EARLY APEC SELFIE Participants in an event held by the National Youth Commission at Rizal Park on Friday take timeout for a photo-op with a “#APEC2015PH” standee as backdrop. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
SECURITY adjustments for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Metro Manila next week will have such a huge impact on urban mobility that authorities are advising the public to just stay home.
And for those with out-of-town vacation plans, the coming days may also be the best time to stay out of the capital.
“There’s going to be a certain level of inconvenience, whether we like it or not, for that period of time. It would be better if you just stay at home,” said Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento in a press briefing held Friday by the Apec 2015 security task force, which has set up its coordination center in Pasay City.
“This will be a long weekend for some. Enjoy the long break. Spend time with family. For those whose provinces are near [Metro Manila], take this opportunity to have a vacation,” Sarmiento added.
Chief Supt. Arnold Gumacao, chief of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) of the Philippine National Police, said the heavy traffic on Edsa over the past week was only a taste of things to come.
Road restrictions
“We’re already feeling the effects of Apec security operations,” Gunnacao said in an interview. “[Since Monday] we’ve placed barriers—which caused confusion among motorists—to close off the innermost lanes of Edsa, that’s why there were bottlenecks.”
Only Apec delegates, vehicles with Apec 2015 plates, and those with plate numbers 1 to 5 are allowed to enter these lanes on Edsa, Gunnacao added.
Roxas Boulevard will also be closed next week, along with roads leading to the “reclamation areas” in southern Metro Manila, such as the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex, SM Mall of Asia and Solaire, the HPG chief said.
Security up at 16 hotels
From Nov. 16 to 20, Apec events will be held in various venues particularly in Makati and Pasay. The 21-nation event has prompted security forces to schedule road closures, especially on Edsa, as well as flight cancellations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Classes on all levels and work in government offices are suspended from Nov. 17 to 20, and work in the private sector from Nov. 18 to 19.
In an advisory issued Friday, the Supreme Court said work would already be suspended Monday in the regional and metropolitan trial courts in Makati and Manila, though they should maintain a skeleton staff for “emergency filings.”
The security blanket covers 16 hotels in Manila, Makati, Pasay and Mandaluyong, as well as the World Trade Center, the Philippine International Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia Arena, and the routes connecting these venues, said Chief Insp. Kimberly Molitas, spokesperson of the National Capital Region Police Office.
“For our citizens who don’t have urgent business in Makati or Manila, we ask that they restrict their movements because the security committee will be strict in those areas. We ask for your cooperation so that the Apec [events] will be orderly,” Molitas said.
The PNP chief, Director General Ricardo Marquez, also said that as of Friday “there are no plans to shut down cell sites” for the duration of the Apec events.
Gun permits suspended
Also on Friday, PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor announced that permits to carry firearms outside residences would be suspended in Metro Manila from Nov. 16 to 20.
Only uniformed forces and law enforcement personnel will be allowed to carry firearms outside their homes during the period. Gun owners violating the ban face six months to six years in jail or a fine of P10,000, Mayor said. With a report from Tarra Quismundo