Philippines rates ‘very high’ in its ongoing preparations for next year’s APEC

BEIJING, China — The Philippines rates ‘very high’ in its ongoing preparations for its hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Manila next year, an APEC official said on Saturday.

Dr. Alan Bollard, executive director for the APEC Secretariat based in Singapore, told Manila-based reporters here that he’s looking forward to a ‘very organized’ hosting by the Philippines when it takes over the chairmanship from China.

Bollard noted that the preparations the Philippines has been making thus far have been ‘very advanced’ as Philippine organizers have been in constant communication with them as early as 2013.

“They have been talking to us for the last couple of years, not just this year. There have been a number of visits to and fro. They have been observing China, and I think Indonesia last year, and we’ve been doing workshops, assisting in Manila as well,” Bollard said.

Asked on how he would rate the Philippines’ preparation based on his most recent observations, Bollard said: “I’d rate it very high.

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He said they are ‘very confident’ that it’s going to be organized given the many contingency plans that Philippine observers have been coming up with whenever necessary.

Philippines’ hosting of the event next year will be its second. The country first held the chairmainship in 1996 during the 8th APEC and other related summits that were held in Subic.