEC.

Next year’s Sinulog grand parade will be held on January 17, a week before the 51st IEC which is scheduled for January 24-31.

TACTICAL CENTER

Philippine National Police Director General Ricardo Marquez, who facilitated the organizational meeting and contingency planning session last week at the PRO 7, said a tactical center will be set up a week before the IEC.

He said security preparations for the event still needed to be “refined.”

“The secret to a successful major event hosting is thorough preparations,” Marquez told reporters after the meeting.

“Ang paghahanda (Preparedness) is always situation-driven. It depends on the emerging threats. Kailangan paghandaan ang lahat (We should always be prepared for everything),” he added.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, in a separate interview, said he was happy that Marquez personally facilitated the meeting.

“On a personal note, I am happy with this contingency planning and coordination. We have seen how important the event is from the human point of view. We could not take for granted the many things, the implications in terms of traffic and security and in peace and order situation,” said Palma.

APEC EXPERIENCE

Marquez said he felt it was his “responsibility to come over here and share with them (task force) my experiences during the APEC operations and the papal visit which might help in managing the crowd for the IEC.”

The Ad Hoc Task Group Cebu, which Gaerlan heads, was created through Memorandum Circular No. 88 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa on December 4.

The group is in charge of preparing a security plan similar to that of the APEC Leaders’ Meeting last November in Manila, wherein several roads were closed to traffic for several days.

Marquez said the creation of the regional task group will allow the core group to ask for budget from the government since there is a need to move some assets like K9 dogs and patrol cars.

He also cited the need for augmentation forces.

Gaerlan said Marquez himself will supervise the security operations and will probably stay in Cebu for the duration of the meeting.

“Histories of IEC have been discussed and studied including the Philippines’ hosting of the international event in the year 1937. This will be a basis for the security plans,” he said.