NAIA terminal 3. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Only chartered flights from China were canceled after it issued a travel warning against the Philippines, Malacañang clarified on Thursday.
At the same time, Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte allayed fears that the move would greatly affect the country’s tourism industry.
“Yung sinabi ng Cebu Pacific ay yung pagtigil ng charter flights hindi po yung commercial flights from Beijing to Shanghai,” Valte said in a press breifing.
(Cebu Pacific was referring to charter flights not commercial flights from Beijing to Shanghai.)
She said the issuance of the travel advisory prohibited tour operators to sell packages to the Philippines.
“Of course the citizens are still free to go here, to come and visit us although nasa konsiderasyon nila kung gaano kabigat yung ibibigay nilang weight doon sa travel advisory o dun sa advise na ibinigay sa kanila ng kanilang pamahalaan,” Valte said.
(Of course the citizens are still free to go here, to come and visit us although it will be up to them to give weight to the travel advisory of their government.)
Reports said more than a hundred chartered flights had to be canceled by Cebu Pacific and Tiger Airways after Chinese tour operators cited the advisory.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on September 12 said the warning was issued because of the “deteriorating” safety situation in the Philippines.
Chinese state-run paper Global Times, in an editorial, also called the Philippines a “quasi-rogue” state. It demanded President Benigno Aquino III to apologize for the “serial attacks on Chinese citizens.” It cited a couple of cases including the kidnapping of two Chinese nationals on Sept. 8 and 11 and another who was injured after he was shot in Bulacan.
Global Times claimed that the crimes were linked to the two countries’ dispute on the South China Sea.
But Malacanang said it was unfair to put a political slant on the issue.
Valte also said that such incidents also happened in other countries and that they were doing everthing to protect tourists.
“The unfortunate incidents are being given the attention when it comes to investigation and the apporpriate police and law enforcement processes that they deserve,” she said.
Valte said that while it was too early to evaluate the effect of the advisory on the economy, the government was taking steps to avert any impact.
“But I can assure you that the agencies involved are taking concrete teps to ensure that we remain on target (when it comes to tourism),” she said.
For the past months, Aquino has been mentioning the gains of tourism, with the number of travelers surpassing original targets. He said that in 2013 alone, the country received 4.68 million international tourists compared to an average of 3 million during the previous years.
China is the fourth largest source of tourist market of the Philippines.
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