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CEBU CITY: For many people in the central Philippine island of Cebu, next week's gathering of Southeast Asian leaders will be a hindrance rather than the economic blessing these sort of events are often dressed up to be.
The presence of some 6,000 armed police and troops, stepped up security and road closures for many locals spell just one thing-"chaos."
From December 11 to 14, virtually all schools and government offices in Cebu City and the nearby towns of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu will close down for a four-day holiday for the duration of the summit.
One taxi driver, who did not want to be named, said: "It's going to be chaos. It's bad enough driving on ordinary days but this will be too much.
"The problem is you have to work because if you don't, you don't eat."
All hotels, big and small, have raised their room rates by at least 50 percent-in some cases 100 percent or more-to reap a whirlwind from the estimated 2,000 foreign and local media, and 10,000 Asean and other delegates expected to attend the summit.
Ballooning budget
This...