CEBU — (3RD UPDATE) THE 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, scheduled for next week in Cebu, has been postponed to January because of a strong storm bearing down on the meeting site, officials here and abroad said Friday.
Ambassador Marciano Paynor, head of the Philippine organizing committee, made the official announcement Friday in a televised news conference from Cebu province, site of the summit.
Paynor denied that the postponement was made because of the travel advisories of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan warning of imminent terror attacks at the site of the summit.
“I categorically state that the decision was based on weather disturbance and on this disturbance only,†Paynor said in response to a question by a newsman.
Paynor said the decision was made in consultation with international and national officials and in consideration of the safety and welfare of the participants. He said the postponement also allows government to give its full attention to problems that may arise from the typhoon.
“It was a very difficult decision. This is not a regular summit or conference. There will be leaders,†he said.
“The leaders will not be comfortable attending a summit with devastation going on around them,†he added.
Paynor said the January summit will still be held in Cebu.
Earlier in the day, an Associated Press report from Cebu, quoting Domingo Lucinario, a member of the organizing committee, said: “The leaders’ summit has been reset to January†but added that “all ministerial meetings shall proceed as scheduled,†referring to prior discussions by foreign ministers and other officials.
An Agence France-Presse report quoted a Japanese official issuing a similar statement.
“Both of the summits will be postponed,” the foreign ministry official, requesting anonymity, told AFP in Tokyo, referring to the ASEAN Summit and the East Asia summit. “But it is still not known until when they will be postponed.”
Forecasters say tropical storm Utor (Philippine codename: Seniang) could intensify into a typhoon. It was packing winds of up to 75 kilometers (46 miles) per hour with gusts of 90 kph (56 mph) early Friday.
It is expected to hit Cebu province over the weekend, when leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would be flying in for the summit. It was scheduled to be held Monday and Tuesday, followed by the second East Asia summit on Wednesday.
In an interview with INQ7.net, Chief Superintendent Silverio Alarcio, Central Visayas police director and Task Force Cebu head, said he has yet to receive notice of the postponement of the summit.
Alarcio disclosed that his office received reports in June of possible terrorist attacks during the conference but added that the reports were never confirmed.
From: INQ7.net
