EDITORIAL - High risk

The government is right: Australia and the United States are at greater risk of a terrorist attack than the Philippines. The US and Australia, staunch allies in the war on terror, are natural targets for the groups responsible for crashing commercial planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, and bombing nightclubs in Bali last year. The Philippines has reason to be miffed for being classified by officials of the two countries as a "high-risk" terror target. Such warnings can only scare away investors and tourists already jittery from political instability and criminality in this country.

Such warnings, however, are not new. Since the Abu Sayyaf held hostage several foreigners taken from the Malaysian island of Sipadan, nations whose citizens are likely targets of similar attacks have regularly issued travel advisories on the Philippines. Expectedly, the advisories have been negative.

Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill unfairly singled out the Philippines as having possibly the richest environment in Southeast Asia for an attack by Jemaah Islamiyah. Other countries in the region have as many western-style nightspots, hotels and symbols of western culture, and they are also cooperating with Washington in the war on terror. That spokesman for a visiting team of US marines, meanwhile, tried mightily to downplay the terror threat in the Philippines. But he did mention the US Defense Department’s "high-risk" classification for this country, and that rankled Philippine officials.

Such advisories and classifications may be unfair and our government has reason to protest. But the best way to erase such negative classifications is to deal decisively with the terrorist threat. This means ferreting out JI elements being protected by Muslim separatists in Mindanao, catching terrorists before they can set off bombs, prosecuting them and making sure they don’t escape once they are finally behind bars.

The country is still trying to live down its embarrassment from the escape of notorious terrorists from the headquarters of the Philippine National Police, as well as the failure of the military to wipe out a bunch of scruffy thugs called the Abu Sayyaf. If our security officers do their homework and can give a reasonable guarantee of safety for everyone in this country, Filipinos and foreigners alike, we are sure to see fewer negative travel advisories on the Philippines.