Is the Philippines safe?

Jake Way

The Philippines is safe! But read on..

I was a former Taglog linguist in the Marines and I’ve been all over the Philippines in my days. In the south where terrorists are present, to Mindanao, also in the north. 3 years. Nothing bad happened to me, though I have been scammed out of some money a couple times but whatever. Someone probably was planning to jump me once (see my pro tip #11) but I know when people are up to no good and know when to leave bad situations.

Over 200,000 foreign citizens living there that enjoy it and feel safe enough to make it their home. Just stay out of the rural areas in Mindanao where communist separatists are present and many of the regions in the south where kidnappings and such happen with some frequency. In cities like Cebu City ( I don’t know much about the other city you mentioned) you will be very safe.

The article you mentioned had a map, it’s actually quite good except there are more places in Mindanao I would keep away from. The article is misleading. It says even experienced travelers ignore warnings about the Philippines at their own peril! The thing is, there are plenty of safe, wonderful places in the Philippines to go to.

Dangers in the cities if you’re a foreign tourist is nothing physical. If something bad happens it will probably someone just stealing from you or scam you. There’s no reason to cause harm.

If you’re into it, do not in any way get involved with drugs in the Philippines or really anywhere in Asia. Stiff, stiff consequences.

Here are some pro tips for the Philippines:

1.) Use metered taxis, or use an App like Uber or Grabtaxi.

2.) Do not fall asleep in taxis.

3.) Both of you should get Filipino SIM cards and be able to communicate with each other. If you get a bad vibe from a taxi, take a photo of its license in the car and send it to your boyfriend. Also, call your boyfriend and tell him where you are, that you’re in a taxi that yeah you always get the license number and that you’ve sent it to him. The taxi driver is listening to all this.

4.) If you begin a trip with a taxi and they refuse to use the meter, ask him to stop the car. Then, get out of the car and walk away.

5.) If a taxi driver is being sketchy and isn’t stopping the car after you’ve asked him to, pull his e-brake handle and then walk away. (This is like worst case scenario stuff, I’ve only heard of someone having to do this one time.)

6.) Keep your wallet and other carried valuables in your front pocket.

7.) Walk with purpose, like you know where you are going. Even if you don’t. This tip is really for any country. Easy prey is a tourist that looks lost. If you need help just anyone on the street, most know basic English since High school and College in the Philippines is in English.

8.) If you’re in areas you don’t know, wear sneakers rather than flip-flops so you can run away from a bad situation if you need to.

9.) Walk on the outside of the sidewalk closer to the street rather than close to the walls. Very, very rarely someone might jump out from a building corner and whack you with a piece of wood and steal your money.

10.) Shake your hand back and forth (Youtube this before you go) when ambushed by groups of kids asking for money. This hand signal means “wala..” (you can also just say “wala..” which means that you don’t have anything to give them. If you do give them something, give them a healthy snack or a drink. Usually they are just working for some older guy and they give all their money to him and people that give them food usually just give them sodas and non-nutritious food. Be nice. It sucks to be a street kid but also don’t let them manipulate your compassion.

11.) Don’t raise your risk profile by getting involved with drugs (especially know in the era of President Duterte) hanging around bars when it gets rowdy, giving people too much information about who you are, where you are travelling, and how many people are with you, and continually walking back to your house/hotel at the same time each day and from the same way. An example of this, I was at a night club with a couple friends that was a bit seedy. A cute girl walked up and started talking and then wanted to dance. I said sure, so we were dancing and she started asking weird questions. The red flag went up when she asked several times “are you here alone?” Nothing happened to me because I just told my friend about it and we left.

I hope this helps! The Philippines is great, and it’s safe but still be mindful of your surroundings. I’m jealous! The Filipinos are such kind, hospitable people and I miss them very, very much.