France 6th country to issue terror alert vs Philippines

(Updated 12:07 p.m.) Amid government efforts to downplay the terror alert issued by five countries, another country, France, has warned its nationals against possible terror attacks in the Philippines. France on Friday (Manila time) warned its nationals of a “risk of terrorist attack" in the “entire territory of the Philippines," particularly in urban areas. “Risk of terrorist attack exists on the entire territory of the Philippines, particularly in urban areas (airports, shopping centers, places of worship, hotels and places frequented by foreigners, etc.)," said an English translation of the November 4 (France time) travel advisory. France said Islamist movements, including the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, remain active in Mindanao. Criminal groups also engage in kidnapping and extortion in the area, and these groups are also likely to act far from their bases throughout the country, it added. On the other hand, France said general crime and kidnappings "are rising each year throughout the Philippines at the approaching holiday season and during this period." At least five countries – United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia – already warned their nationals against possible terrorist attacks on the Philippines. The warnings came a week after a foiled terrorist attack on the US. No adequate basis But President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III maintained on Friday that there is no adequate basis to the travel advisories that have been issued by the six countries. "We've been communicating with the embassies since yesterday, probably earlier than that. We will communicate the same with France," Aquino said in an ambush interview in Malacañang. "Perhaps we should communicate in the most diplomatic way possible that there is an urgent request from our country not to be inflicted this harm if the basis isn't that concrete," he said. On Thursday, Aquino said reports on possible terror threats in the country were "blown out of proportion" because the travel advisories were likely based on "raw" data that still had to be validated. Aquino maintained this on Friday, saying that the supposed threat against two ambassadors and certain security officials was not consistent with the actions of the terror group from which the threat supposedly comes from. "Parang pinakalaman nung supposed threat analysis ay merong mga target na hindi consistent sa ginagawa supposed to be ng mga jihadist na pinagmumulan supposedly nitong current threat. Pagkapaliwanag satin baligtad na baligtad sa normal na istilo po nila kaya lalong nakakadagdag sa paniwalang wala pong kongkretong plano na nagmumula dun sa threat group na yun," he said. (The content of the supposed threat analysis said that there are targets that are not consistent with the actions of the supposed jihadists from where the current threat supposedly came from. From what has been explain to me, it is the complete opposite of the group's style, which further bolsters the belief that there is no concrete plan from this supposed terror group.) Nevertheless, Aquino said the officials that are supposedly the targets of the threat likely already know of the threat. "Most of them are in the security services, I assume they would have read the reports earlier than I did," he said. The president said he may raise the terror issue with concerned leaders during during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Japan that he will attend next week.
Also on Friday, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the advisories had a negative effect on Philippine tourism and economy. He said the foreign governments' advisories were meant to keep their citizens from suing them if something happened to them while they are in the Philippines. "We'll be asking them if they can downgrade the alert level, ang warning, ang advisories. It's primarily for their citizens, di sa atin (We will ask them if they can downgrade the alert level, the warning, the advisories that are for their citizens, not for us)," Lacierda said in an interview on dzBB radio on Friday. In the meantime, he said all the Philippines can do aside from asking the concerned governments to downgrade their warnings is to show the country is prepared to protect citizens. "Nakakabahala sa atin maraming advisory tapos ang basehan intelligence information na unverified (It is disturbing that there are advisories against us that are based on unverified intelligence information)," he added. Travel in Mindanao In warning its nationals against travelling to Mindanao, France cited the bombing of a bus in North Cotabato on October 21, where at least 10 people were killed. It strongly discouraged travel in the following areas:

Basilan;

Sulu Archipelago (islands of Jolo and Tawi-Tawi); Zamboanga Peninsula (the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay);

Misamis Occidental;

Maguindanao;

Lanao del Sur;

Lanao del Norte;

North Cotabato;

Sultan Kudarat;

South Cotabato (except the city of General Santos), and

Sarangani . France also warned that guerrillas of the New Peoples Army (NPA) are present over much of the territory, particularly in Northern and Central Luzon, Samar, Leyte, Masbate, Negros and Mindoro. France advised its nationals to follow the usual precautions include avoiding political rallies during election campaigns. Crime France said that while Filipinos are generally very welcoming to foreigners, many of them live in abject poverty and may turn to crime. It issued guidelines to avoid any incident:

Do not show signs of ostentatious wealth (jewelry, cameras, video), especially in poor neighborhoods;

Avoid resorting to unidentified individuals who offer their services to tourists in hotel lobbies;

Do not flaunt cash;

Be wary of drinks offered by strangers because they may contain drugs;

Observe caution and respect local custom. Marriage scam France warned its nationals against falling for marriage scams where French nationals meet Filipino women on the Internet and agree to marriage. “Requests for money are then transmitted on various pretexts. These scams may involve several thousand euros per person. They can be matched by threats, blackmail or false complaints to the police against the French national," it said. "The greatest care should be exercised when it comes to Internet dating," it added. – with Jam Sisante/VVP/RSJ, GMANews.TV