Province urges ASEAN curfew Nilda Gallo Doris C. Bongcac Cebu Daily News
November 14, 2006
The Cebu Provincial Board on Monday passed a resolution suggesting to the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu to implement a curfew during the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit from December 11 to 14.
Board Member Carmiano Kintanar, who authored the resolution, however, emphasized that the resolution was just a suggestion, and that final word would be up to the city governments concerned.
He said that if Governor Gwendolyn Garcia approved the resolution, he would furnish copies of it to the three cities.
Kintanar said a curfew would ensure the safety and security of summit delegates and the public in general.
However, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the idea of a curfew was “counterproductive.”
“If policemen go after curfew violators, who will respond to emergencies?” Osmeña asked.
The mayor said implementing curfews would take policemen away from more important tasks, such as securing the summit and detecting suspected terrorists.
Osmeña said he would rather push for the implementation of his Balik Bukid and Balik Probinsiya programs, which he created to entice people to go back to their homes in the mountains or provinces and away from summit venues.
He said imposing a curfew for the summit was just as counterproductive as the suggestion of a gun ban, which was proposed by Chief Superintendent Silverio Alarcio, director of regional police.
“People who were issued with licenses to carry (firearms) are people who underwent psychological and drug tests,” he said.
Osmeña said that the police were the ones who issued licenses to carry firearms, so for the police to impose a gun ban would make it look like the police do not trust the people whom they issued licenses.
