Avoid going to ‘violent’ PH, British citizens told
By MST News | Jan. 23, 2015 at 12:01am
24
THE United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office updated its travel advisory to the Philippines because of its “high level of violent crime” and “high incidence of street crime and robbery” after a Briton was robbed and shot by a taxi driver and other criminal incidents.
“There’s a high level of violent crime, including gun crime. Although British nationals are not normally targeted, they have been caught up in some incidents,” the UK foreign office said the advisory posted on its website.
The latest incident happened before the arrival of Pope Francis last week and involved a 51-year-old British woman who was robbed in the taxi on her way from Burgos Street in Makati to Malate, Manila and was shot in the face when she resisted.
“There is a high incidence of street crime and robbery,” the advisory said. “Only use taxis from a reputable company. Some taxi drivers and their accomplices have robbed and harmed passengers.”
“Be particularly vigilant when traveling on public transport. Armed hold-ups have occurred on ‘jeepneys’ and buses. In some cases these have resulted in fatalities,” the advisory said.
The travel advisory also urged Britons to “avoid travel to remote areas and always leave travel plans with friends, colleagues or relatives” and scored the low safety standards on taxis, buses and boats, noting that there have been two bus crashes that caused multiple fatalities or injuries.
“Avoid travel on ferries if possible. Ferries are often overloaded, lack necessary lifesaving equipment, are not adequately maintained and have incomplete passenger manifests,” the advisory said.
It noted that “major accidents, which involved ferries, and resulted in large loss of life occurred in 2008 and 2009. Two large ferries sunk in 2013, the most recent off the coast of Cebu City in August 2013.”
The UK is the third nation to issue an adverse travel advisory on the Philippines, after China and Korea.
China, with whom the Philippines has a simmering maritime dispute, has even called the Philippines “quasi-rogue” state that cannot guarantee of the safety of foreign nationals.
In it's English-language Global Times, Beijing criticized Philippines for “poor social governance, an anti-China sentiment and a Western-style democratic system where nationalism can foment wantonly make the Philippines a quasi-rogue state.”
But even without the color of international politics, the Philippine National Police admitted that 18 Chinese citizens so far died in separate incidents in the Philippines.
Beijing said four died in accidents while the remaining 14 were killed in separate kidnapping and murder incidents. In the past, Chinese officials recorded an average six to seven deaths per year.
Even Korea, with which the country has very cordial relations, has expressed alarm at the increasing number of crimes against Koreans in the country.
Last August, Korean Ambassador Kyuk Lee wrote the Philippine National Police to urge law enforcement agencies to curb criminality to encourage more Korean investments in the country.
“The rising incidence of crimes committed against Koreas while in the Philippines either on vacation or on business is a trend that has alarmed the Embassy of the Republic of Korea,” Lee said.
Lee said while Korean businessmen expressed desire to continue to pour in investments in the Philippines, “it is feared that if crimes against innocent Koreans persist, businessmen will avoid the Philippines and seek safer places for doing business.”
Lee also stressed that specific measures should be adopted by the law enforcement agencies to prevent motor vehicles, taxi cabs in particular, from being used as means to commit crimes, or from being targeted for kidnapping or car theftby organized criminal syndicates.
“Such preemptive actions would allay the anxiety of Koreans, who have been coming to the Philippines in greater numbers either as tourist or as investors,” he said.
Quote Reply
