AFP, PNP back Duterte’s travel warning for Zamboanga: Be security conscious

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday expressed their support for President Rodrigo Duterte’s warning for tourists not to travel to Zamboanga.

“As a precautionary measure, the PNP supports the President’s warning addressed in general to foreign tourists who might or intend to visit places in the south where presence of the Abu Sayaff terrorist group is known,” PNP spokesperson Colonel Bernie Banac told GMA News Online via text message.

On Tuesday during a conference in Pasay City, Duterte advised tourists not to travel to Zamboanga due to the threat of crimes committed by Abu Sayyaf against foreigners. 

“The security in Zamboanga peninsula remains tight and the Police Regional Office 9 remains on full alert following the Jolo Cathedral bombing incident and Zamboanga City mosque explosion incident in January 2019,” Banac said.

According to AFP's Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) chief Lieutenant General Arnel Dela Vega, Duterte’s warning was prompted by the fact that foreigners are primary targets for kidnap-for-ransom groups like the Abu Sayyaf.

“It’s a general threat assessment that indicates the vulnerabilities of foreigners and perhaps other high profile individuals that may pose as lucrative targets for kidnap-for-ransom groups,” Dela Vega told GMA News Online in a message.

Dela Vega said the Wesmincom continues to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf group in the city to stop their atrocities.

“In fact, they are on the run. But still, we have to be vigilant and for tourists visiting Zamboanga to be security conscious,” Dela Vega said. —KG, GMA News