CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) -- Amid the “No Go” Travel Advisory issued by the Canadian Government to the Philippines on January 10, which includes northern Mindanao, MinDA guarantees the public that the region is still safe for tourists during the presentation of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-10 4th Quarter Customer Satisfaction Survey, which resulted in a 93.31 percent score.
 
“For 20 years, we have been facing the problem of insurgency and problems with the rebels, but not anymore now because all throughout Mindanao is peaceful, beautiful, and bountiful, and we have science to tell that,” said Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Public Relations Division Chief Adrian Tamayo.
 
Adrian Tamayo, the head of MinDA's Public Relations Division, personally conducted the client satisfaction survey in order to understand how the general public actually perceives the situation in northern Mindanao in terms of five different categories: trust, respect, safety, security, and satisfaction.
 
MinDA's high positive result of the recent client satisfaction survey for the Police Regional Office (PRO)-10, conducted on January 5–10, with 1,204 respondents throughout the five provinces and two highly urbanized cities in the region, clearly shows that northern Mindanao is safe not just for its residents but also for both local and international tourists as well. The survey addressed public perceptions of safety, security, and law enforcement services.
 
“The travel advisory for Canada does not reflect on what is happening on the ground because the place is secured and safe,” says MinDA Public Relations Division Chief Adrian Tamayo.

Further, Tamayo explained that, with the high positive results of the survey that they gathered, the travel advisory issued against the country has no basis and that the data being used is irrelevant as to what is reflected in the current situation happening on the ground as per the survey result.

Despite the number of respondents used in the survey, MinDA guarantees that the survey is as good as the rest of the survey, such as OCTA Research, Pulse Asia, and Social Weather Stations (SWS), because it is scientific and ensures that it follows the procedure. Though the survey had acquired a three percent marginal error, it is within the allowable range of the statistical survey.

“There could be errors because it is human behavior, and we do a very scientific survey. The scientific mind would always guarantee that we are 95 percent confident that the results are as good as they are, and we allow a 3 percent margin of error,” he added.

Having average ratings that range between 91 and 94 percent for the five categories, namely trust (93.71 percent), respect (93 percent), safety (91.71 percent), security (93.43 percent), and satisfaction (94.71 percent), the region is safe for tourists, can be a good place to invest, and is secure.

Despite the difficulties brought about by the travel advisory, MinDA perseveres in promoting the region's appeal on the strength of empirical data and the resoundingly positive sentiment of the local populace towards the safety and security provided by law enforcement. (JAKA/PIA-10)