the security situation
I had heard many things about the security situation in Philippines.
“I thank God that you had much fun and did not have any problem with the NPAs of the terrorists. It was really good that you did not told me of your plans before going to the Philippines or else I will definitely say please don’t go tramping to the mountains and even go to Palawan. Those are the no go areas for us.” - An exerpt of an email I received from Rey Enriquez, who lives in Wellington, but comes from the Philippines (I know him through his work with international students in Wellington - he’s the Chaplain for International Students at Massey University, Wellington).
Most of the problems centre around Mindanao in the south, an area we weren’t travelling to. However, there were terrorist attacks in Manila as recently as February 2005. The travel advisory on New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website advocates “extreme caution” throughout the Philippines, due to the risk of terrorism and kidnapping. The USA’s State Department warns against “all but essential travel throughout the country in light of a heightened threat to Westerners”. I know that the travel advisories always err on the side of caution (and that people from the USA probably get advised against “all but essential travel” anywhere outside of the US nowadays…), but I was still a little uneasy about what the security situation would be like in the Philippines.
It turns out I had nothing to worry about - no feeling of danger at any point. My traveling group included three Americans, and they didn’t have any problems either. Even when Andy and I were walking throught the slum area of Cebu City we were greeted with smiles and cheerful choruses of “Hello Joe” or ”Americano!”. The best thing about the Philippines is its people. They are the friendliest I have encountered anywhere on my travels so far. In China, people stare at you and when you stare back they look away (or sometimes they just keep staring). In the Philippines people stare at you and when you stare back they break into a big grin. In China, if people are arguing in the street, they’ll shout at each other with increasing anger and shrillness until someone succeeds in drowning out their opponent. In the Philippines, when someone shouts at somebody else in the street they don’t even finish their insult before both people have started laughing. Whatever the reason (the Philippines having had more contact with the outside world; the Philippines being a Christian culture, etc.), in the Philippines I felt like a lot more welcome than in China - there wasn’t the same feeling of mild hostility towards outsiders.
Having said all that, there was a noticeable police/security presence everywhere you looked. Every 7-11 or Western chain-store had a guard with a gun. Even the parking attendants carried guns. Banks had one guard with a shotgun outside, and another guard with a pistol inside. Cars approaching the flash hotels would be checked with mirrors and sniffer dogs for bombs . Whenever we entered a department store, or got on a bus or a train, we would have our bags searched. As we left the Philippines through Manila airport, Andy and I had three pat-downs/body checks, our bags were X-rayed twice, and our carry-on bags had to be emptied on a table before we could board the flight.
