Angeles City preparing to host APEC senior ministers

MANILA, Philippines - Angeles City will host senior ministers of countries participating in next year’s Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and tourism-boosting projects are underway as part of preparations for the event.

Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan Jr. said the projects include the P100-million lighting of roads extending from Clark Freeport to the Heritage District, an area in the city where historical sites are located.

He also said the French government sent teams to help upgrade the local museum in the Heritage District near the Sto. Rosario Church.

The district also includes the historic Pamintuan mansion where Emilio Aguinaldo held the second anniversary of Philippine Independence.

Pamintuan added that the completion of the Heritage District is afoot, including the removal of tangled cables between posts. 

“About 70 percent of such (cables) have been removed. Except for one, all other communications firms have complied to remove the ugly wires which are mostly dead anyway,” he said.

As part of the preparations for the APEC Summit, the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the Undersecretary for International Economic Relations, in partnership with the APEC Technical Assistance Training Facility and the US Agency for International Development, also held a capability-building workshop to boost awareness on the APEC process.

During the “APEC Capacity Building Workshop: Supporting the Philippines 2015 Host Year,” representatives of former APEC host economies such as Peru (2008), the US (2011) and Indonesia (2012) shared their experiences in organizing APEC events.

The Philippines last hosted the APEC Summit in 1996.

APEC is an intergovernmental grouping composed of 21 member-economies. It focuses on trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation. Commitments made within APEC are non-binding and voluntary.