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Manila Bulletin

Palace: Mindanao still a safe place to visit

Palace: Mindanao still a safe place to visit

By Patrick Garcia

By Genalyn Kabiling Mindanao remains a safe place to visit, Malacañang has assured the public following the recent travel alerts issued by United Kingdom and Australia.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo (OPS / MANILA BULLETIN)

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo
(OPS / MANILA BULLETIN) Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Palace understands the intention of the foreign governments to look after their citizens but assured that the bombing incident in Cotabato City was an isolated incident. "It's natural for any foreign government, or any government for that matter, to be concerned about the welfare, the safety of their citizens and we cannot blame them if they have such views following the bombing in Cotabato but that's an isolated case," he said during a Palace news conference. "Insofar as the National Defense Secretary is concerned, it is very safe to travel in Mindanao," he added. Australia recently advised citizens against traveling to central and western Mindanao due to threats of terrorist activity and kidnapping. The United Kingdom earlier issued a similar travel warning against Mindanao, citing terrorists were likely to carry out attacks in the Philippines. The travel warnings from the two western nations were issued following the blast at a mall in Cotabato City last December 31 that left two people dead and dozens injured. The Palace has extended sympathies to the families of the victims and vowed to “get to the bottom of this at the soonest possible time.”

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