The Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) continued its preparations to secure the series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings to be held in the province next year, an official said Friday.

Bohol along with several other localities including Manila, Cebu, Boracay, Laoag, Iloilo, Tagaytay, and Clark have been named as venues for the ASEAN activities.

According to BPPO director Col. Patricio Degay, personnel from other regions will be tapped to augment the local police force to help maintain peace and order during the high-level meetings.

Security will also be provided to the families of the delegates who will visit tourist spots in the province.

Degay said they have neither received nor intercepted any report of any threat to the ASEAN meetings.

In April 2017, Bohol hosted several key ASEAN meetings, most notably the launch and discussions on the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Work Plan 2017-2020, focusing on combating human trafficking with regional coordination.

The meetings in Bohol pushed through despite clashes between Abu Sayyaf members and government troops in Inabanga earlier in the same month.

However, the Armed Forces of the Philippines had clarified that derailing the ASEAN events in Bohol was not among the objectives of Abu Sayyaf members who slipped into the province. (AD)