British embassy assures safety of tourists in Boracay

Representatives of the British Embassy and the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NACTSO) met Wednesday afternoon with local government officials to discuss forging a partnership to establish counter terrorism measures.

Nenette Graf, president of the Boracay Foundation Incorporated (BFI) said the representatives also met with BFI officials.

The British delegation also held a separate security meeting with the local government officials of Malay, Aklan and the Task Force: Boracay.

The task force is a combination of units from the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, the Malay local government, among others.

"The British delegation only told us their best practices in the United Kingdom on counter terrorism measures especially in their business community and tourist areas. We are grateful for their support in Boracay," Graf, is also a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Malay, told GMA News.

The British embassy brought NACTSO officials in this resort island as the British considered Boracay one of their favorite tourism destination in Asia.

Local officials maintained that there was no terrorism threat in Boracay.

In the data of the Malay tourism office, the tourism industry of Boracay is not affected by the war against terrorism in Mindanao.

Tourists arrivals in Boracay soared about 23 percent for the month of August 2017 with 144, 064 compared to the 117, 242 of August 2016.