By JAKE C. SORIANO
Photos by ZHUANG MING DENG 
DESPITE tight security during the 23rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Meeting (AELM), a large crowd of protesters were able to get near the summit area where 21 heads of economies are gathered. Protesters clashed with the police at the corner of Gil Puyat Avenue and Roxas Boulevard, only more than a kilometer away from the Philippine International Convention Center on November 19, the last day of the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting (AELM).
Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor, Spokesperson of the APEC Security Task Force, said security forces used water cannons to disperse the protesters, who included student and indigenous peoples groups. Mayor maintained that security forces continue to use maximum tolerance versus protesters, telling reporters during a media briefing that the use of water cannons was intended to “cool down emotions.”
He called the presence of the protesters “illegal” for not having the necessary permit from the local government, and said that it would be right to file legal charges against them. Protesters called for the junking of APEC, and criticized President Benigno Aquino III for supposedly being subservient to the United States. Established in 1989, APEC is an economic forum that aims to promote inclusive and sustainable growth through regional integration.
The Philippines, which previously hosted the AELM in 1996, is among its 21 member, along with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, USA and Vietnam.
The government has deployed over 30,000 security personnel for the meeting, and implemented various security measures, including road closures and no-fly zones within the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Mayor said protesters might have bypassed security forces by coming to the site in groups of two. Protesters were able to stage a program, and later burned an anti-APEC effigy. They started dispersing around 12:30 in the afternoon.
