UK renews travel warning on RP

The United Kingdom has again warned its citizens against travel to the Philippines, with particular emphasis on traveling during Christmas and the New Year.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office updated its travel advisory yesterday, stressing the general threat of terrorism and kidnapping.

"There continue to be threats against Western interests and there is a danger of collateral damage from terrorist attacks targeted at others," the latest advisory said.

The advisory restated the previous warning made by the British government on Dec. 4 warning its citizens against travel to southern Mindanao, Metro Manila, Palawan and other coastal resorts.

The latest warning emphasized the danger of being mugged in public places during the holidays.

"You should be particularly vigilant in all public places and when traveling especially over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. You should also be alert to the risk of street crimes," the advisory said.

While noting the worldwide alert on the possibility of another major terror attack, the travel advisory particularly mentioned the Philippines which they said was on a high state of alert against another holiday bomb attack similar to the Dec. 30, 2000 bombings in Metro Manila.

The British advisory also claimed that there were about 100 kidnapping incidents in the Philippines last year, some of which involved the abduction of foreigners.

"Some kidnap gangs have used extreme violence against their victims," it said.

British travelers were also warned of the heightened tensions generated by preparations for the May 2004 elections.

The latest travel warning has also made apparent that the Philippines topped their list of countries at risk to natural calamities.

It even mentioned the recent landslides in southern Leyte where over 100 people perished.

"Typhoons strike the Philippines during the rainy season usually between July and November and flooding may occur. Inter-island travel by small boats can also be dangerous as storms appear quickly," the advisory said.

"The Philippines is in an earthquake zone, Active volcanoes include Mount Mayon on southeast Luzon," it added.

However, the British government acknowledged the efforts made by Philippine officials to neutralize the terrorist threat in implementing tighter security measures in Metro Manila and other "high risk" areas in the country.

Shortly after the British government and other countries issued travel advisories, President Arroyo said the warnings are "a little bit off track."

Mrs. Arroyo cited security measures have been in place, referring to the setting up of police and military checkpoints in the metropolis which, some observers noted, drastically reduced crime incidents in the past days.

The President also pointed out that the government is gaining the upper hand in the war against drug syndicates, pointing out the recent arrests of suspected drugs lords and seizure of millions worth of narcotics.

The issuance of travel advisories has been a major concern of countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Asean nations scored the Western countries for issuing travel warnings which tend to hurt their economies and regional tourism.

The World Tourism Organization also criticized the Western countries for issuing advisories that were too general and destructive to the image of the nations concerned.

The US, Canada and Australia, which had issued earlier travel warnings, maintained it was their duty to inform their nationals of the situation in different countries.