BORACAY Island, Philippines - Both the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Central Philippines have expressed concern over the safety of tourists, especially Chinese tourists coming to the resort island of Boracay, asking them to be vigilant during their stay.

Lieutenant Commander Jun Dela Pena, newly installed district coast guard director in Aklan, said in an interview Thursday that although they are still finalizing the numbers, he believed that scores of Chinese tourists have died in separate incidents of drowning this year.

"On our part, we will be strengthening our Baywatch operation. However, we have a case this year where a Chinese tourist died in drowning in the swimming pool of a private resort so we hope that Chinese tourists must be vigilant too and know their limits while swimming," said Dela Pena.

One of those victims was identified as Yu Min, who went on vacation to the resort island with his wife on December 10. His undisclosed wife reported that they were swimming together at the beach when her husband drowned.

Police Superintendent Julio Gustilo, Boracay police director said they had released safety tips to the media advising the tourists on how to ensure their safety in this holiday season.

"Among these tips are they must be watchful of their personal belongings as there are criminal elements out there. For our part, we have recorded a 44 percent decrease of crime incidents for Boracay this year," said Gustilo.

Earlier, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Boracay Island is the primary destination in Philippines for Chinese tourists.