P-Noy defends Phl’s APEC hosting

KUALA LUMPUR – President Aquino defended the country’s hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit last week, saying that the Filipinos involved in the event’s preparation did the best they could, even if there had been hitches along the way.

Speaking to reporters after attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit here Sunday night, the President said it was not easy to host 21 heads of economies.

He said the presence of superpowers in the country was tempting for those who would want to sow trouble.

“In their respective areas, maybe all the hardening of sites had been carried out. They might say, oh the Philippines, we might have a reputation that we are not as rigid as Germany or Japan, for example, but we were able to show that we can really run it very professionally,” Aquino said.

While security forces were criticized for supposed “overkill” in the implementation of measures and lockdowns that caused people to get stuck in traffic for hours, Aquino gave them credit for their efforts to ensure the safety of everyone.

“I am very proud of all the people involved: the police, those who sewed the (barongs) for the leaders, the performers who gave their all, those who created the visuals, isn’t it that the timing of the performers’ actions and visuals were (perfect?) – no one was ahead and neither was anyone behind, those who cooked the food,” Aquino said.

The President said when he first saw the Mall of Asia Arena where the welcome dinner for the APEC leaders was held, it was covered by black cloth and he joked that maybe a funeral parlor would come out of it.

Aquino also said a lot of other people cooperated to showcase the best in the Philippines without much cost for the government, like the furniture created by world-renowned designer Kenneth Cobonpue, which were rented.

The President said there were those who would criticize but the overwhelming majority delivered beyond limitations.

He said Filipinos were able to showcase the best in the Philippines and fulfilled their duties for the country in hosting APEC.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) spent about P784.9 million for 40 events related to the APEC since December last year, including the leaders’ summit last week in Metro Manila.

PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez said the expenses were huge due to the number of people that were moved from their assignments in the provinces to Metro Manila.

Marquez expressed confidence that the PNP will be able to account, up to the last centavo, for the expenses used for the APEC events, including the logistics for 22,000 policemen deployed to ensure peaceful and orderly conduct of the summit.

“The PNP will submit disbursement to the COA (Commission on Audit) for proper accounting. In all the agencies, PNP will lead for being able to submit all the reports,” he said.