A number of violent incidents have occurred in recent weeks in Metro Manila and areas of the southern Philippines. A bomb on a bus in Manila killed three and injured many others Oct. 18, and a grenade exploded at a main intersection in the Makati commercial district that same day. Another unexploded grenade was found in the vicinity. Two days earlier a bomb was discovered and defused aboard a bus on the regular route from Manila to Laguna Province. In the south, the Abu Sayyaf Group remains active despite being weakened by Philippine military action with support from U.S. advisors. The group has shown its ability to travel over long distances by boat to kidnap foreigners and locals, so travelers should avoid isolated islands in the southern Philippines. Violent incidents have also occurred recently in central, southern and western Mindanao, including bombings in Zamboanga City, General Santos City, and near Cotabato City in Maguindanao Province. These areas should be avoided, as well as the islands of Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, and Jolo, located in the Sulu archipelago in the extreme southwest of the country.
