MMDA defends manila meet cleanups as thousands deployed

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Don Artes has defended the agency’s concentrated cleaning and beautification operations around venues for the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, saying the intensified work reflects the Filipino cultural practice of preparing for guests.

Artes acknowledged that the MMDA’s clearing activities had drawn public scrutiny due to their focus near summit venues, though he maintained that street cleaning and maintenance are routine daily tasks for the agency.

“You know, this cleaning of ours, that’s regular on a daily basis. It’s just that perhaps it’s getting noticed because we concentrated on the ASEAN venue,” Artes said.

“It’s part of our culture that when we have visitors, we really clean up. We prepare delicious food,” he added.

The explanation comes amid criticism surrounding pre-summit clearing operations, particularly concerns over the treatment and displacement of informal vendors and homeless individuals in targeted areas.

The Philippines is hosting the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits from 16 to 18 November.

To manage traffic and support summit logistics from 13 to 19 November, the MMDA is deploying 2,637 personnel — including traffic enforcers, street sweepers, road emergency responders, and accredited towing operators — along routes leading to the Philippine International Convention Center and billeting hotels.

“Basically, the MMDA has 2,637 personnel. So, they will be assigned to the routes that the ASEAN delegates and heads of state will pass through, heading to the venue at the PICC as well as their billeting hotels,” MMDA Traffic Discipline Office director Victor Ma. Nuñez told reporters during a news forum.

“The MMDA traffic enforcers, alongside traffic enforcers from LGUs and also the PNP, will manage and effectively direct traffic, coordinate with delegates’ convoys, and implement stop-and-go operations,” he added.

Working alongside local government units and the Philippine National Police, MMDA enforcers will implement temporary stop-and-go traffic schemes to allow official convoys accompanied by motorcycle escorts to pass unobstructed.

Security exclusion zones have been enforced since 9 November around the PICC and Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) complex, restricting access along Del Pilar, Vicente Sotto, Pedro Bukaneg, and Magdalena Jalandoni streets to vehicles and personnel with official ASEAN passes.

Nuñez clarified that no other major road closures will be enforced and that the Roxas Boulevard service road remains open to the public, though motorists should expect security checkpoints.

“We won’t be implementing any road closures except those mentioned streets within the perimeter of the PICC and CCP complex,” Nuñez said.

The MMDA advised northbound motorists from J. Bocobo and Macapagal boulevards to use Seaside Boulevard, Macapagal Boulevard, EDSA, and Roxas Boulevard, while southbound motorists from Roxas Boulevard should divert via EDSA and J. Bocobo Boulevard toward Macapagal Boulevard.

Alternative truck routes have also been coordinated with trucking groups and the local governments of Pasay, Manila, and Parañaque to keep heavy vehicles off Roxas Boulevard.

On the security front, more than 4,000 additional police officers from Regions 1, 3, and 4A have been deployed to augment the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) for the regional gathering.

NCRPO spokesperson Police Lt. Col. Hazel Asilo said Saturday that civil disturbance management contingents have been positioned at potential protest assembly points, noting that ground commanders will engage organizers early to direct demonstrations toward designated areas that will not disrupt summit operations.

Police K-9 units and explosive ordnance disposal teams are also conducting periodic sweeps of summit venues, while the Presidential Security Group coordinates directly with foreign security teams.

“We are not just monitoring our venues, activity areas, and routes. Even places where gatherings might occur, we have deployed Civil Disturbance Management contingents,” Asilo said.

“Early on, our ground commanders will talk to them,” she said, adding that authorities would give organizers the opportunity to hold activities in areas that would not interfere with summit operations.

“We are not monitoring any validated threats regarding the ASEAN Summit,” Asilo said, adding that intelligence monitoring remains continuous.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Parañaque City, local authorities intensified clearing and sanitation operations on Saturday morning, referring 23 individuals to the City Social Welfare and Development Office for questioning after Public Safety Services Division–Civil Security Unit personnel encountered them around 7 a.m. along Roxas Boulevard, Redemptorist Road, Quirino Avenue, and Airport Road in Barangay Baclaran.

City officials said the group claimed to be conducting outreach without prior coordination with local authorities; no arrests or charges were filed.

Earlier at about 4 a.m., Parañaque police removed graffiti on the MIA Bridge in Barangay Tambo as part of anti-vandalism operations.

The City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) also inspected MIA Road following social media reports of alleged vandalism—finding no graffiti at the site—before deploying street sweepers to clean major thoroughfares in Baclaran leading toward the Pasay City boundary.