Gov’t in Control Vs Terrorism, Palace Assures

Malacañang on Tuesday, October 2, gave its assurance that the government is “in a better position” to protect the nation against threats of terrorism and violent extremism.

“We assure the public that we are in a better position to deal with terrorists. Hayaan niyo sila magtangka na magkalat ng lagim. Handa naman po tayo para ipatupad ang mga batas ng Pilipinas,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. stressed during his regular Palace press briefing.

The Palace Spokesperson said this amid reports published by The Washington Times stating that Islamic State (IS) fighters from Syria and Iraq have flocked to Mindanao to establish a province in Southeast Asia.

Roque said that despite this recent information, the Philippine government remains prepared to defend the Filipino people against terrorist groups.

He particularly cited a report made by the United States Department of State, which recognized the country’s improved counterterrorism capabilities “in the face of an evolving and increasingly robust terror threat.”

The US Department of State’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2017 cited developments in legislation, law enforcement, border security, countering financing of terrorism and violent extremism, and international and regional cooperation as among the notable efforts made by the Philippines in fighting terrorism.

Furthermore, Roque said the government is “firmly in control” of the country’s national security, stressing that not even the so-called “Red October” ouster plot could compel the President to declare a nationwide martial law.

“We don’t recognize any viable threat against the administration dahil solid nga po ang suporta ng taumbayan kay President [Rodrigo] Duterte,” he said.

“Basta ang Presidente, ginagawa niya ang katungkulan niya. Kinailangan ng martial law sa Mindanao. Hindi naman kinakailangan ang martial law sa Luzon at Visayas. Hindi po niya dineklara ang martial law sa Luzon at sa Visayas,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet official said Malacañang will leave it to Congress to decide on the proposed amendments to the Human Security Act of 2007, which seeks to allow extended detention periods for suspected terrorists.

“For as long as it is limited to that period of time, it is pretrial, and it is for the purpose of preventing escape or prevent destruction of evidence, it could be acceptable,” Roque noted.

“But of course, this is being discussed by the Senate. We do not know if the House will concur. This is legislation. We leave it to Congress for the time being,” he added.

Nonetheless, the Spokesperson reiterated President Duterte’s commitment to support all efforts that aim to strengthen the country’s existing anti-terrorism laws.

“It is important that our legal infrastructure be ready to deal with the threat of ISIS-type terrorism,” Roque said.

Palace welcomes high PH ranking in World Travel and Tourism Report

During the same press briefing, Malacañang welcomed the latest report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which placed the Philippines in the 13th and 15th places on the Travel and Tourism Countries Power Ranking and Travel and Tourism Countries Performance Ranking, respectively.

“According to the report, we got an overall score of 19.75 on power ranking, which is based on absolute growth, while an overall 30.0 for performance ranking, which is based on compound annual growth,” Secretary Roque cited.

“Both ranking include four main Travel and Tourism indicators: Travel and Tourism total GDP [gross domestic product], foreign visitor spending, domestic spending, and Travel and Tourism capital investment,” he added.

WTTC is a global body that works to raise awareness of Travel and Tourism as one of the world’s largest industries. (PCO-Content)