DILG: Inclusion of Philippines in US State Dep’t advisory questionable 

April 13, 2019

Foreigners have no reason to be alarmed as kidnapping cases continue to decrease according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as it questioned the US State Department list naming the Phillipines one of the countries with high kidnapping risk.

In a statement Saturday, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said kidnapping cases have been going down in recent years through the government's relentless and proactive stance in its peace and order program.

"A list is just a list. What we have are factual data pointing to the decreasing number of kidnapping cases in the Philippines. That's what we are banking on," Año said.

The US State Department has named the Philippines among 35 countries, together with Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even Malaysia and Russia with high kidnapping risk advising Americans to take extra caution when travelling in those countries.

"We do not know yet how they came up with the list but with the strong stance of President Rodrigo Duterte against criminality in general, we see no basis for including us in this list. We will request from the US Embassy what were the parameters used since even Malaysia and Russia were included,” he said.

According to data of the Philippine National Police (PNP), there were 68 cases of kidnapping in 2018, majority of which were in Mindanao, 11 cases lower than in 2017. There are 10 cases of kidnapping for 2019, DILG added.

The DILG chief said the declaration of martial law in Mindanao, has made it safer for visitors.

“While personal precaution is necessary, Martial Law has allowed the Philippine government to deploy more security forces to Mindanao to ensure the safety of the people and foreign guests," he explained.

He said the inauguration of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) marks another milestone in the government's drive for lasting peace and order in Mindanao "where kidnapping cannot foster and security and development will be a priority." DMS