Security at tourist spots tightened after Palawan blasts

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang assured yesterday that security has been tightened in the country’s tourist spots following the two explosions that rocked Puerto Princesa City and the popular resort-town El Nido in Palawan Maundy Thursday, injuring at least three people.

“Police are investigating the incident. In the meantime, let’s refrain from speculating about the nature and motivations behind the incidents,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a text message.

She said the Philippine National Police (PNP) has been ordered to heighten security precaution and military security adjustments were immediately carried out in the island resort of Boracay and in tourist areas in Guimaras Island.

However, Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said that despite the Palawan incident the military leadership sees no need to declare or raise its alert level. The current military alert is white or normal.

“We are leaving the matter of raising the alert level to all the unified commanders depending on the developing security situation in their respective areas,” Burgos said.

He said the military is now closely coordinating and supporting the police in their ongoing investigation. Investigators are still facing a blankwall on the people responsible for the twin blasts.

The blast at the waiting shed of Royal Bus Terminal in San Jose, in Puerto Princesa City left two civilians dead, and several others injured. In El Nido, an exploding improvised explosive device in front of Entalula Beach Resort, Zone 3, Barangay Magasara, injured the resort’s 23-year-old cook Aiza Gay Martinez Mallari.

Maj. Enrico Gil Ileto, spokesman of the Capiz-based 3rd Infantry Division, assured local and foreign tourists in Boracay and Guimaras who have spent their Holy Week there, that the military and the police are on top of the situation.

Without disclosing the exact figure, Ileto said that Maj. Gen. Jose Mabanta, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, has ordered the deployment of sufficient forces on the ground to support the police in their ongoing law enforcement operations.

He said that the military and police have increased intelligence monitoring in Boracay, even if the area is very peaceful.

Intelligence agents were also deployed in Guimaras because of the heavy presence of local and foreign tourists in the island province during the Lenten Week.

Survey: Pinoys not rude to travelers

Meanwhile, Valte welcomed a report showing that Filipinos were not rude to travelers unlike in other countries.

The online site of Forbes magazine posted an article about travel search site Skyscanner.com’s survey among its users about “where the locals never smile and people are particularly unfriendly, and the nation with the most votes for rudest locals.

France was voted first followed by Russia. The survey received over 1,200 responses, 65 percent from the United Kingdom and Ireland, plus elsewhere in Europe, North America and Australia. Rounding out the top five rudest countries were the UK, Germany and “Other,” while the United States placed seventh behind China.

The countries rated as having the least rude locals were Brazil, the Caribbean and the Philippines.

Skyscanner claims to be Europe’s leading travel search site, operating in over 25 languages with over 25 million visits and over 11 million unique visitors per month. It has offices in Edinburgh, Scotland and Singapore.

Valte said the survey was “consistent with the fact that Filipinos are a hospitable and pleasant people.”

The complete list of responses showed that French garnered 19.29 percent of the votes, Russian 16.56, British 10.43, German 9.93 and Other 6.37. – With Jaime Laude