Wednesday, August 22, 2007 4T cops secure Asean economic meet
FOUR thousand policemen, including elite personnel from the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat), have been deployed in Makati City to secure delegates to the 39th Association of South East Asian Nation (Asean) economic ministers' meet that starts Wednesday.
Authorities have assured that Metro Manila is safe from any terrorist attacks that might be conducted in retaliation for the ongoing military operations against the Abu Sayyaf and rogue elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the provinces of Sulu and Basilan.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) deputy chief Eric Javier said the security measures will be similar to those implemented during the recent Asean ministerial meeting held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
Javier said most of the 4,000 police personnel will come from the regional headquarters while augmentation elements will come from the Southern Police District (SPD) headed by Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said they are expecting 25 economic ministers along with delegations from the Asean's dialogue-partners like the US, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Russia and the European Union (EU) to attend the meeting that will end on Friday.
Javier they did not foresee any security problem, aside from the usual protest actions by militant groups and traffic problems. (AH/Sunnex)
