Whew, Cebu int’l center’s roof leaks

CEBU — The motto of the cancelled ASEAN summit in the Philippines might be: when it rains, it pours.

The Cebuano dream of hosting an ASEAN summit ended in disarray yesterday, with rain leaking through the roof of the city’s new convention center and delegates jamming the airport to get out of town.

Officials called off the regional summit on Friday reportedly due to concerns about an approaching typhoon — and what foreign ministry sources said was fear of a terrorist attack.

After the last-minute cancellation nations rushed in planes to transport their top officials away — while for everyone else, chaos was the order of the day.

Yesterday, the convention center that was hosting the media was dealing with another last-minute problem: major leaks in the roof.

Rain from the storm leaked through the roof and dripped from the lighting fixtures.

Workers were covering the lone X-ray security machine with cardboard and laying rubber tiles on the floor as rain water seeped through the roof of the center, which was purpose-built for the summit.

Barefoot staff used brushes to whisk away pools of water at the site, which officials said cost more than P500 million to build.

Large bouquets of flowers, sent to mark the meeting’s success, lay toppled by the wind into puddles of water. One offered congratulations from a local building contractor.

"If it didn’t rain we wouldn’t know which part of the roof we need to address because there are leaks,’’ Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said.

At the local airport, staff hammered away on typewriters — no computers in sight — to make hard copies of tickets for the throng racing to get back home.

After calling off the annual meeting of regional leaders under the shadow of a looming typhoon and fears of a terrorist attack, the Philippine government said the show would go on next month.

As foreign affairs officials privately disputed the official explanation of the weather as the reason for postponing the summit, the mood in the island resort of Cebu was gloomy.

"It would have been a big chance for the Philippines," said Jonalyn Cacal, a security worker at the luxurious seaside Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa, where disconsolate workers were packing up the signs and banners meant to celebrate the summit.

"We have been preparing ourselves on security for so long," she said.

Amid reports of a pending terrorist attack, and warnings from Britain, the United States and other nations that danger was at hand, Malacañang insisted that typhoon "Seniang" (international codename: Utor) was the only reason for calling off the summit.

"The Philippines is responsible for the safety and well-being of the summit participants in the face of inclement weather," President Arroyo said in a statement, adding that the summit would be held here in January by ASEAN agreement. "I thank the leaders for their understanding and support."

But newspapers, journalists and officials questioned the official line, and some said concerns about a possible attack in Cebu were legitimate.

Hotels, which had ratcheted up their prices in hopes of a big payday, were besieged by frustrated media companies looking for some kind of refund.

And for the locals, there was a sense that the opportunity to present their island’s best face to the international community had been lost.

"Many people are still wondering why," said Maria, a worker at the Shangri-La hotel, who declined to give her family name. She was stacking up chairs that had been intended to seat Southeast Asia’s movers and shakers.

"Some say it is the storm, some say it is due to political reasons," she said. "We just don’t know." — AFP, Pia Christine Brago