Travel advisory, Koreans told: Avoid Bohol

CEBU, Philippines - The Republic of Korea has urged its citizens not to travel to Bohol from April 13 to 23 in line with security threats following the clash between government troops and members of the terror group Abu Sayyaf last week.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea’s Consulate in Cebu said it continues to monitor the security situation in Bohol.

Koreans remain the top tourists in the Philippines.

The travel advisory was issued just as reports of armed men at a hotel in Cebu City surfaced yesterday morning. Police assured, though, that the reports were negative.

Based on the report received by the Mabolo Police Station, 10 government employees from Basilan who are allegedly members of the Abu Sayyaf checked in at a hotel at the North Reclamation Area.

This prompted the station to call for backup from the Mobile Patrol Group (MPG) and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT).

Upon verification, however, the report turned out to be false.

“We took precautions. Turned out negative naman. We have to be very careful. Secure the area, baka may other pa na pumunta,” said City Police Director, Senior Supt. Joel Doria.

According to the hotel management, the group is composed of members of the vice mayor’s league of Basilan who stayed at the hotel from Thursday until Saturday for a government meeting here.

“Meron naman silang coordination, however, kasi medyo mainit yung incident sa Bohol, so any group activities na makikita nire-report naman,” Doria said.

Still, Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor for police matters, said further investigation should be conducted.

Eight out of the 12-member Abu Sayyaf group in Bohol are still at large and while the police said they received several reports of suspicious individuals in Camotes Islands and Cordova during the Holy Week, the reports remain unsubstantiated.

“Wala naman kaming nakita kahit sa Camotes,” said Provincial Police Director Eric Noble.

He also noted unverified information circulating online like on Facebook, which has caused panic among many netizens.

"Ang maganda doon, ang taong bayan nagre-report kaya lang hindi mo ma-control ang sa Facebook. Kaya nga we should not worry but vigilant lang tayo. Mapagmatyag at i-report kaagad sa mga police," Noble said.

At the Capitol, Vice Governor Agnes Magpale

The vice governor also appealed to the public to be more circumspect and truthful in relaying reports.

“Dili i-post sa Facebook diretso. Let us be responsible and be careful in reporting. Verify first before reporting to the police,” she said.

Magpale made the appeal after a string of false alarms and hoaxes about the presence of ASG group in Carcar City, Cordova town, Asturias town and Poro town in Camotes Island in Cebu.

“Upon validation, we found out that they are not here. A verification conducted by authorities yielded negative results,” she said.

He said they have already distributed printouts of faces of suspected Abu Sayyaf members that have infiltrated Inabanga town last week.

“Kung sinuman ang makakita ng mga taong suspicious so hopefully we can compare that to the pictures existing,” he said.

She also called that the Barangay Intelligence Network be established.

Cebu City Police and coordinating government agencies will maintain full alert status and assures public that remaining bandit group members at large will not reach Cebu shorelines.

Meanwhile, Senior Superintendent Joel Doria of the city police emphasized the need of preemptive plans avoid the Bohol incident.

Doria said that pictures of the identified bandits had been circulated among police officers order for station commanders, down to beat patrollers to distinguish militants from the crowd.

Initiatives had been conducted to warn-off suspected friends and families connected militant members that might be in Cebu into housing a member.

“Well, actually, lahat naman ng station natin nakaalert dyan may mga copy na ng pictures. Definitely makikilala sila” Doria said.

Provincial Police Director Senior Superintendent Eric Noble has alerted cooperating agencies to go the extra mile in safety and security as it would contribute a lot.  (FREEMAN)