Ahead of finance chiefs’ meeting, field teams adjust to challenges
The distribution of food packs for police officers and rescuers on the ground for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit meetings in the cities of Cebu and Lapu-Lapu was delayed.
Inadequate coordination was to blame, according to Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Noli Taliño.
Also, one of the five caterers tasked to distribute the food was 30 minutes late, he said.
“We had initial adjustments because the first deployment didn’t know how many personnel were there. It was fixed, but it’s very minimal,” Taliño said.
A police officer from Mandaue, who asked not to be named, said that even though they were hungry, they couldn’t leave their post. So they had to wait for the food to arrive.
The PRO 7 said it did not encounter a major problem on the first day of the Asean Summit meetings yesterday.
However, Taliño said they had to make adjustments after last Monday’s heavy downpour caused flooding in certain parts of the metro, some close to the meeting venues.
To beef up security, hundreds of high-resolution close-circuit television cameras were installed in the meeting venues and monitored inside the Multi-Agency Coordination Center manned by 21 law enforcers and emergency unit personnel.
Taliño said the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Regional Communication and Electronics Office help provide the devices.
Because of the updated resolution of the graphics, vehicle plate numbers that pass near the venues are captured.
Any accident or situation outside is seen real time by agencies that can dispatch responders if something happens.
The Asean Summit meetings will move to Bohol on April 18.