APEC meetings start in Iloilo City

CEBU, Philippines – The red carpet has been rolled out at Iloilo City, the “City of Love,” for the thousands of delegates for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s three meetings, the first of which had started yesterday.

The three events are: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) ministerial meeting, from September 21 to 25; Senior Officers Meeting on Disaster Risk Preparedness, Reduction and Management (Sept. 22 to 23); and ministerial meeting on Food Security and Blue Economy (Sept. 28 to Oct. 6).

The newly opened Iloilo Convention Center at Megaworld’s Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao district will be the main venue for the three meetings

Weeks before the arrival of delegates and guests, the APEC Local Organizing Committee-Iloilo announced its readiness for the events. Its executive director, Junel Divinagracia, said subcommittees on food, accommodation and security, among others, were already in place.

Round-the-clock security has been carried out around the metropolis with thousands of policemen deployed to boost the city’s peace and order.

Zero crime rate

Iloilo City, consisting of 180 barangays, has an average monthly crime rate of 241 from January to August, this year. But Police Regional Office-6 Director, Chief Superintendent Bernardo Diaz, said the police have targeted a zero crime rate throughout the three APEC meetings.

From Saturday until early afternoon yesterday, when the APEC ministerial meetings started here, Iloilo City registered a no-crime rate, just like what happens during a match of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

Inspector Sheila Mae Sangrines, spokesperson of APEC 2015 Site Task Group-Iloilo, said “We hope, and we are working, that it will remain as such.” Even petty street crimes were non-existent for several days before the APEC meeting kicked off yesterday, she said.

Sangrines siad thousands of policemen scattered along major streets, hotels, and other areas of convergence. PRO-6 had placed all police units in Western Visayas on full red alert since Sept. 12, and thousands of augmentation forces from other regions are now in Iloilo to cover every aspect of security for the APEC.

Power, health concerns

The Panay Electric Company, the city’s lone power distributor, has given its assurance that no power interruption will occur during the APEC meetings. Randy Pastolero, PECO vice president of operations and general manager, said lines to the main venue of the meetings and billeting areas of the delegates were already checked to ensure that no faults will occur during the events.

The Department of Health-6, for its part, has been on alert on conjunctivitis (sore eyes) that might affect delegates and guests. DOH-6 Assistant Director Maria Paz Corrales said all medical teams have increased supply of medicines for sore eyes.

Economic boom

Iloilo City’s hosting of the APEC meetings has been seen as an opportunity for the city to showcase its economic vibrancy, as has contributed to an economic boom that resulted in more jobs and investments.

Iloilo’s earned title as the country’s “most livable city” also gave a plus in selling the city to investors. With the boom of infrastructure, the city further attracted tourists to its century-old churches, and buildings rich in history and culture.

MMDA help in traffic

Traffic enforcers donning a bright MMDA sign, emblazoned on their vest, have become a common sight at major streets in Iloilo City, as the (APEC meetings kicked off yesterday.

While most Ilonggos welcome MMDA’s “invasion,” albeit for a limited period, some questioned the traffic enforcers’ presence. “Why are they here when they can’t even organize their own traffic situation in Metro Manila?” some asked.

Others have questioned the capability of Iloilo City’s own, Transport Management and Traffic Regulation Office (TMTRO), to handle the flow of traffic during big events such as APEC.

In answer to MMDA’s “questioned” presence, the APEC 2015 Site Task Group-Iloilo said MMDA is a part of the APEC affair, even if it is done outside of Metro Manila, as declared by the APEC National Organizing Committee.

Inspector Sangrines, spokesperson of STG-Iloilo, said MMDA personnel were also present when Bacolod City and Boracay Island in Aklan hosted APEC meetings last April and May, respectively.

Sangrines said Emerson Carlos, MMDA’s APEC commander and MMDA assistant general manager for operations, also said earlier the Iloilo City government had requested for an augmentation of the city’s traffic men.

Currently, there are 77 MMDA personnel in Iloilo City that forms part of STG-Iloilo as a Sub-Task Unit Traffic with the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG) as the lead agency. The MMDA even brought with it high-tech equipment for the purpose, as well as a mobile command post equipped with CCTVs to monitor strategic areas.

MMDA also brought with it four-wheeled vehicles and 16 tri-city motorcycles, and its personnel are deployed to the city streets from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, throughout the duration of the APEC meetings, added Sangrines.