EDITORIAL - Summit or bust… maybe

This time, neither typhoon nor terror threat can stop the leaders’ summit next week of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, according to Philippine organizers. Cebu is again preparing for the annual gathering, which will be held along with the East Asian summit.

But the damage has been done; the abrupt cancellation of an international gathering for which participants plan their attendance months ahead, ostensibly due to a typhoon that largely spared the summit venue, left a big dent on the country’s credibility as an international host. Now the country – and in particular Cebu, whose new convention center was clearly still a work in progress when the original summit date rolled around – is trying to recover lost ground.

It’s going to be an uphill effort. Already the word from Australia is that Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who had confirmed his attendance at the gathering last month, is skipping the event next week because of conflict in his schedule. Japan’s foreign minister will likely be absent as well, according to reports yesterday. People have stopped trying to assess the readiness of the Cebu convention center for the summit. Despite repeated assurances from Cebu officials that the new building was ready, on the original summit day its roof leaked and plastic bags had to be suspended from ceilings to keep rainwater from destroying x-ray security machines and TV monitors.

Whether the summit was reset due to an overblown typhoon forecast, political jitters or an imminent terror threat as warned by several Western governments, the postponement exposed how ill-prepared the country was for the twin summits. There was no Plan B in case of emergencies whether natural or man-made. The country cannot risk another embarrassment. This second time around, there must be no room for mistakes.