Tight security seen in Metro in coming week

MANILA, Philippines – Expect tight security in Pasay and neighboring cities this week as the Southern Police District prepares for back-to-back events – Labor Day and the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting.

Superintendent Jenny Tecson, SPD spokesperson, said that the district would provide additional police to ensure security especially on the ADB annual meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City from May 2 to May 5.

A number of seminars will also be held at the SMX Convention Center at the nearby SM Mall of Asia.

Over 4,000 delegates, including finance ministers, central bank governors and other experts are expected to attend the meeting.

“We will provide more than enough security to ensure that nothing wrong will happen during the meeting,” Tecson said in a telephone interview.

She added that the SPD would provide at least a hundred police from the district’s civil disturbance management unit and the District Public Safety Battalion would be deployed around the PICC in anticipation of protesters and to break up other untoward incidents during the four-day meet.

“For the past two weeks, the police have been practicing their response to a number of incidents that could happen during the meeting,” Tecson said.

The district will also provide specialized security forces to guard against threats coming from Manila Bay.

In addition, investigators will also be deployed to the area for quick response and investigation for any incident.

Finally, Tecson said the police would provide each delegate with a personal security aide who would accompany the delegates through all their activities.

“These aides, who may be from the city, district, regional or national headquarters, have been trained for close-in security,” she added.

The SPD’s security contingent for the meeting will augment the Pasay Police during the meeting.

Aside from providing security, the SPD has also been helping clear the PICC and nearby areas of illegal vendors and vagrants.

Meanwhile, Tecson also said that the SPD will provide augmentation to city police districts for any possible Labor Day protests on May 1.

“During the day, we will implement a strict ‘no permit, no rally’ policy all over the district, and we can deploy additional personnel to the cities within our jurisdiction if the need arises,” she said.

Tecson added that the SPD has been coordinating with local government units for rallies expected during the holiday.

“However, we have been told that no one has applied for a rally permit so far,” she said.