Spectators advised to bring clear bags

MANILA, Philippines — The organizers of the 30th Southeast Asian games have advised spectators to bring clear bags when watching any event to avoid inconvenience.

Pio Catapang, the head of the Games and Security Services directorate for the SEA Games, said they will implement a clear bag policy for watchers of the SEA Games slated for Nov. 30 to Dec. 11. 

Thousands of spectators are expected at the 44 game venues, aside from the more than 10,000 athletes and delegates for the games.

The opening ceremony alone is expected to bring in a crowd of thousands at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Catapang said that security preprarations for the regional games are “good to go,” a few days before the games’ official start. 

Over 17,000 security personnel were sent off yesterday during a ceremony at the Philippine National Police National Capital Region headquarters at Camp Bagong Diwa. 

Brig. Gen. Rey Lawas, commander of the Special Task Force Seagames 2019, said that they have already deployed skeletal forces since last week following the early arrival of some athletes and delegates. 

The bulk of the deployment would be made next week prior to the official opening ceremony.

The police are to go on full alert status by next week Monday, depending on the discretion of local commanders. 

He noted that heavy traffic is one of the major concerns of the police in the conduct of the regional games.

“As much as possible although we cannot avoid it, we would like to minimize the effect of the travel of the delegates to and from the different designations from the billeting area to the game sites,” Lawas added.

The PNP official said they want to minimize the movement of delegates to a select number of roads to the point of destination to lessen the impact on traffic.

More traffic enforcers are set to be deployed to ensure the smooth flow of traffic especially in key areas. 

Authorities have asked a total of 25 schools and universities to suspend classes that are expected to be hit by the traffic scheme. 

PNP officer-in-charge Archie Gamboa said they see no imminent threats for the SEAGames but they are continuously evaluating the security situation.