American safety in the Philippines?

How safe is it on the Luzon Island, I was told most people carry weapons to defend them selves and americans are targeted by Abu Saieff. Is this true? Reply to this

O' Ok! Shall I carry a weapon like a machete at my side to let them know not to mess with me. Reply to this

OMG who are you and what do you want with me. Im in Manila now and you are full of it. There is no problems here. Reply to this

Are Americans safe in the Philippines....well you are safer in America. I live in Zambales, Luzon and it can be a lawless place. Most of the Americans l know who live here have been held up at gunpoint and tied up and robbed, but other foreigners have had the same. A beach resort, RAMA, run by an Australian in Botolan had 38 bullets fired through the doors and windows at close range, amazingly just one person got a bullet and he survived. No one has ever been caught for any of these crimes. I personally have known of Filipinos who have come to untimely ends, a Senior Policeman shot dead on the steps of the court house in broad daylight...both the security guards had just gone to have a pee at the same time!!!! The killer was never found. A Filipino who used to spray my fruit trees in the village where l live was shot dead by 3 men who turned up at his house at 7pm entered and shot him dead in front of his family...none of the killers were found. I myself had a situation where l was returning at 11 am from a music class with my 7 year old daughter, a car pulled out as l was overtaking, l put my hand on the horn but he continued to force me over. I managed to get by him. But the car drew along side me and the passenger was holding a pistol pointed at my head. I felt like ramming him sideways but my young daughter was in the car. I slowed to let him get ahead and the passenger eased himself out of his window still pointing his gun at me. I went to the police, l had the car number but l never made a charge because those involved would get to know my address, l just had the police put it on record and that is about all you can do. My daughter still talks about that frightening time. Just remember don't get involved in any arguments you never know who is carrying a gun. The age of some security guards is very young and some are not educated to a very high level. I live in Zambales which is peaceful for most of the time, but if you have white skin, talk big, flash your wealth, you could be inviting trouble and don't get drunk out of your mind or stay out until the early hours. So common sense is the order of the day, be careful of some very friendly Filipinos who may other plans for you. Some sobering words l know...you may never ever come across any hostile situations on your visits here but take care. Enjoy your visit if you come to Zambales. Al Reply to this

The above posts sadden me as it shows how misinformed some people can be. I am from the Philippines and now live in the Midwest (for 3 years). I went to Manila for medical school. I'll try to be objective :-)
Preface: It's over 7000 islands, and each one can be different.

1. Manila is the least safe place in Luzon (main island), mainly because it is the biggest city, but it is waaaaay safer than Detroit, East LA, or Harlem. We do not have drive by shootings. Guns are nowhere near as commons as here in the US. People would rather buy food. That said, knives are more common (hehehe), but again, read the first sentence..

2. I agree with the common sense above (of course!) which would be applicable ANYWHERE. You wouldn't want to flash any bling in a poor country, and that goes for any country. It would offend the nice folks and attract the bad folks. And stay away from certain places and parts of town (duh!, there's always a ghetto everywhere), and probably stick to touristy places. A guide is always a good idea, 1. so you won't get lost, and 2. much less likely that anyone would mess with you, again, I refer you to #1. :-)


3. Remember that the people you meet on the street don't know you're American. If you're white, they assume you are :-). I wouldn't expect you to be singled out for being American, as FIlipinos actually like Americans (Expect a hey Joe greeting in every city, hehehe). Remember that American GIs were there from 1910s (although that was a bad time, lol) to 1992 (shall we say WWII to 1992 to keep out the bad memories). yes we do have anti Bush and anti war rallies (they have them in Kansas City, too), mainly by students.

4. The Abu Sayaff is listed by the US and Philipine governement as a terrorist group. It is a fundamentalist, separatist Muslim group in the Southern Islands, ade famous by a beheading of an American missionary several years back. At that time, they went as far north as Palawan ( a very beautiful place, I've been there once and plan to visit again). Some say they may have elements in Manila, but as far as I know, they have dwindled in number (the Philipipnes got a lot of help from the US government in fighting them since 9/11.

5. So in summary, No, most people do not carry guns in Luzon. Americans may be targeted by the Abu Sayaff, but historically, they are more of a kidnap for ransom group based on the opposite end of the country and that have dwindled in number. Outside Manila, you should feel safe moving around even by yourself in public transport, but a guide would be a good idea to help you find your way around, help you haggle with prices, even to shoo away vendors and malicious people.

Last words: Let me know if you have any questions, and do read the rest of the blogs and stuff to see how beautiful a country it is and how nice the people really are.

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everybody is always giving the bad side of things.

i have been to the Philippines 3 times and am going back in 2 weeks for a month vacation.

the Philippines is just like ever place else, there are place you go and places you don't
i never have had any problems over there Reply to this

I have been in and out of the Philippines for over 10 years - not counting the times when my ship pulled in during the 70's - never had any problems! Perhaps I was lucky when I was going through the "young and stupid" years but in my most recent travel as an adult - I never flash money, I don't wear any chunky gold chains all over me, if something looks shady or threatening (in my mind) I will pass over to the other side of the street. I avoid dark alleys of course and if anyone says they have a "good deal" or their sister they want to show me just down the alley - I avoid them!

Americans, Brits, Aussies and especially Chinese have been targets of kidnappers or crimes - but I have only read about that and never experienced it myself. There are places you can visit with relative safety and areas that you should avoid and not go looking for trouble!

I flew out Manila just on September 11 after a week in Manila, 8 day side trip in Thailand and another week in Manila in the beginning of this trip. I always stay in the Ermita area of Manila but I have been to lots of places over the years. Reply to this

Some people are just misinformed and then spread the wrong information.

The capital of the Philippines is Manila which is just one city under a dozen or so cities in Metro Manila which composes of Makati (business capital) and Quezon City (largest city and most populous) among others. But as not to confuse everyone, most foreigners just say Manila even if they meant Metro Manila.

Anyways, "Manila" is generally safer than most cities around the world. Again just use common sense. Reply to this

Moderator comment: Please keep comments impersonal. Reply to this

The comments of #17

The writer leaves out such things as to Police response time... There was a foreigner who was ambushed by men with powerful rifles outside his home in Binoculatan near Botolan, Zambales. He was robbed of a million pesos and got the next plane back to his country. A few months ago a man was stabbed to death, possibly a drug related crime no one was charged. Law and order cannot be compared with Western countries there is just not the money available here. Some areas you are more at risk, so choose wisely where you stay. Mostly it is a peaceful country, the people are benign and friendly and will not want to argue with you, but there are always exceptions to the rule. So take care and common sense is important. Having lived here for ten years, my first arrival as a visitor was in 1989, soldiers then surrounded the airport and gunships were in the air. But l have enjoyed my stay here and you can too.

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