Palace allays terror fears: Philippines is safe

MANILA, Philippines — It’s “generally safe” for foreigners to travel, work or study in the country, Malacañang said yesterday as it allayed fears sparked by Australia’s alerting its citizens to possible terror attacks in the Philippines, including in Metro Manila.

“We understand the concern of the Australian government cautioning its citizens on the Philippines’ safety or security risks,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

“We verified with Australian officials and they said the advisory is not a response to any specific threat,” he said.

He stressed it was normal for the Australian government to show concern for the welfare of its citizens traveling overseas.

“Their general threat assessment has remained the same as it was at the height of the Marawi rebellion, which we all know has already been resolved by our government forces,” Roque pointed out.

On Friday, Australia said threat of terror attack was prevalent in the whole country, including Manila. It advised its nationals to exercise “a high degree of caution” when going to areas with low protective security.

The travel advisory came as the country is preparing for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia summits and other meetings from Nov. 12 to 14.

World leaders including US President Donald Trump are set to attend the meetings.

Roque assured the public that there are no monitored terror threats so far in Manila and elsewhere in the country.

“The Philippine government has no information about any increased terror threat in the country and we assure our foreign friends that local authorities have been enforcing tight security measures, especially in populated areas while we urge everyone to continue being aware of one’s surroundings,” he said.

Roque noted that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has coordinated with other embassies and that there is no change in travel advisories on the Philippines issued by other countries.

“We reiterate that generally it is safe to work, study, do business and travel in the Philippines,” he stressed.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa also dowplayed the Australian terror alert, saying Canberra was just being extra cautious.

“Maybe these people are just being extra careful,” Dela Rosa said in an interview over dzBB radio.

He said what Australia issued was actually a general alert.

He also said they have not monitored any specific threats and that Australia could just be expecting possible retaliatory attacks from terrorist groups following the defeat of Islamic State-inspired rebels in Marawi City.

What intelligence authorities from the police and the military are monitoring is the possibility of “lone wolf” terror attacks.

Dela Rosa said there has been no documented attack in the country by so-called “lone wolf” terrorists who, he admitted, were “the most difficult to track down.” 

Lone wolf terrorists usually get indoctrinated or radicalized through browsing of websites of terror groups, he said.

Dela Rosa maintained their foreign counterparts in the intelligence community are helping them ensure the safety of leaders and delegates in the coming ASEAN and EAS meetings.

“We have intelligence fusion and exchanges between our Philippine intelligence community and foreign counterparts,” Dela Rosa said.

For Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano and Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin, however, the military and the police should take seriously the Australian embassy’s advisory on terror threats.

“Terrorists have no bounds and they can strike anytime and anywhere. The physical defeat of ISIS-inspired Maute in Marawi could trigger retaliatory attacks, especially against soft targets in areas other than Marawi,” Alejano said.

“I am confident that our security forces are doing their duties to make sure that the people are safe from terrorists’ threats without unnecessarily creating panic among them. I trust that our government resorts to careful contingency planning,” he said.

Villarin said the Australian embassy advisory is “highly credible.”

“Citizens’ vigilance and good, real-time intelligence work are needed to deter such threats. The safety of everyone is of paramount importance. It seems that the Duterte administration has not addressed decisively the terror threat despite martial law and vows to crush these terror groups. A purely military solution has emboldened, not cowed militants,” Villarin said.   – Christina Mendez, Jess Diaz, Emmanuel Tupas