The Department of National Defense (DND) has appealed to the public to calm down after the Japanese Foreign Ministry released a terror alert to six Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines.
The list of countries also includes Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar.
DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the department “appreciates” and “takes cognizance” of the recent terrorism advisory issued by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to its citizens.
“As with all reports concerning the safety and security of our communities, the aforementioned advisory will be subjected to the process of validation,” he said.
The DND said that the country has always been on heightened alert since the Marawi siege in 2017.
Following the release of the list, the Japanese Embassy in Manila told reporters in a statement: “The Japanese government has received information about a possible terror attack, but we cannot give you any detailed background at the moment.”
“In relation to this, we issued a warning to alert Japanese people residing in some Southeast Asian countries, but we cannot disclose the source,” it added.
