EDITORIAL – ASEAN Summit: A security nightmare

Debates on whether a holiday should be declared during the ASEAN Summit on December have been going on. In fact, two local chief executives have exchanged harsh words because of the issue. The different sectors of the community have also voiced their stand. However, whether a holiday is declared or not for the duration of the summit, we Cebuanos should accept the fact we will have to give up our normal lives in exchange for hosting a prestigious event.

Hosting the ASEAN Summit is surely a big break, not only for the host local government units, but also for Cebu Province as a whole. This is our opportunity to show our ASEAN neighbors that we are capable of handling a big event.

However, with only nine months more to go before the big activity, we Cebuanos should realize that unlike other events that we have hosted in the past, we are dealing with a different thing when it comes to the summit. We must all remember that our expected visitors this time are not just ordinary people but the heads of state of ASEAN countries and the decision makers of these countries. The social standing of our expected visitors makes the event a security nightmare for us here because we as organizers are responsible for each and every head of state and each and every member of their party while they are in Cebu for the summit.

We are not taking sides on whether a holiday should be declared or not because we feel that Cebuanos must first understand the magnitude of the event that we are hosting. When Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña says that there is really a need for a declaration of a holiday for the event, the mayor is just probably thinking that taking people out of their normal lives while the summit will lessen the security problem. Likewise, when Mandaue City Mayor Ouano says that there is really no need for a holiday, he is probably thinking that a declaration of a holiday will not keep people from going to the areas where the summit is to be held.

Whether a holiday is declared or not, what we Cebuanos should learn to accept is that we may have to give up the things we normally do for the duration of the summit so that we will not add to the already humongous security problem that is probably causing headaches by now to those who are in charge of the event.