Palace urges Metro folk to take a break for Apec

Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Good news for Metro Manila residents: They now have a handy excuse to spend more time with their families or even go out of town next month, what with the no-fly times, the restricted roads, rerouting and other hassles that come with the country hosting the world leaders’ meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in November.

“Expect it to be a little hard moving around, especially when all 20 (Apec) leaders arrive in Manila” for their Nov. 18 to 19 meeting hosted by President Benigno Aquino III, warned deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

In a Malacañang press briefing on Friday, Valte urged residents of the National Capital Region to “take advantage of this opportunity to spend time with (their) families and perhaps go outside Metro Manila” because of intense security and traffic management preparations that go with hosting Apec, the multilateral grouping of 21 economies that seek to foster free trade and economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

Security measures

Apec is composed of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.

Police, too, have been training hard to implement security measures that include traffic rerouting and no-fly zones, the Palace official added of preparations for the “most influential and high-level business event in the Asia-Pacific.”

Aside from the Apec leaders’ meeting, Manila will also host from Nov. 15 to 17 the Apec CEO summit, an annual dialogue between Apec leaders and top businessmen in the region and around the world.

Last week, Malacañang announced that work in Metro Manila government offices, including state-owned and controlled corporations, will be suspended from Nov. 17 to 20, “in view of activities related to the Philippine hosting of the Apec summit.”

Operation continues

But “government agencies directly involved in basic services, such as security and safety, health and emergency preparedness, and the conduct of various Apec meetings and related activities shall continue their operations,” the memo circular from Malacañang said.

For local government units and the private sector, the memo circular said work suspension “shall be on a voluntary basis,” depending on their own assessment of Apec activities scheduled from Nov. 16 to 20, and the traffic management plan implemented on those dates.

Nonworking holidays

Earlier, President Aquino declared Nov. 18 and 19 nonworking holidays for the Apec leaders’ meeting to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

The Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education also declared Nov. 17 and 20 school holidays to give way to the Apec summit.