Tourism Secretary says Philippines safe despite kidnaps
The Philippine Department of Tourism said on Wednesday the country remained safe for visitors.
It followed widespread reporting of data from the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group indicating a total of 42 cases of abduction – linked to scenarios involving either bricks-and-mortar casinos or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) – for the first 11 months of this year.
The majority of the victims and suspects was Chinese nationals, the Philippine News Agency reported earlier this week, citing police anti-abduction squad spokesperson Jowel Saliba.
The news agency carried the tourism department’s subsequent clarification.
“We will not promote a place where we know it’s not safe… If something happens to even a single tourist, it destroys the whole Philippines” market, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Tourism Secretary, was cited as saying on the sidelines of an event in the national capital Manila.
The Secretary (pictured in a file photo) added that her department had renewed an agreement with the Philippine National Police whereby additional police are being stationed in major travel destinations across the country.
A video purportedy showing a woman being dragged into a vehicle in Makati in Metro Manila has been widely circulated on social media as evidence of a recent kidnapping witnessed by members of the public. GGRAsia was not able to verify the content of the video.
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