Tuesday, December 05, 2006 Summit ‘won’t be as smooth as dry-run’ By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña warned that the Asean summit days will not be as smooth as last Friday’s dry run, as city and police officials worked out a plan to ease traffic within the ceremonial route.
Osmeña said that with the private sector employees working from Dec. 11 to 14, traffic flow in the city will certainly not be like the situation last Friday, which was a holiday.
“It’s not going to be smooth. One year ago, I recommended a four-day holiday but they didn’t like it because a few exporters complained they will lose their untold millions. So now we have to keep the few exporters safe and increase the risk on the safety of the delegates,” he said yesterday.
Monstrous traffic
“There will be a monstrous traffic so the few exporters can save their millions. We’ll just have to make the best of it,” Osmeña continued.
Traffic flow in most roads in the city was smooth last Friday. But in the roads traversing the ceremonial route, the Cebu City Traffic Group noted heavy traffic flow.
To ease traffic in the area, Vice Mayor Michael Rama instructed the Cebu City Traffic Group and the Cebu City Traffic Operations and Management to shorten the period within which the intersections in ceremonial route will be closed.
During a closed-door meeting yesterday, Rama, the city councilors, police station commanders and the traffic group also discussed ways in improving the alternative routes in Barangays Busay and Apas.
Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said that instead of closing the roads for two hours before a convoy is scheduled to pass, the police will try to shorten the time to 35 to 40 minutes to prevent congestion in the ceremonial route.
He said the ceremonial route, covering Veterans Drive, Salinas Drive and Juan Luna Ave., has to be closed for two hours for the paneling or clearing of the roads of any security threat.
“The shorter time of paneling the route shouldn’t be a security concern because there will be policemen deployed along the route every few meters anyway,” Jakosalem told Sun.Star Cebu.
Osmeña also signed the letters addressed to Central Command and the Maria Luisa Park Association, requesting them to allow private and corporate vehicles to pass in their properties whenever the ceremonial route is closed to vehicular traffic.
Alternative routes
Other alternative routes will be opened for the public utility vehicles.
Since he cannot do anything about the cancelled holidays during the summit, the mayor asked the public to be extra vigilant in the coming days and to look out for groups of individuals who might carry out terrorist acts in the city.
He urged them to report to the police the movement of strangers in their neighborhood or the arrival of suspicious-looking and behaving individuals.
Osmeña said the public should be wary of groups of male individuals who move into the neighborhood, who do not appear to be a family, who will be renting houses and will not have furniture.
“If you see anyone that would match this description, kindly report it to the police for follow up investigation. They won’t be arrested, we’ll just investigate,” he said.
The mayor also warned that if terrorists don’t penetrate the tight security in the summit venues and the security of the VIPs, terrorists will be bombing public places.
“They won’t bring home their bombs back to Indonesia or Basilan, they will bomb the people,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Osmeña said he will not give subsidy to jeepney drivers who will not ply their routes during the summit, especially since the drivers sued the City after it prohibited them from plying their routes within Cebu City.
He also said he will not accommodate and help national and foreign militant groups who will come to Cebu for their parallel activities during the summit.
“But I assure them, if they’re going to be thrown off the Mactan channel, there are no sharks there, don’t worry. There are more sharks in City Hall than at the Mactan channel,” he added.
