SAFE MINDANAO. The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Board, led by Secretary Leo Tereso Magno (extreme right in the photo), agreed on Thursday night (June 27, 2024) to intensify the agency's awareness campaign that Mindanao is safe for travel. The MinDA board executives are also set to visit various regions to amplify the message that Mindanao is a safe investment and tourism destination. (PNA photo by Che Palicte)
DAVAO CITY – The board of directors of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) has agreed during a meeting to intensify its campaign to ensure safe travel to Mindanao Island.
In a late-night press briefing Thursday, MinDA Secretary Leo Tereso Magno pointed out that most areas in Mindanao are insurgency-free and a haven for tourists and investors alike.
“We continue to appeal to various ambassadors who issued travel advisories. We need to strengthen our information drive since we are now insurgency–free except for several areas,” he said.
The MinDA executive board comprises senators, congressmen, members of regional development councils, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, representatives from the private sector, a designated chief executive from Mindanao, the administrator of the Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA), and the Secretary of the National Commission of Muslim Filipinos (NCMF).
In January this year, the Canadian government advised its citizens to exercise extra caution when traveling to 17 provinces in Mindanao, raising concerns about crime, terrorism, civil unrest, and kidnapping.
However, in May, Canada revised its travel advisory against its citizens' visits to Camiguin, Dinagat Islands, Bukidnon, and Misamis Oriental but maintained its warning for the rest of Mindanao.
“I think we need to show the international community that we are in a safe place right now. We continue and pray that we will [always have] to be in a safe place for tourists, investors, and we, the Mindanaoans,” Magno said.
MinDA board members, he said, are set to tour various provinces to spread the message about Mindanao's stature as a place for investment and tourism destination.
“When Mindanao speak as a group, I think it is more valid and true,” Magno said. (PNA)
