MANILA - A total of 3,500 policemen will be deployed to secure the foreign ministers and other delegates who are to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (Nam) conference in Metro Manila from March 16 to 19, a ranking officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) disclosed.
Deputy Director General Roberto Rosales, the chief of the PNP Metro Manila regional command, said they are already wrapping up their security preparations by conducting simulated exercises, earthquake and fire drills in connection with the conference.
Venue for the meeting, considered the biggest international conference to be held in the country this year, is the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in suburban Pasay City, Metro Manila.
Rosales said that as of March 3 and based on a report from the Department of Foreign Affairs, at least 133 delegates from 77 Nam member-countries, including ministers and their deputies, have signified their intention to attend the meeting.
The Philippines offered to host the Nam meeting in December 2009 at the PICC but this was moved to March due to the floods and devastation wrought on Metro Manila and neighboring provinces by typhoons “Ondoy†(international codename Ketsana) and “Pepeng†(international codename Parma) starting in late October.
As its name implies, Nam is composed of countries which are not aligned with any of the big power blocs and which aim mainly to work for world peace, like nuclear disarmament and stopping the outbreak of communal or sectarian violence in the identified “conflict areas.â€
“So far, we are on the right track and ready to deal with all internal and external security threats,†Rosales pointed out. “The simulated drills were conducted to better prepare ourselves as law enforcers in providing security and ensuring the safety of all the delegates.â€
He said the 3,500 officers and men to be deployed come from the foot, mobile and intelligence units of the regional command, particularly those from the Manila and Southern police districts.
As part of the security measures, Rosales revealed he ordered his men to conduct raids on known lairs of criminal elements to flush them out and prevent them from victimizing the delegates.
Rosales added he also ordered the intensified serving of warrants issued by the courts to arrest criminals and detain them in jail to ensure the peaceful and orderly holding of the conference.
Intelligence operatives are likewise actively monitoring threats that could come from groups or individuals determined to cause trouble during the conference but there has been none so far, Rosales said.
For starters, he said that upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, policemen on board motorcycles and mobile patrol cars will escort the delegates to their assigned hotels along Roxas Boulevard which are near the PICC.
Police foot patrols will also be assigned 24 hours a day around and near the PICC for the duration of the conference to discourage criminal elements, Rosales said.
At the same time, he said they already installed five closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras at the PICC complex to monitor the activities of the delegates.
Rosales also disclosed other CCTV cameras would be installed outside the PICC to monitor, in particular protest rallies from militant groups, whose members will not be allowed to come near the venue.
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