PREPARATIONS are underway for the Philippines’ hosting of 30th Asean summit in Manila on April 26 to 29, which will coincide with state visits of Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, a senior official said Wednesday.
Asean National Organizing Committee Director-General Marciano Paynor said their top priority was having a zero-incident type of meeting as the leaders of the 10 Asean member countries came here for the annual regional meeting.
“It’s very difficult to prepare for something that you are not really totally and fully aware of. So we try as much as we can to harden venues…in our security preparations,” Paynor told reporters.
“So we’re doing all that and we are beefing up our security elements.”
In other developments:
• United States President Donald Trump has confirmed to President Rodrigo Duterte his visit to the Philippines this November and his attendance to the Asean Summit, Paynor said.
“President Trump has already indicated that he is coming in November,” Paynor said.
• Duterte will welcome next week Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and President Joko Widodo of Indonesia.
Paynor said the meeting with the Brunei leader will be held on April 28 and with the Indonesian leader on April 29.
• Optimism is high that a framework on the Code of Conduct on the West Philippine Sea will be completed during the Philippines’ chairmanship of Asean, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
• “As President Rodrigo Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secretary [Enrique] Manalo have mentioned a few times, we are hopeful that we will have a framework on the Code of Conduct within our chairmanship year,” acting Foreign Affairs spokesman Robespierre Bolivar said.
Paynor said part of the 137 meetings that will be hosted by the country were the meetings on the 26th with the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to Asean while the discussions on the BIMP-EAGA and the Asean Senior Officials Preparatory meetings will be happening on the 27th.
Several activities will happen on the 28th, including the Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Growth Triangle Senior Officials Preparatory Meetings, the Asean Business Advisory Council Prosperity for All Summit; we have the 14th Asean Leadership Forum; the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting; the 15th Asean Political Security Council Meeting; and the 19th Asean Coordinating Council Meeting.
The highlight of the visit will be the Leaders’ summit on the 29th, where all 10 leaders of Asean member countries will be meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center and will hold a leaders’ retreat at the Coconut Palace.
President Rodrigo Duterte will also be hosting a gala dinner for all 10 leaders.
Paynor said the country had beefed up security preparations in Bohol, where an Asean trade meeting is under way.
Last week, suspected Abu Sayyaf members engaged government troopers in a gunfight in Inabanga town that resulted to the killing of six suspected members of the bandit group, three soldiers, and one policeman.
The area is some 71 kilometers from the capital Tagbilaran City and the adjoining Panglao Island where Asean traders are attending the Intercessional Regional Economic Partnership Trade Negotiating Committee from April 19 to 21.
“When the incidents unfolded last week, we, of course, had an emergency meeting and as part of the NOC, we have a Committee on Security and Disaster Preparedness. So they went to Bohol, I did go also and we had a brief meeting,” Paynor said. With PNA