City to push through purchase of vehicles for ASEAN Summit

Even with the P322 million budget of the Philippine National Police for additional patrol cars, motorcycles and guns for the ASEAN Summit, the city government will still push through with the purchase of 30 cars and 30 multicabs for the event.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the vehicles that the city would use will be utilized for other purposes such as transporting foreign media to different places in Cebu that they would want to visit during the four-day event.

The city government's primary responsibility is to accommodate at least 1,000 foreign media expected to cover the summit.

The vehicles, Osmeña said, would also be utilized to expand the city's "reaction force" should there be any terrorist threats. A possible sabotage by terrorist groups is something that Osmeña is placing high priority on, considering that at least 15 heads of states will be present here.

This concern is also triggered by several bomb threats here, the latest of which occurred outside a mall in the North Reclamation Area and in an elementary school in Tuburan town. Several of the vehicles would be utilized to patrol the city during the summit.

The city is appropriating close to P30 million for the purchase of vehicles and negotiations have been made with Toyota and Isuzu from which the vehicles are planned to be purchased.

Osmeña initially said 10 vehicles will be issued to offices of department heads, city fiscals and judges while the city police will use the remaining 20. The 30 multicabs will be used for the city hall and barangays.

So concerned is Osmeña on the security aspect of the preparation that he has urged Cebu City residents to make early plans for out-of-town trips during the dates of the summit. This way, he said the streets would be decongested and it would be easier to respond to alarms. - Joeberth M. Ocao