Cebu Mobilizes Various Sectors for APEC Cebu Meetings

Business groups, regional agencies, and the cities of Mandaue, Cebu and Lapu-Lapu under the lead of the Cebu Provincial Government have stepped up preparations for the successful hosting of around 100 @APEC2015 meetings scheduled from August 20 to October 14 in Cebu.

Over 3,200 delegates from the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are expected to attend the Third Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOM3) and related sessions from August 20 to September 6, 2015.

Ministerial meetings on finance, structural reforms, transportation, and energy spread out from September 7 to October 14 will have around 90 to 700 participants.

The number excludes the staff as well as the spouses and children who will accompany the official delegates to the Cebu meetings, said Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Prudencio Tom T. Bañas. They will go around Cebu and visit other tourist spots in Central Visayas.

Security measures

He added that #APECCebu delegates will start arriving in Cebu by August 20 or earlier. Bañas heads the task force charged with overseeing security preparations for the APEC 2015 meetings in Cebu.

Site Task Group Cebu created sub-task groups for security, peace and order, and emergency preparedness and several more task units under each to guarantee the safety of participants and their delegation and ensure a smooth flow of events.

Separate teams have been assigned to implement safety and security measures in each of the five meeting venues, which include the Marco Polo Plaza Cebu, Cebu City Marriott Hotel, Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, Radisson Blu Cebu, and Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa.

“When it comes to security preparations, we have gone down to the most minute detail,” said Bañas.

Senior Officials’ Meeting 3

The highlight of #APEC2015 #APECCebu is the Third Senior Officials’ Meeting, said businessman Lito Maderazo, who serves as a consultant of the local organizing committee.

“SOM 3 is the last big meeting before the Leaders’ Summit in Manila (this November). This is the last opportunity of the senior officials to converge and finalize their output,” he added.

The Philippine hosting of #APEC2015 started in December 2014 and will culminate with the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Manila this November 18-19.

Among those attending the meetings are the leaders and senior officials of these 21 APEC member economies: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, United States, and Vietnam.

Other preparations

To prepare for the Cebu meetings, inspections are being done on the meeting venues and hotel accommodations of delegates, said Cebu Provincial Tourism Officer Mary Grade Paulino.

APEC participants can have their pick of nine tours showcasing Cebu’s history and culture created exclusively for them by a consortium, according to Central Visayas Department of Tourism (DOT) Director Rowena Lu Y. Montecillo.

In a showcase of Cebuano creativity and hospitality, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will help set up with the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) an APEC Lounge at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) that will be for the exclusive use of delegates, said DTI 7 Director Aster Caberte. InnoPub Media

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