Two groups of Chinese from Taiwan and Mainland China shelved their scheduled travel to Zamboanga Peninsula last August, not as a consequence of the bloody ending of the recent hostage drama in Manila or the August 5 bombing at the Zamboanga City Airport, but due to undisclosed reason, according to a representative of a Taiwanese mineral company based in the municipality of Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte.

However, the potential of Liloy for coal mining is still alluring as well as for other business ventures as the peace and order in the place is better compared to other areas in the region, the company representative, who requested anonymity, said.

He stressed that both both incidents — the hostage taking in Manila and the airport bombing in Zamboanga City — were isolated and “are not something for us to make a fuss out of it.”

Meanwhile, he appealed to the residents of Zamboanga City to work together in rebuilding the image of the city in order to entice foreign nationals to invest here or in the region in general.

He also lauded the local government of Liloy for the full support it gives to their company.

He assured that he will continue to follow up with the two groups to come to invest in the region as there are a lot of prospects for them here.