Duterte due in Cebu today

CEBU, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is expected in Cebu today, his seventh visit this year, for the Asia Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE), a biennial clinical conference on inflammatory bowel diseases. 

The conference is jointly hosted by the Philippine Society of Gastroenterology (PSG), Philippine Society of Digestive Endoscopy (PSDE) and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Club of the Philippines (IBDCP) at the Shangri-La Hotel in Mactan. Duterte is expected to address the participants of the conference at 6:30 p.m.

The Media Accreditation and Relations Office of Malacañang said there is a possibility that the president will visit ground zero of the landslide area in Barangay Tinaan, city of Naga.

The Office of the President Events Management Cluster has already visited the site yesterday. Meanwhile, Police Regional Office-7 has declared a red alert status for the president’s visit.

PRO-7 director Chief Supt. Debold Sinas has directed all police commanders to intensify the conduct of checkpoints.

"Tomorrow is a very critical day we declared a red alert status since yesterday, I told my chief of police to standby and strengthen checkpoints," Sinas said. 

He said that PRO-7 will deploy at least 1,000 policemen in areas where the president is expected to visit. The police expect demonstrations by the members of various cause-oriented groups in commemoration of the declaration of the Martial Law.

Sinas, however, said he is expecting peaceful demonstrations. Nevertheless, a team from the Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) unit will be on standby to respond should there be dispersal needed.

"The usual we learned gusto nila mag-rally go ahead basta after expressing the idea disperse naturally," he said.—  FPL (FREEMAN)