US renews travel advisory on RP

WASHINGTON - The United States has renewed an advisory to its citizens to avoid all but essential travel to the Philippines, saying terrorist threats to American citizens in the Southeast Asian country remain high.

In an updated consular information sheet released on Tuesday, the State Department said Americans should carefully consider the risks of travel because they "may be at increased risk of terrorist actions from foreign or domestic extremist groups in the Philippines."

The travel advisory said the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), an Indonesian-based group designated by Washington as a foreign terrorist organization, was operating in the Philippines in addition to local communist and Muslim rebel groups.

The consular information sheet made no mention of the political situation in the country.

It said the US embassy in Manila continued to receive periodic reports which it took seriously of plans for possible terrorist acts aimed at US government facilities or personnel, public and private institutions and transportation carriers.

This latest consular information sheet on the Philippines replaces a similar one dated Jan. 13.