Nothing new about UK advisory against travel to Mindanao -- Andolong
Published Jan 3, 2019 04:59 pm
By Francis Wakefield
The United Kingdom's advisory against traveling to Mindanao due to terrorism is nothing new, the spokesman of the Department of National Defense (DND) Thursday said.
In a statement, DND Spokesman Director Arsenio Andolong,.explained that the government of the UK regularly issues security advisories to its subjects who are overseas.
DND Public Affairs Chief Arsenio Andolong (AP / MANILA BULLETIN)
"It is the mandate and responsibility of every government in the world to remind its citizens to take precautions when traveling to countries that have a presence of bandits and terrorists, whether their activities or numbers are significant or not," Andolong said.
The travel advisory issued by the UK came about after an IED (improvise explosive device) exploded at the entrance to the South Seas shopping mall in Cotabato City, killing two people and wounding 32 others in the process.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said there are no indications that there will be other bombings in Mindanao.
"No, we don't have indications that there will be other bombings. The British advisory is an automatic & default warning of governments to their nationals like we also do when these things happen in other countries," Lorenzana said.
"It is normal and ordinary. We hear about these advisories all the time," he added.
The Army's 6th Infantry Division (6th ID) earlier revealed that an unidentified individual allegedly dropped a wrapped box along Magallanes Street in front of the South Seas mall entrance, which immediately exploded at around 1:59 p.m. Monday.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams and Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) immediately went to the area to process the scene and identify what kind of explosive was used.
At least two persons were killed while 32 others — mostly shoppers, were wounded when an IED exploded in front of the busy mall.
AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said they are not discounting the possibility that the terrorist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and its breakaway group Daulah Islamiyah were behind the incident
DND Public Affairs Chief Arsenio Andolong (AP / MANILA BULLETIN)
"It is the mandate and responsibility of every government in the world to remind its citizens to take precautions when traveling to countries that have a presence of bandits and terrorists, whether their activities or numbers are significant or not," Andolong said.
The travel advisory issued by the UK came about after an IED (improvise explosive device) exploded at the entrance to the South Seas shopping mall in Cotabato City, killing two people and wounding 32 others in the process.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said there are no indications that there will be other bombings in Mindanao.
"No, we don't have indications that there will be other bombings. The British advisory is an automatic & default warning of governments to their nationals like we also do when these things happen in other countries," Lorenzana said.
"It is normal and ordinary. We hear about these advisories all the time," he added.
The Army's 6th Infantry Division (6th ID) earlier revealed that an unidentified individual allegedly dropped a wrapped box along Magallanes Street in front of the South Seas mall entrance, which immediately exploded at around 1:59 p.m. Monday.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams and Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) immediately went to the area to process the scene and identify what kind of explosive was used.
At least two persons were killed while 32 others — mostly shoppers, were wounded when an IED exploded in front of the busy mall.
AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said they are not discounting the possibility that the terrorist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and its breakaway group Daulah Islamiyah were behind the incident