6,000 cops to beef up Asean Summit security
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Director General Oscar Calderon assured that the holding of the 12th Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) Summit in Cebu this week will be peaceful.
Calderon, who was here last week for the turn over of command at the Police Office Regional (PRO) 6, said that 6,000 additional police will augment security forces in Region 7. Part of the augmentation comes from PRO 6.
"We have more than enough troops, so Cebu is secured. I assure the peaceful conduct of the Asean summit," he said.
Calderon said that present security preparations are better compared to last year, before the regional summit was postponed, because they had an extra month to prepare.
The 12th Asean Summit was originally set on December 10 to 14, but was moved to January 10-14 because of a typhoon.
On the downside though, they had to spend some more because they have to re-deploy the additional security personnel because of the postponement, he noted.
Among those that will be deployed for the Summit are the Civil Disturbance Management Units of the PNP to deal with protest actions, mainly by militant groups.
Drivers and security escorts are also among the 6,000 additional personnel.
Meanwhile, the PNP as well as other law enforcement agencies continue to track down a suspected Vietnamese-American bomber believed be here in the country.
The suspect, Vihn Nguyen Tan, also known as Vo Van Duc, is the alleged leader of a Vietnamese group calling itself the Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group.
He was arrested at a suburban house in Manila in 2001, while allegedly assembling a bomb to attack the Vietnamese embassy, but was freed by corrupt immigration officials, who gave him a Filipino passport in 1995.
Since then, efforts to locate him have been futile, and three immigration officials are now being investigated for the fiasco.
Officials warned that Tan could pose a threat to the summit.
On the other hand, President Arroyo on Friday said the gathering of world leaders in Cebu starting Wednesday this week will be "a moment of pride" for the country as the Philippines hosts the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit amid fears of terror attacks.
"The agreements that are expected to be forged will be a collective harbinger of greater stability, cooperation and people-to-people efforts to achieve greater freedom from fear and from want in the fastest developing region in the world," the President said.
"This is the new Philippines hosting a vibrant Asean and East Asia and we should mark this event as our contribution to a safer and more prosperous world," she added.
Leaders from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and their East Asia dialogue partners are expected to tackle regional trade and security issues during the six-day summit.
The summit will be held at the Cebu International Convention Center.