THE Interior Department has given assurances “strict and elaborate” security plans for the Miss Universe pageant in Manila next month are now in place.
Interior Undersecretary for Legislative and Special Concerns Emily Padilla said the DILG and the Philippine National Police with the cooperation of the Tourism Department would implement strict security measures to ensure the safety of the candidates and tourists who would be flocking here.
“We have presented to them [DOT and representatives of Miss Universe pageant] the security plans. And we have conducted ocular inspections on the big venue, and we will do ocular inspections in other areas that will be visited by the candidates,” Padilla said.
The contestants from over 90 countries vying for the Miss Universe crown will be flown to places like Baguio, Cebu, Davao and Bohol to see the beauty of the country.
Padilla reiterated the PNP’s assurance that the government’s physical, material and human resources would be mobilized to the hilt to provide security and collective measures to ensure and secure the organizers, participants, contestants, families and relatives who would be flying to the Philippines in January next year to witness one of the most popular big events in the world.
“Strict and elaborate security protocols will be in place to prevent lawless elements from doing something malevolent considering the pageant’s global attraction. The DILG and the PNP will prevent any untoward incident to happen before, during or close to and after the pageant,” she said.
“We need it not just to further boost our tourism industry, as we expect a big number of foreign tourists including international media to be here, but more than that, it is about our beautiful country for tourism, (and) it’s (also) actually about the Filipino people.”
She explained the Philippine government and the entire nation have proven to the world several times that the country is capable of providing security to high profile personalities, noting the successful visit of Pope Francis on Jan. 15-19, 2015, followed by the Apec Ministerial Meeting earlier this year.
The Miss Universe event is already the country’s third time to host the beauty tilt. The first was in 1974 and then two decades later (1994), the Philippines played host to the pageant again.
The PNP also gave assurances no one would be displaced or relocated in the run up to the actual pageant date.