Palace: US travel advisory reckless

Malacañang branded yesterday as "reckless" the latest travel advisory issued by the US State Department, which warned Americans of renewed terrorist threats in the Philippines.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said there had been a marked improvement in the security situation and the travel advisory "completely disregarded efforts to maintain peace and order in the country."

"That’s why these kinds of advisories are somewhat reckless," Bunye said. "We will ask embassies of countries that we consider as friends to be careful in issuing advisories."

In a travel advisory issued Friday, the US State Department urged Americans in the Philippines to "exercise great caution and maintain heightened security awareness," citing the possibility of terrorism, kidnapping and other criminal activities.

The warning said Washington was concerned about the possibility of attacks similar to the bombings last October in Bali, Indonesia that killed nearly 200 people, most of them Australian tourists.

It suggested that Americans avoid crowded bars, nightclubs and restaurant areas which could be targeted by terror groups.

The State Department updated the travel warnings issued in November and said the latest advisory would stay in place until July.

Bunye said a relative from abroad asked him through e-mail to verify reports that the peace and order situation in the country has worsened.

Bunye said he informed his relative, who was planning to stay in the country for good, of the improvement in the security situation.

For his part, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said the travel advisory was "uncalled for."

He said such travel advisories paint "a very unfair picture," of the Philippines, especially as authorities have been working to crack down on terrorism.

Ople said it was regrettable that the US government did not take into account the present peace and order situation in the country.

"We will continue to work through diplomatic channels to convince all countries which put out travel advisories on the Philippines to withdraw or amend these advisories," he said.

Ople noted that other countries "have revised or altogether eliminated travel advisories in the Philippines."

The embassies of Australia and Canada, which shut down last Nov. 28 due to what they claimed were "specific" terror threats, "have resume full operations," he stressed.

Security and intelligence agencies have also "scored important victories against terrorists," Ople said.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said there was no basis for the issuance of the latest travel advisory by the US.

"Our security situation has not changed," Golez said. "If we compare it to the past months, where there was this Bali bombings and explosions in Zamboanga, there’s nothing monitored."

"The less we talk about these travel advisories, the better for the Philippines," he said.

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, however, said it was normal for the US government to update its travel warnings on its citizens.

Reyes said every country has the responsibility to ensure the safety of its citizens in other countries, including the Phillippines.

"It is every country’s responsibility to ensure that its citizens, (residing) even in (another) country, is not only secured but also given proper notices and advice. That’s understandable," he said.

Reyes defended the travel warning, citing the previous bombing attack in Malagutay, Zamboanga City last year which left a US Green Beret soldier and two Filipino civilians killed and wounded 23 others, including another American serviceman.

The military, for its part, has assured the security of Americans visiting Northern and Central Luzon.

Army Maj. Elmer Quiros, deputy group commander of the Armed Forces Civil Relations Service for Northern and Central Luzon, said security arrangements have been implemented in areas where some Americans are residing and on tourist destinations and places oftenly visited.

He said tight security have been implemented at the former US military facilities located at Clark Field in Pampanga, in Subic Bay, Baguio City and San Fernando City in La Union.

Gen. Rodolfo Alvarado, Army 5th Infantry Division commander, also said some 80 former militiamen of the Cordillera People’s Army (CPLA) who were integrated to the Armed Forces will provide security to tourists visiting the world-famous rice terraces in Ifugao. – With Roel Pareño, Artemio Dumlao, AFP