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Friday, February 3, 2012

Safety first

Editorial
Safety first

The success of the Puerto Princesa Underground River as a tourist destination, now boosted by its selection as one of the New7Wonders of Nature, owes a lot to the efforts of residents themselves together with the local government to promote the site. Residents and officials in the country’s conflict areas can take lessons from Puerto Princesa. The same community spirit helped Palawan recover from the bad publicity generated by a raid staged by the Abu Sayyaf on an island resort in the province.

Early yesterday afternoon in Tawi-Tawi, two European tourists on a bird-watching trip were kidnapped. Police reported that Elwold Horn of the Netherlands and Lorenzo Vinciguerre of Switzerland were seized together with their Filipino guide Ivan Sarenas before 2 p.m. yesterday in the waters off Sitio Luuk-Luuk in Barangay Pangan in the town of Panglima Sugala. The victims were on a motorized banca when they were waylaid by gunmen on a larger boat.

Although Tawi-Tawi has had its share of peace and order problems involving pirates and other bandits, the province does not have the notoriety of neighboring Basilan and Sulu. In recent years, Tawi-Tawi has been trying to promote itself as a tourist destination, with a unique southern culture and nature’s bounty among its attractions. If the province is serious in its effort, it must give priority to public safety.

Yesterday’s kidnapping could be particularly worrisome for potential tourists because the two Europeans and their guide were reportedly escorted by a barangay councilman and a local policeman. The escorts, who were left behind by the gunmen, should be thoroughly grilled about the circumstances that led to the kidnapping, if only so they can dispel suspicions that they were involved.

In Basilan and Sulu, local officials have long been suspected of involvement in kidnapping for ransom, extortion and other crimes. At the height of a kidnapping spree staged by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, local government and security officials were widely suspected to have shared in the ransom, estimated at more than $30 million. When local authorities themselves are involved in crimes, there is no hope of bringing development to conflict areas.

The people of Tawi-Tawi should show that this is not the case in their province. If they want to attract visitors, one of the first things that they must be able to guarantee, to a reasonable extent, is the safety of their guests.

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