Manila to close roads, reroute traffic for APEC meeting

Manila will implement several road closures and traffic rerouting on Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 to ensure the safety of the APEC delegates, the Manila city authorities said on Sunday. Local media reported that the Philippines has swept about 20,000 homeless from the streets, cancelled more than 1,000 flights, deployed 18,000 police and declared public holidays in Manila to ensure a safe and efficient summit. APEC Spokesperson Charles Jose said a total of around 7,000 foreign delegates are expected, adding that "As always, the safety and well-being of our guests remain among our top priorities. Toward this end, we have been implementing additional security measures and deploying an amplified force to secure our guests. Part of this involves enforcing road closures, special APEC lanes, and no-fly zones." Colonel Restituto Padilla, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines upgraded their alert status from "Blue" to "Red" in preparation for the hosting of APEC 2015. Padilla said the alert status was raised a day ahead of schedule as a matter of procedure following any international terrorist incident such as Saturday's terrorists attack in Paris. The police have been putting up checkpoints on the roads leading to the APEC venues and quick reaction units, walk-through scanning, baggage X-rays, police dogs, vehicles screening, pedestrian screening and explosive and ordnance division personnel have also been deployed at the Philippine International Conventional Center (PICC) and hotels. The APEC Economic Leader's Meeting will be held at the PICC from Nov. 18 to 19.