Manila: The United States’ Embassy alerted Americans travelling to some areas in Palawan to take precautions amid warnings that certain groups are planning to abduct foreign nationals.

In a security message for US citizens, the Embassy warned that it received “credible information that terrorist groups may be planning to conduct kidnapping operations targeting foreign nationals in the areas of Palawan province.”

The travel advisory mentioned these areas as the provincial capital, Puerto Princesa City, and surrounding tourist destinations such as the Subterranean River National Park.

“US citizens are advised to carefully consider this information as they make their travel plans and to review personal security plans, avoid large crowds and gatherings, and remain vigilant at all times,” it said.

The military Western Command (Wescom), however, said the government is taking necessary steps to ensure the safety of tourists and businesses in Palawan.

“We understand the concern and responsibility of the US government on their citizens’ welfare, and for such issued a warning on possible terrorist activities in Palawan. This [is] why, even several months ago, even without any travel advisory, Western Command has beefed up our security posture for the tourists season,” Wescom said in a statement.

Marine Colonel Edgard Arevalo, armed forces Public Affairs Office chief, said he recognises the move by the Americans as both an obligation and right of a sovereign state, and the Philippines would do the same for its own nationals travelling abroad; however, he said the military “have not monitored any threat specific to Palawan.”

In the meantime, businessmen in the area are confident that the US travel advisory will not have a significant effect on them.

Puerto Princesa-based lawyer Allan Carlos, chief legal counsel of the Palawan International Chamber of Employers commerce and Industry Inc., told Gulf News in an interview that they do not expect the travel to deter tourists from visiting Palawan.

“Previous similar advisories by the US Embassy in the past did not deter tourists because it is known that the province has strict civilian and military cooperation against terrorism and other forms of criminality,” he said.

He said that Palawan had learned much from the Dos Palmas Abu Sayyaf raid in 2001 in terms of securing tourist areas.

“Our private sector and local government units including the police and military have since partnered including even international organisations to combat terrorism and avoid entry of kidnap for ransom groups in Palawan,” he said.

While the US Embassy warning did not specifically identify the Western Mindanao-based Abu Sayyaf as a likely culprit, the group had a history of abducting foreign nationals in Palawan and bringing them either to Sulu or Basilan to be held for ransom.

In May 2001, the Abu Sayyaf snatched 20 people from the Dos Palmas, a high-end resort located just a couple of kilometres away off shore in Honda Bay, Palawan.

The warning also comes after the US Embassy also issued a similar advisory in early April about possible abductions to be carried out by the Abu Sayyaf in Bohol and Cebu in Central Visayas.

True enough, a group of Abu Sayyaf gunmen landed in Inabanga, Bohol. The government responded by sending in the police and the military and blockading all exits to nearby coastal areas.

The attack cost the lives of several security forces, but the government was successful in thwarting the Abu Sayyaf intrusion.