With barely one week to go before the actual Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) Summit, the ASEAN Committee on Security, Peace and Order, and Emergency Preparedness and Response (CSPOEPR) says the government is ‘ready and equipped’ for the challenge of ensuring the safety and security of the delegates and the public during the summit.
Catalino S. Cuy, Officer-in-Charge of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and CSPOEPR Chairman, says that close to 60,000 security and public safety personnel from the different agencies of the government will be mobilized to key strategic stations and areas for the ASEAN Summit.
Aside from the large deployment of troops, Cuy reveals that huge resources will be at the ready to monitor, respond and provide support during the summit.
These resources include the following: 203 patrol cars, 394 motorcycles, 22 armored cars, 30 helicopters, 59 fire trucks, 94 ambulances, 125 explosive detection dogs (EDDs)/K9, and 82 sniper teams.
He says several joint task groups (JTGs), task groups (TGs), and sub-task units (STUs) have also been organized and are on deck with their personnel and logistics to ensure that the summit will run as smoothly and peacefully as possible.
“We are ready for this, Our security forces have been trained to do this. With all the preparations that we made since last year and with the able guidance and support that President Duterte has been giving us , I believe that we can effectively handle any possible security concerns during the summit,” adds Cuy.
He also reminds the commanders that all deployed security personnel must be strict, alert, and courteous in the performance of their duties.
On the other hand, ASEAN Security Task Force (ASTF) Commander Napoleon C. Taas Jr. says that the preparations for the upcoming ASEAN event are the ‘most elaborate’ that the country has ever engaged in.
Taas says that all security personnel underwent a series of walk-throughs, meetings, and briefings to ensure that they understand the security protocols by heart and implement them properly during the actual event.
“Each member of the security personnel is like a crew member of the pit stop, everyone is important and everyone must move in synchrony with the other members,” he says.
The ASTF Commander stresses that all security personnel must know his/her assigned tasks like the back of the palm in order to be able to quickly respond to any security issues concerning the ASEAN delegates.
