EDITORIAL — A blessing in disguise

Cebuanos felt bad about the postponement of the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit to January next year. This is understandable though because of all the preparations that have been done for the activity. However, instead of wallowing in disappointment, we should look at the postponement as a blessing in disguise.

For one, it was only when Typhoon Seniang brought rains in Cebu that it was found that the Cebu International Convention Center's roof had leaks, causing rainwater to flood some portions of the facility's interior. It is already embarrassing that foreign and local media who are here supposedly to cover the event saw the leaks and the clean up that had to be done at the CICC. However, it would have been more embarrassing if the summit pushed through on schedule and activities at the CICC had to be stopped because of the leaks.

For sure the contractors did not anticipate that there are leaks in the center's roof because the weather in Cebu during the time of its construction was relatively dry. The postponement of the summit would give more time to those in charge of the building to make some repairs to assure that rains would not seep through the center's roof.

Aside from making repairs, contractors would also have more time to test the other facilities at the center to assure that these are working properly and will not conk out during the summit next year.

On the other hand, more time to fine-tune the CICC would also mean more time to fine-tune activities prepared for the summit. The postponement of the ASEAN Summit actually means more time for us Cebuanos to prepare. The postponement may be a setback, but it's not really a major one. Yes, hotels and others in the business sector may have suffered because of the booking cancellations. But these will be offset once the summit finally pushes through next year.