Safety in The Philippines

HOW SAFE IS IT TO VISIT THE PHILIPPINES? WILL I GET KIDNAPPED IN THE PHILIPPINES?

WHAT IS THE SITUATION THERE?  CAN I GO WITH MY FAMILY TO THE PHILIPPINES? CAN I GO WITH MY FRIENDS TO THE PHILIPPINES?

Many questions I received about the Philippines during my last trip there, a lot of them were about safety in particular, worries and concerns about what you hear versus what you see is always the case everywhere and every country in the world.

That said, you should know that what you hear about the Philippines in the news is TRUE. Ofcourse, problems, political unrest and other issues are all over the world in specific places while others places aren’t as bad. What I can say generally about the Philippines is that you could visit the Philippines, given you visit the touristy places, the places where danger is not too common, and ofcourse, you need to tone down the flashy-ness if it exists.

Let me start off by the places that you should NOT visit in the Philippines, from what I read online and what is known amongst the tourists as well.

The following locations carry a higher risk of kidnapping and should be avoided:

• Sarangani Province
• North Cotabato Province
• South Cotabato Province
• General Santos City
• Sultan Kudarat Province
• Lanao del Sur Province
• Lanao del Norte Province
• Iligan City
• Pangutaran Island
• I’ve read that several foreigners have been captured in Zamboanga City, Pagadian City, Patikul and Jolo in recent years as of 2016.

IS THE PHILIPPINES DANEGROUS?

As a whole, the Philippines is a lovely place to visit with minimal risk of crime or danger.

There are, however, locations within the country in which the risk of harm to foreigners is heightened and therefore should be avoided as I mentioned earlier.

OK SO – Which Islands are touristy and are considered okay to visit?

These are the islands that I visited, and found suitable for visiting and staying in resorts, planned all my activities with the resorts I was in:

• Boracay
• Cebu
• El Nido Palawan

Other Islands that I read are tourist friendly and are relatively safe to visit:

• North Luzon
• Bohol
• Siquijor
• Mindoro
• Samal, Davao
• Dumaguette
• Coron