Australia advises against travel to Central, Western Mindanao

Australia has asked its citizens not to travel to Central and Western Mindanao, including Zamboanga and Sulu.

Australia's travel advisory on the Philippines came a few days after an improvised explosive device went off on the afternoon of New Year's Eve at a Cotabato mall.

The blast killed two and hurt at least 32 others.

The updated travel advisory urged Australian citizens to reconsider their need to travel to Eastern Mindanao and to exercise a high degree of caution whenever they would travel to the entire Philippines. —NB, GMA News