US alert effect: More cops in Boracay

Boracay. FILE PHOTO

ILOILO CITY—Police have heightened security measures on Boracay Island which was cited in a US Embassy alert as among areas in the Philippines that face increasing terrorist threats.

Chief Supt. Bernardo Diaz, Western Visayas police director, said more policemen have been sent to the 1,032-hectare island to reinforce the Boracay Tourist Assistance Center, the island’s police force.

Business groups on the island have assured the safety of tourists even as they also enhanced safety and security protocols.

Diaz declined to say how many more policemen were sent to the world-famous island-resort but said these include members of Special Weapons and Tactics teams. More plainclothes policemen have also been deployed.

“With or without the [US Embassy] alert, we have always maintained a high level of alert in Boracay,” said Diaz.

He said tourist destinations are logical targets of criminal groups.

In a Dec. 23 alert to American citizens residing or traveling to the Philippines, the US Embassy cited Philippine security officials’ assessment of an increase in terror threat levels in seven cities and nine provinces due to persistent reports of kidnapping for ransom plots and potential bombings by the Abu Sayyaf Group and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Risk areas

The cities included Zamboanga, Marawi, Isabela, Kidapawan, Dipolog, Dapitan and Cotabato in Mindanao.

Also included were the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Palawan.

In the Visayas, the areas included in the terror threat alert were southern Negros Island and Boracay in Aklan province.

The embassy reminded US citizens to “review your personal security plans, remain aware of your surroundings, including local events, and monitor local news stations for updates.”

“Be vigilant and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security,” said the embassy alert.

Diaz said law enforcement and other agencies in Boracay have reviewed the security plans that were implemented during the island’s hosting of meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in May.

Security simulation exercises have also been undertaken on the island while the Philippine Navy and Coast Guard have increased the number of seaborne patrol operations to guard the island’s shoreline, he said.

Dionisio Salme, head of the Boracay Foundation Inc., a group of business owners on the island, said they are coordinating with law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of tourists and residents on the island.

“The island remains safe but we have issued reminders for guests and frontline personnel to be constantly alert and be aware of surroundings. We advise them to report anything suspicious,” Salme said.

Tourism gains

Tourism and local officials had projected tourist arrivals in Boracay to reach 1.5 million in 2015.

In 2014, tourist arrivals grew by nearly 8 percent (108,753) from 1,363,599 in 2013 to 1,472,352, according to data from the Department of Tourism in Western Visayas.

Tourism revenues in 2014 also reached a new record of P40.7 million, 62.38 percent higher than the P25 million in 2013.

In Bacolod City, apparently trying to cushion the effects of the US Embassy alert, military and police officials had given assurances that the city and southern Negros Occidental are safe places to travel.

Negros Occidental Vice Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the US government is always cautious when it comes to the safety of their citizens all over the world.

“The military and our provincial PNP could clarify this advisory if only to assure Negrenses that all is well in the south,” said Lacson.

“Personally, I feel it is safe to travel in the area,” he said.

Col. Francisco Delfin, commanding officer of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said Negros Island, as a whole, is very peaceful.

He said the basis for the US Embassy alert could be a series of clashes between government and communist rebel forces in the south.

He said the heavy influx of tourists to Negros Occidental is one of the signs of peace in the province.

Senior Supt. Samuel Nacion, officer in charge of the Negros Occidental police, said with or without the US advisory, police in the province are not letting their guard down. With a report from Carla Gomez, Inquirer Visayas