On travel advisories and the avian flu.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Ramon J. Farolan

WEEKS after Francis Ricciardone's abrupt departure from the Philippines, there remains lingering speculation on the reasons for his sudden recall. In the diplomatic world, one of the reasons for the recall of an envoy is to express displeasure over certain actions taken by the host government. It was mentioned that Ricciardone's Middle East expertise-he speaks Arabic, among other languages-was needed in the rebuilding of Iraq. Now the truth has finally come out. The real reason for Ricciardone's recall was to express America's resentment over the harassment and harsh treatment of one of its citizens, Fernando Poe Jr. But not to worry, Ricciardone should be back in time for FPJ's inauguration. In the meantime, Minister Joseph Mussomeli will handle the day-to-day affairs of the embassy.

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Lately, there have been so many travel advisories against the Philippines, mostly issued by our allies in the Coalition of the Willing in the Iraq war. The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and France, among others, have renewed warnings against traveling to the Philippines, citing terrorist threats and possible kidnappings of their citizens. I am wondering how our Department of Tourism can come up with rosy figures indicating increasing tourist arrivals. Unless, of course, they have an expert in window dressing who has been doing some magical accounting or, maybe, they include the illegal Chinese fishermen who have been caught in mounting numbers operating in Philippine waters.

But let's look at the bright side of things. Even the migratory birds who are supposed to be possible carriers of the avian flu have been avoiding the Philippines. That's the reason Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit and World Health Organization country representative, Dr. Jean Marc Olive, have no qualms about appearing on television eating fried chicken.

Speaking of travel advisories, did you know that when the United States tightened up security measures at airports particularly against Middle East and Asian travelers, Indonesia retaliated by issuing its own advisory warning its citizens to avoid travel to the United States because they run the risk of being subjected to all kinds of harassment and security checks? How's that for chutzpah!