Koko: Asean summit disruption must be minimal

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III called on concerned agencies of government to minimize disruption in the delivery of services to the people during the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Meetings as Malacañang declared a three-day holiday in Metro Manila.

Pimentel welcomed the decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep PHILPASS or its check clearing service and cash servicing units open during the ASEAN holidays from Nov. 13 to 15.

“The BSP is doing the banking sector, the business sector and our countrymen a great service by doing this,” said Pimentel, who had earlier urged the BSP to keep PHILPASS up and running during the ASEAN summit.

“This is a positive development because it does not make sense for banking and business operations nationwide to be essentially paralyzed just because there is a three-day holiday in the nation’s capital. The Philippines, after all, is not just Metro Manila,” he added.

Pimentel is also looking at how the Senate could continue holding its plenary sessions on those dates since it is rushing to pass two key measures, the P3.767-trillion national budget for 2018 and the comprehensive tax reform program.

While this is being discussed among the senators and the Senate sergeantat-arms, several senators have raised concerns about how Senate employees and their staff would be able to reach the premises since all roads surrounding the area will be closed for the events taking place in several venues in the area.

Congress is on break and will resume its sessions on Nov. 13, the start of the three-day holiday for the ASEAN summit.

The 2018 national budget as well as the tax measure is already being debated in plenary.

Congress adjourns for the year on Dec. 15 so there is very little time left for the Senate to finish deliberating on these bills and approving them.

“Our hosting of the ASEAN summit is an honor and we should all work together to make it a success,” Pimentel said.

“That being said, if there are steps that can be taken to minimize the disruptions in the lives and the livelihoods of our countrymen, then by all means let’s do what has to be done,” he added.

Dry run

Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) urged motorists to avoid some routes that will be affected by its last convoy dry run for the ASEAN Summit this morning.

MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago said that areas affected for the convoy dry run from Clark Pampanga are SCTEX, NLEX, EDSA, Roxas Boulevard, Ayala, Makati Avenue, Pasay and Lawton to McKinley in Taguig City.

Pialago said that the dry run will be from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

During the ASEAN Summit, Pialago said that the MMDAwill implement a “stop and go” scheme, which means that motorists will have to stop for more than 20 minutes when the convoy of delegates will pass by.

She also said that a traffic lockdown will be implemented on Roxas Boulevard from Buendia to P. Burgos from 11 a.m. to noon on Nov. 13; a partial lockdown at the CCP complex on Nov. 8 and a full lockdown on Nov. 12.

The vicinity around the SMX in Pasay City will also be locked down at 10 p.m. on Nov. 11 until Nov. 12.