National government releases 90 percent of summit budget

Confidence is high for the national government that the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in December will be smooth sailing.

This after it has released almost 90 percent of the P2-billion budget for the upcoming event.

Department of Budget and Management Secretary Rolando Andaya said he does not see any hitches in the summit preparations - from the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center to the upgrading of the airport facilities, and from the food preparation to the security of the delegations.

Andaya added that he just received the request from the Department of Tourism for a P5 million budget for the training of the taxi drivers and other summit volunteers.

Andaya is also confident that the Cebu provincial government will deliver the P450 million CICC on time following the assurance of Governor Gwen Garcia. "Knowing the leaders of Cebu, I am sure they'll get their job done," he said.

Andaya added that they are also carefully looking into all requests, especially on the proposal to purchase over 50 luxury vehicles to be used for the heads of states and their delegations to the summit.

He said they instead opted to lease these vehicles, which could not be utilized much after the summit. - Vilma Andales