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Mindanao bishop backs travel alerts


As the government seeks to reverse the travel advisories issued by at least six countries, which warned of possible terrorist attacks in the Philippines, a Catholic bishop from war-torn Mindanao has backed the alerts. Saying that prevention is better than a cure, Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo disclosed that he has taken "preemptive" action on the advisories and has written all parish priests under him. “Prevention is better than (a) cure. Let us be very vigilant and security conscious. The travel advisories could help people to be more vigilant and prepared for any eventuality," the bishop said in an interview aired over the Church-run Radio Veritas. Bagaforo, who has served the Catholic community in central Mindanao for over 30 years, also said that he had ordered parish priests under him to set up an internal security system to have priests and the faithful report suspicious people in their areas. A report of the interview was posted on the website of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. Another bishop in Basilan — a major base of operations of the bandit group Abu Sayyaf that is believed to have ties to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network — warned the Catholic flock there to take “extra precautionary measures and to report suspicious-looking foreigners" lurking in the area to authorities in order to “support efforts of authorities to discover, track and disrupt terrorist activity." At least six countries — the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and France — issued travel advisories last week to warn their citizens of possible terrorist attacks in the Philippines. The advisories came in the wake of a failed terror attack on the US that came the day before Halloween. But the Philippine government expressed displeasure over the warnings, claiming that these did not have “adequate basis." President Benigno Aquino III said the alleged terror threats were probably “blown out of proportion" because the travel advisories were likely based on “raw" data awaiting validation. Aquino is expected to take up the matter in the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Japan. - DM/KBK, GMANews.TV

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