If your short-term travel plans involve making your way to the Philippines, you might want to review your itinerary. Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department issued an advisory warning U.S. residents to stay away from two regions of the country — the Sulu Archipelago and Marawi City — and to exercise more caution throughout the country as a whole.
The governmental advisory cited “crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping” as reasons to be wary of the former location, and pointed to the presence of both terrorism and civil unrest in the latter as causes for alarm. The advisory also noted that employees of the U.S. government are required to “obtain special authorization” to visit the affected areas.
The State Department recommended that travelers to the Philippines remain aware of local news and events and to have plans in place in the event of an emergency situation.
As NJ.com’s Katherine Rodriguez pointed out, the advisory for the country as a whole is designated level two on the State Department’s four-point scale; the advisory for the Sulu Arcipelago and Marawi City is a level four, or “Do Not Travel.”
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The alert was reportedly issued in response to incidents and legislation affecting local minorities.Recent dispatches from the two regions singled out as highly dangerous in the State Department’s report have acknowledged the risk of visiting. Earlier this year, a post on the travel site The Bisaya Traveler noted that “the city isn’t exactly known as the safest in the country.” What will the situation on the ground look like in the months to come? Stay tuned.
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