Are we ready for APEC heads of state meeting?

The upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting this November is going to be the biggest event ever for the Philippines this year, with 21 heads of state and their respective retinues arriving, along with international media crews and observers from countries like India that has always been requesting for membership, but has not been accepted because for one thing, it does not border the Pacific Ocean.

An advance security team from the United States arrived earlier to check the preparations and will be back to finalize all the security arrangements including contingency plans. Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev – who is in Russia to confer with President Vladimir Putin – said an advance security team will also be arriving to scan the venue and check out other details. Chinese president Xi Jinping – who has confirmed his attendance more or less – will also send his own security detail to inspect the preparations – and most likely this also goes for all the other heads of state who will be arriving.

Months before the event, preparations have already been underway with hotels now fully booked while coordination between various agencies is continuously being done. The Department of Foreign Affairs (which has its hands full organizing the event) is all set, having conducted oculars and also liaising with the Departments of Tourism and Trade plus local government units where APEC side events will be held.

No doubt this major event will also be a major headache as far as traffic and security is concerned due to the huge number of attendees estimated at over 10,000. Judging from the preparations, the leaders’ summit from Nov. 18-19 will require more logistics and coordination than the visit of Pope Francis last January, considering that authorities only had to worry about security arrangements for one VIP and a smaller group of delegates.

Malacañang has advised people to avoid traveling on Nov. 18 and 19 because runways will be closed for the arrival (and departure) of the heads of state, while several parking slots at NAIA will be reserved for the attendees. In anticipation of the traffic, the MMDA has also announced that two lanes from both directions in EDSA from Shaw Boulevard to Mall of Asia will be reserved for the use of APEC delegates

The presence of security teams from the US, Russia and China – with their high-tech monitoring equipment – will do a lot in assuaging security concerns. Every head of state is a high value target, and while they each have their security teams, it always pays to prepare for the worst. Like in previous APEC summits, an area of concern is the so-called “lone wolf” terrorist, an unpredictable factor because he could be an ideologue or someone not necessarily linked to any terrorist group and just wants to make a “statement.”

However, Philippine National Police Chief Director General Ric Marquez assures us the PNP is very well prepared, with the PNP chief himself having had plenty of practice because he was in charge of securing Pope Francis during the latter’s visit in January. As a matter of fact, even members of the US Secret Service were impressed at the way Marquez handled the security during the Pope’s visit – describing him as “very hands-on and energetic and seems to know what he is doing.” No question the visit of the Pope was also very challenging because he was out in the open, close to the throngs of people and therefore, vulnerable.

 Marquez is relieved that Nov. 18 and 19 have been declared as non-working holidays, but he is also asking for the cooperation of the public to make the APEC summit as seamless as possible. Thousands of PNP troops will be deployed and their number will be augmented by 2,500 MMDA personnel, while the PSG will also play a major role. These big events the Philippines is hosting (an upcoming one is the 2017 Asean) shows we are getting to be noticed globally with all eyes focused on the country.

Marquez admitted we need more police personnel because the ideal ratio between police and the population should be 1:500 or even 1:250, very far from the 1:700 ratio we have today. Only 10,000 new PNP recruits are allowed every year, but in reality we need up to 30,000 new personnel at this time, he said. In fact, we still need 4,000 new recruits to fill the 10,000-quota for 2015.  Marquez – who wants to enhance police visibility and make the members of the force become a reassuring presence in the community – has issued an invitation for new graduates to try a career with the PNP.

President Aquino to speak before Forbes Global CEO conference

President Aquino has accepted the invitation to speak at the closing of the 15th annual Forbes Global CEO conference this Oct. 12-14. The President will engage in a one-on-one with Forbes Media chairman and editor-in-chief Steve Forbes on global economic issues. Leading business personalities and top executives in the region and the Philippines will also speak at the conference, among them Ricky Razon (who is hosting the conference at Solaire Resort and Casino) as well as BDO chairman Tessie Sy-Coson, who along with her brother Hans, who is chairman of SM Prime Holdings, will also be representing their father Henry Sy Sr.

This is the first time that the Forbes Global CEO Conference is being held in Manila.

Philippines moves up in WEF competitive rankings

The World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness Report that ranked 144 countries showed the Philippines had improved, moving five notches higher to 47 from its previous ranking of no. 52. The WEF rankings are based on “12 pillars” that include innovation, efficiency, infrastructure, institutions, policies and other factors that could affect the level of productivity of the country. Switzerland came out on top followed by Singapore and the US.

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