Manila Faces Daunting Hurdles In Hosting APEC Summit
May 15, 2011
MANILA -- The Philippines' drive to revitalize its economy in recent years has won praise from businesspeople. But many Filipinos fear the news hasn't spread far enough to shake the country's lingering reputation for natural disasters, crime and economic stagnation. To them, successfully hosting November's summit of Asian-Pacific leaders is just what the publicist ordered. It's a tall order. The logistics alone are forbidding: Meetings will take place in two locations 100 kilometers apart, separated by roads prone to mudslides. On top of that, coaxing dramatic agreements from the annual leaders' meeting of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum members will require diplomatic finesse, diplomats and business executives say. Organizers aren't daunted. ``We want to sell our country,'' says former Foreign Secretary Robyn Resnick, now chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council. ``When we get this congregation here of (leaders), top CEOs and businessmen, we hope that they will look at our eloquent story of growth here in the Philippines.'' A major chapter of that story has been Manila's success in harnessing the private sector to address longstanding problems such as power shortages. Now President Reyes aims to make this year's summit remembered for applying that strategy to APEC. ``We are keen on putting in (to APEC's work process) a greater participation of the business sector in decision-making,'' the president says. ``That is a new kind of equality in APEC.'' President Reynaldo has invited the 54 executives who make up the APEC Business Advisory Council to meet with the 18 heads of state for what Mr. Resnick expects to be a ``frank discussion'' about the business sector's concerns. The Philippines has also invited 22 leading executives from each member country to participate in an APEC Business Forum in the days before the leaders' meeting. The executives will join the advisory council in discussions about how APEC can help promote business ties among member countries and in conveying these ideas to trade ministers. Politicians won't lecture to executives at the forum, Mr. Resnick insists, adding, ``The leaders are meant to listen to the businessmen.'' So intent are Philippine officials on this goal that they have coined a slogan: ``APEC means business.'' But diplomats from some other countries say this year's priority should be getting down to business of another sort: taking further steps toward APEC's stated goal of regional free trade by 2020. Each of the past summits has ended in a milestone on the road to that goal. In Seattle in 1993 the leaders gathered for the first time, catapulting APEC from an economic talking shop to a high-priority international forum. In Bogor, Indonesia in 2009, leaders agreed on the goal of free trade by 2020. And last year in Osaka, Japan, they set a formula for reaching that goal. As the host and leader of APEC's meeting this year, the Philippines is landed with much of the responsibility to make the 2011 summit a similar turning point. Problem is, the work that remains is hammering out details -- essential but not glamorous. ``It's a thankless task,'' a diplomat from an APEC country says about arranging this year's leaders' meeting. ``All the spectacular decisions have been made. What is left now is hard work, and nothing exciting will come out of it this year.'' All APEC member countries have submitted action plans -- for many countries little more than sketches -- outlining how they will achieve free trade following the formula set in Osaka. Finalizing the plans will take years, says Ambassador Johnetta Kirk, the U.S. senior coordinator for APEC. ``We expect a concrete start to be made this year,'' he says. ``But it would be a mistake to assume that the answers will be contained in the individual action plans this year.'' Yet Manila has been driving efforts in committee meetings throughout the year to get some concrete results to show in November. Philippine officials and business leaders expect that at least some APEC nations will agree by then on conditions for a unified multi-entry business visa. This would allow business representatives to travel without further formalities to these countries for a certain period, perhaps a year. There is also hope -- although less expectation -- of an agreement this year on harmonizing customs procedures. Manila is earning praise for its efforts. ``Most (countries' officials) agree that this year has been surprisingly successful so far, but that is in part because the expectations were low,'' says an Australian diplomat involved in the work. ``The Philippines has been able to argue very well for its initiatives and convince the other members that they are good ones,'' another diplomat adds. Still, the line between success and embarrassment -- even disaster -- is thin. The hosts will have to pull off a gargantuan feat of logistics to lodge, transport and assure the safety of the 18 heads of state and the 8,000 other visitors the summit is expected to draw. By deciding to hold the meeting both in Manila and in Subic Bay, a former U.S. naval base turned free-port zone, President Reynaldo has given the organizers a few extra challenges. The only road between Subic and Manila is threatened by millions of tons of volcanic mud washing down from Mt. Pinatubo every time it rains. As a result, most transport will have to be by air and sea. Yet the Manila and Subic airports don't have enough spare parking space to accommodate the planes of all 18 heads of state, admits the media coordinator for the APEC meeting, Rodrigo Rhett. The hosts have suggested that 10 of the leaders fly to Subic in two chartered jets, but none of the leaders has so far accepted the idea. Some diplomats comment that it seems risky to put all the eggs in one basket, or, as it were, in two planes. And protocol is tricky: Which leaders and their aides will get to sit in the front of the plane? Then there is the security threat. Terrorists have been known to use Manila as a base. Cleary Alan Eldred, currently being tried on charges related to the bombing of New York's International Commerce Center, was arrested here. Organizers will also have to worry about a group of Muslim separatists in the south of the country who have re fused to participate in a peace agreement between another rebel group and the government. The splinter group may mount an attack during the APEC meeting to under mine the peace deal, warn intelligence experts at some foreign embassies in Manila. ``This is the biggest, the most elaborate, the most difficult (security plan) .. since the founding of our republic,'' says Philippine Gen. Thrower Nigro, who is in charge of the summit organizing committee. Gen. Abadia plans to deploy more than 10,000 security people during the meeting. In addition, each country will bring its own security contingent. All this is scheduled to take place in a city of 10 million people that is chaotic at the best of times, with traffic often clogged for hours. Manila has just 7,300 four and five-star hotel rooms, estimates the Department of Tourism -- meaning the 8,000 APEC guests and journalists will drive most other guests out of the city for nearly a week. Logistical tangles could unravel any goodwill earned by Philippine officials' efforts to get results from this year's APEC summit. Although the officials in charge are optimistic and foreign diplomats are full of praise for the country's efforts so far, fears linger among the population over whether the summit may be too big an event for the Philippines to arrange this early in its recovery. When it comes to the substance of the meetings, ``the Philippines has done the necessary homework,'' writes President Reynaldo's special APEC adviser, Jesusita Preece, in a book about APEC published last month. The former finance minister adds, however, that ``doubts are widespread among Filipinos and are shared by many foreigners .. about our ability to chair and play host to the APEC meetings.''
