Facebook activates ‘safety check’

MANILA, Philippines - Social networking giant Facebook activated its “safety check” feature minutes after the deadly Davao City blast on Friday night that led President Duterte to declare a state of lawlessness in the country.

The feature allows Facebook users to let relatives and friends know they are safe.

Officials said 15 people were killed while 71 were injured in the night market explosion.

Duterte said the declaration of state of lawlessness or lawless violence would allow authorities to thwart attacks that could be a reprisal to the government’s all-out war against the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf and illegal drug syndicates.

The Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the blast.

But according to the Department of Tourism, Davao City remains safe for tourists and residents despite the incident.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, for its part, said it would have to wait and see whether the declaration of the state of lawlessness would have an effect on the country’s tourism sector.

As social media went abuzz with news about the blast, Facebook activated the safety check feature that enabled users to tell their contacts that they were safe.

Facebook usually does this following a natural or man-made disaster in a particular area. The feature automatically activates on the Facebook accounts of people located near the crisis.

Launched in 2014, the feature was used in major incidents such the Nepal earthquakes and Paris attacks in 2015.

It was also activated following the Orlando mass shooting in Florida in June and the Nice attack in France in July.

In the Philippines, the safety check was activated following the onslaught of Typhoon Ruby in Eastern and Central Visayas in November 2014.

Some people near the scene posted updates on social media and the hashtag #PrayForDavao was trending on Twitter yesterday.

To allay fears and safety concerns, Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo said “the quick and professional response and action of our police, armed forces and security group (show) that Davao is well-prepared for contingencies, including isolated attack like this bombing incident.” – Janvic Mateo, Mary Grace Padin, Rainier Allan Ronda