ASEAN Summit preparations going well says organizers

Preparations for the upcoming 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in December are going well, according to the Cebu Organizing Committee, headed by Ambassador Marciano Paynor Jr. and Governor Gwen Garcia.

The committee, during a press conference yesterday after their 3-hour meeting, announced that the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) is already 66.65 percent complete and is ahead by around 2 weeks in its work schedule.

CICC architect Manuel Guanzon also said 95 percent of the structural requirement is ready and these will be immediately erected once delivered at the construction site.

The governor said the CICC can be completed by the first week of November because the province has the money to spend for it.

The governor intends to endorse to the Provincial Board the supplemental budget that covers the additional funds needed for the entire project.

Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, whose professional background on engineering has been constantly relied upon by the governor, said the province needs an additional budget of around P175 million to complement the original P250-million budget for the said project.

Ambassador Paynor, who is also the secretary general of the ASEAN-National Organizing Committee (NOC), also said everything is on stream as far as ASEAN Summit preparations are concerned.

He said all of the sub-committees have given reports on hotel accommodations, transportation, CICC, airport and security management, whole government logistical and operational situations for the summit during their meeting yesterday afternoon.

And to allay fears on shortage of hotel rooms for the foreign guests and other delegates, Paynor said there are more than enough hotel rooms and that hotels just need to priorities foreign delegates.

There are also around 2,500 media practitioners, a combination of international, national and local, expected to cover the event.

He said they are still trying to get more rooms for foreign delegations and their support staff and that they also need billeting areas for additional security from the PNP, Armed Forces and PSG.

He said the Department of Tourism is in the process of identifying all available hotel rooms but stressed that they have not yet gone to the extent of going to homestay programs.

Major hotels in Cebu have been asked already not to accept bookings for the duration of the summit, from December 10 to 14.

Paynor said part of the back-up plan is to request for some floating hotels, meaning big ferries that are to be docked in Cebu ports to be utilized as temporary quarters of the support staff for the duration of the summit. - Cristina C. Birondo