Malacañang to US: Limit travel ban to Basilan, Sulu

The US travel ban on its citizens in the Philippines should be limited to Basilan and Sulu.

This was what Malacañang insisted on yesterday as it sought to correct the US State Department advisory warning Americans against traveling to Mindanao.

For its part, the US Embassy in Manila said yesterday the advisory would be reviewed but gave no commitment it would be withdrawn.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez reiterated the Philippine government’s position during a meeting at Malacañang last Tuesday with US Embassy officials led by charge d’affaires Robert Fitts.

"Our position is that the only high-risk area as far as the Philippines is concerned is the Basilan-Sulu area because of the intense offensive by the military against the Abu Sayyaf," Golez said.

Briefing Palace reporters a day after the meeting, Golez disclosed that Fitts agreed to review the security situation evaluation which Manila will submit to the US State Department.

"And they will respond at the appropriate time after consulting their higher authorities," Golez said.

However, Golez said Fitts clarified that Washington did not issue a travel advisory but a "worldwide public announcement."

"It was only a public announcement issuing warnings to American nationals about some points in the Philippines based on local media reports monitored by the US Embassy," Golez quoted Fitts.

According to Fitts, Golez said, US Embassy officials all over the world are legally mandated to report by public announcement media reports that have a bearing on the security of Americans abroad.

In response, Golez said that for all its technicalities, the advisory still sends the wrong signal about the actual peace and order situation in the entire Mindanao when the Muslim extremist threats are limited to Basilan and Sulu.

"The Philippine team stressed that most of the media reports cited by Fitts were already outdated, referring to cases last year and should therefore be updated since no untoward incident has been observed in resorts and tourist spots all over the Philippines," he said.

Golez added that Manila "deplored the inclusion of other areas in the public announcement considering that almost all of Mindanao and the rest of the southern Philippines are very peaceful."

Vice President and Foreign Secretary Teofisto Guingona agreed: "The protest was already made. That is too sweeping."

US Embassy spokesperson Karen Kelly said the other day the US State Department is not inclined to withdraw its advisory warning Americans against traveling to Mindanao.

Kelly maintained that the controversial advisory was "very specific, very detailed" and therefore need not be revised.

She made the statement before Fitts went to Malacañang to meet with Golez, Guingona, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, and top intelligence officials of the national police as well as Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim of the Armed Forces.

During their talks, Golez said Philippine government officials discussed with US Embassy officials the reasons for the advisory and the geographical coverage, "and at the same time ... clarify the security situation on their concerns."

The national security adviser noted that it would take some time before the advisory can be "rectified" since this would have to be "processed" at the State Department.

"For instance, this latest US travel advisory was based on information they gathered last May," Golez said, or after the May 27 kidnapping of tourists and resort workers in a beach in Palawan that included three Americans.

But Manila assured that security in the country’s beach resorts and tourist spots has since been beefed up.

Guingona said that the situation in Basilan and Sulu was far different from other places in Mindanao, citing the beaches in Davao and Camiguin.

"The Philippines has appealed for rectification," Guingona said, adding that his department has warned the tourism industry that it would be badly affected by the advisory.

"They know the urgency of the need for tourists for the tourism industry. They know the desire for jobs to be maintained," he said.