ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Policemen in Western Visayas have been on full alert as they are now securing the delegates of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in this city, from September 21 to October 6.
Police Regional Office-6 Director, Chief Superintendent Bernardo Diaz, on Wednesday said he wanted his command to achieve a zero crime rate during the three APEC meetings, which will be attended by senior government officials of 21 APEC member economies, at the Iloilo Convention Center.
Diaz said all police units in Region 6 were on full alert since Sept. 12. He said deterrence of crime incidents is fundamental for the success of Iloilo City’s hosting of the APEC meetings.
More than a thousand delegates from the Asia Pacific region and local government units are expected to attend the meetings.
There were thousands of policemen deployed to secure the areas of engagement of the delegates, but PRO-6 declined to divulge the exact number. Augmentation from other police provincial offices was also sent to Iloilo to enhance police security capability.
Personnel from Armed Forces of the Philippines, other law enforcement agencies and other concerned government agencies were also deployed for emergency response.
Diaz, also the commander of APEC 2015 Site Task Group, said police officials had conducted several meetings with the sub-site task groups for security, emergency, and peace and order. The Site Task Unit Convoy already had a dry run to secure the delegates’ travel from the airport to the hotels and to the APEC meetings venue.
The STU Convoy consisted of personnel from the Highway Patrol Group-6, who were augmented by their colleagues from Regions 2 , 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and the Cordillera Autonomous Region.
Amid all these preparations, Diaz said they also made sure the security coverage will not undermine the impact of petty crimes to the event. “While Western Visayas is a generally peaceful and orderly place, we cannot be complacent in our security coverage for the APEC,” he added. (FREEMAN)