World leaders start arriving for APEC

MANILA, Philippines - Several top foreign officials arrived yesterday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit that included former Chinese Taipei Vice President Vincent Wanchang Siew, who will represent Taipei President Ma Ying-jeou.

Siew arrived at around 1:15 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on a chartered China Airlines flight.

Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras, Manila Economic and Cultural Office Chairman Amadeo Perez and MECO permanent representative Antonio Basilio welcomed Siew.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos also arrived at the NAIA tarmac on board a Colombian Air Force plane around 4:15 p.m.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neil arrived at Villamor Air Base past 4 p.m. on a private jet.

Chile President Michelle Bachelet arrived in the country last Sunday afternoon on a B-767 military aircraft.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, Philippine Ambassdor to Chile Consuelo Puyat-Reyes, DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman and Foreign Affairs protocol officer Maria Aileen Bugarin welcomed Bachelet at the airport.

Thirteen more heads of state are expected to arrive today for the APEC summit.

They are Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, Vietnamese President Truong Tran Sang, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, US President Barack Obama, South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Trade Minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong, representatives of President Joko Widodo;

Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau, Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, representative of President Vladimir Putin, are expected to arrive tomorrow.

Meanwhile, around 68 domestic and international flights out of 246 flights were able to land at the NAIA despite the flight limitations imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines in connection with the arrival of APEC leaders and delegates.

The NAIA normally handles 246 arriving flights (domestic and international) every day but due to the APEC meeting, only 68 arriving flights landed at the NAIA.

Police on red alert 

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) was placed on red alert yesterday for the APEC summit, a police official said.

NCRPO chief Director Joel Pagdilao said police are on the highest level of vigilance to secure the surroundings and personalities in the vicinity of the APEC venues, convoy routes and hotels.

He said that so far, police and military intelligence units have not monitored any threat against the APEC summit to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

Earlier, Pagdilao inspected the APEC venue, hotels and the convoy route.

The APEC security was tested Sunday with the arrival of the Chilean president. Pagdilao said the security deployment was a success and no hitches were noticed.

He said the same security measures would be employed when other heads of state arrive.

Supt. Marlon Paiste, spokesman of the Region 1 police office, said more than 800 policemen were deployed to Manila yesterday to augment the APEC security force.

The Ilocos policemen will join other police units from various regions to secure the summit.

The Task Group on Maritime Security (TGMS) has been conducting river patrols and deployed bomb sniffing dogs to search under the 11 bridges along Pasig River as part of the beefed up security for the APEC.

TSMS head Commodore Joel Garcia of the Philippine Coast Guard-National Capital Region (PCG-NCR) said that they have beefed up security along the Pasig River.

The bridges that have been secured included Delpan, Jones, McArthur, Quezon, Ayala, Mabini, Paco-Sta. Mesa/New Panaderos, Makati-Mandaluyong, Estrella and Guadalupe.

Garcia said that trained dogs have been sweeping for explosives under the bridges since the TGMS went on full alert last Nov. 12.

Garcia said damaging the bridges would not threaten the heads of economies but terrorists could make a political statement in light of terror attacks that killed more than 120 people in Paris last Friday.

He said that since last week, the TGMS has been providing security to tour boats ferrying APEC delegates and foreign tourists to visit Corregidor Island in Manila Bay, which is one of the known tourist attractions the country.

“We have already escorted numerous delegates and foreign tourists. Many of them were Chinese and Vietnamese,” he added.

He said that the Department of Tourism (DOT) has been doing a good job in promoting the country’s tourism spots that prompted some of the APEC delegates to visit Corregidor Island.

All hospitals under the Department of Health (DOH) nationwide have been placed on white alert to make sure that they are prepared for any emergency during the APEC summit.  

Health Secretary Janette Garin said a white alert means that all medical teams should be on standby for immediate mobilization. The alert is declared when there is a mass gathering or national event and there is a possibility of emergency conditions that may need immediate medical attention.

A total of 103 medical teams, composed of 510 health personnel, will be deployed at various points, including the airports, the Philippine International Convention Center,  Mall of Asia and areas where delegates and participants will converge. – With Non Alquitran, Evelyn Macairan, Sheila Crisostomo, Vic Alhambra