Cebu security remains tight for ASEAN meet

Two days after the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls, security in Cebu remains tight for the three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministerial Meeting.

Senior Superintendent Joel Doria, Cebu City Police Office director, said police and military in Central Visayas are still on full alert status, which is not lifted yet.

He said police force will secure the venues for the defense meeting.

The meeting, which started yesterday and will run until tomorrow, is being attended by at least 18 delegates from different ASEAN countries.

Doria said they are also implementing a comprehensive Major Event Security Framework to ensure the safety of the participants.

The framework's three sub-task groups, such as security, peace and order, and emergency and response, have already been activated.

The framework has been proven effective during the recent conduct of the ASEAN ministerial meetings in Cebu and Bohol, the International Eucharistic Congress, and other international events.

Also, personnel from the Civil Disturbance Management are also deployed in case militant groups stage protest rallies.

“We are providing security. Our personnel and CDM, as per directives ng regional headquarters, have been deployed,” Doria said.