NCRPO: Security preps for SEA Games ongoing

Security planning continues for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to be hosted by the Philippines later this month, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Tuesday said that.

"We will be declaring red alert earlier than the actual [event] kasi nga some of the athletes [will] come in as early as [November] 22," NCRPO acting director Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas said in a press briefing.

Heightened security measures will be implemented, especially two days before the official opening of the SEA Games on November 30, he added.

Police officers will also be deployed in sports venues to secure the athletes while they practice.

Coordination meetings with other stakeholders are ongoing, according to Sinas.

The games will be held in venues in Metro Manila, Clark, and Subic and other areas. The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, the Athletics Stadium and Aquatic Center in New Clark City, and the Manila Polo Club are among the venues that will welcome athletes from the Philippines' neighboring countries until December 11.

The Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee Foundation said that it is doing its best to keep the athletes' accommodation close to the sports venues.

"We will be securing the athletes from where they're staying to the venue. So pinipilit natin, like dito sa Metro Manila, na malapit na malapit sa venue 'yung mga titirahan ng mga atleta," said House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, chair of the organizing committee. — Dona Magsino/BM, GMA News