BAGUIO CITY – The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) is ready for the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings from November 10 to 14 in Manila.
During the Kapihan sa Baguio last Tuesday, NCRPO Spokesperson Kimberly Molitas said they had been doing security preparations since about a year and a half ago. The NCRPO is in charge of the route, security of venue and billeting of the participants.
“As of this interview , I can say that we are ready to receive our leaders. We are assuring the worldwide community that their leaders and our counterparts who will be visiting the Philippines will be safe”, said Molitas.
A total of 21 heads of state and government including US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the United Nations Secretary General are expected to arrive in the country for the meetings.
“We started our intelligence gathering and we stepped up our measures against terrorism. We are the seat of the government so we have to secure our roads, our business, and every individual who comes into the Philippines,” Molitas said adding that they are closely working with other government agencies as security is whole government approach.
The world leaders will be arriving at and departing from Clark International Airport following President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive that no commercial traffic shall be affected at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Molitas shared that previous international events like the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in 2015, and the papal visit where millions of people converged in Manila served as their template for security preparations. /PIA CAR
