PNP gears up for APEC, int’l events

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) is gearing up for the intensified security preparations for at least four international events in the country, including the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2017.

Chief Superintendent Ricardo Marquez, PNP director for operations, said the security preparations are in full swing also for the 34th Assocation of Southeast Asian Nation’s Association of Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL) Conference in Manila this year.

“We are busy with the security preparations for APEC, ASEANAPOL and (the World Economic Forum or WEF) East Asia Summit,” Marquez told The STAR in an interview at the Senate, where he attended a public hearing on proposed legislation pertaining to electoral reforms.

The Philippines will host this year the WEF East Asia Summit, an extension of the WEF meeting of Davos, Switzerland. In 2016, the country will also welcome delegates of the ASEAN Tourism Forum, a meeting that will bring over 1,800 participants including officials from the ASEAN and its dialogue partners (China, Japan, Republic of Korea, India and Russia).

The PNP, meanwhile, will host the annual ASEANAPOL conference in May. The Philippines is a founding member of the ASEANAPOL, which held its first conference in Manila in 1981 and has been holding annual conferences. The PNP hosted the 23rd ASEANAPOL conference in Manila in September 2003.