Sara hits Robles over ‘tweet’ on Mindanao tourism

MANILA, Philippines — Vice president-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio has criticized journalist Raissa Robles over a post on Twitter supposedly “demonizing” a plan to develop Mindanao as a tourist destination.

“The views expressed by Raissa Robles on Mindanao in reaction to a plan of incoming tourism secretary Christina Frasco to develop the region as a tourist destination are replete with journalistic recklessness and irresponsibility,” Carpio said in a statement over the weekend.

“This is something that calls for our collective condemnation as it grossly discriminated against all Mindanawons, especially those living in Moro communities,” she added.

Carpio said Robles’ tweet was a demonization of Mindanao and an insult to its people, whom she said deserve to experience the gains of the Duterte administration over the past six years.

In a tweet on June 2, Robles said the Abu Sayyaf and other bandit groups would be “pleased by the prospects of so many potential kidnap victims” with the plan of Frasco to open Mindanao to tourism.

“Way to go, Frasco. Prep yourself for ransom negotiations. ASG might ask you to nego (negotiate) personally,” Robles twitted.

Frasco, reelected mayor of Liloan City in Cebu and spokesperson of Duterte-Carpio, has accepted an offer by president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for her to be the next secretary of the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Carpio said aside from being irresponsible, Robles’ statement was also grossly discriminatory, especially as the peace and security situation in Mindanao has significantly improved.

“Robles wanted to undervalue everything that the Duterte administration has done in keeping the peace and security in Mindanao, and ensuring that concerns caused by terrorist organizations including kidnap for ransom groups are addressed appropriately with the help of local governments and leaders of communities,” Carpio said.

She said that since 2016, incidents of kidnapping by the Abu Sayyaf have been “significantly reduced” and all victims were rescued.

“In Basilan, as confirmed by Rep. Mujiv Hataman himself, there had been zero kidnapping incidents since President Duterte came into office. All other incidents concerning the Abu Sayyaf had been about the arrests and surrenders of their members and leaders,” Carpio said.

In another post on Facebook, Robles said she did not intend to discriminate against Mindanao, but was merely pointing out that not all areas of the region are ready for tourism.

“What I’m saying here is that parts of Mindanao are not ready for tourism due to security issues. If the DOT launches a program welcoming tourists in all of Mindanao, I fear this will be a magnet for bandits and kidnappers to prey on unwitting tourists,” Robles posted.

“The DOT should coordinate closely with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to carefully craft the tourism message and decide which areas are ready for tourism and go from there. The DOT cannot just open up the entire south to tourism,” she said.

Robles said that if a tourist is kidnapped in Mindanao, all other tourist spots in the country could suffer from the resulting negative publicity. – Delon Porcalla, Edith Regalado