General Douglas MacArthur statue on Corregidor Island
A massacre in the Philippines today is sure to scare many adventure and international travelers away from the archipelago nation consisting of over 7,000 individual islands. 21 people were killed including 12 journalists, and the wife and sister of a gubernatorial candidate in the province of Maguindanao in the southern island of Mindanao. Some of the killed were raped, tortured, and beheaded.
This is not the first time the island of Mindanao has been in the news for ignominious reasons. In May of 2001 the Abu Sayef, which is a militant Islamist separatist group with ties to Al Qaida, raided a resort on the island of Palawan kidnapping approximately twenty tourists. An American missionary couple and a Peruvian-American tourist were three of the captives and they were taken back to Mindanao and held hostage for ransom. The Peruvian was beheaded and a year after the raid Martin Burnham was killed during a rescue operation although his wife survived and was rescued.
These attacks are scary stuff and an obvious cause for concern, but it should not deter travelers from the island nation. The area where most of this alarming action has taken place is the southernmost island of Mindanao on which the feared Abu Sayef is based. This area is known as a Muslim autonomous region and it is outside of the governments control.
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The Batad Rice Terraces
The Philippines consist of over 7,000 islands, but it is separated into three distinct areas. Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines it is one of the three island subgroups along with a few other islands surrounding the main island. Its capital is Manila and it is also the capital of the whole of the Philippines. In the center are the Visayan islands, which consists of the islands of Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar and Palawan along with numerous other smaller islands. The last is Mindanao to the south which consists of Mindanao and other nearby smaller islands including the Sulu Archipelago.
There is an area to the west of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago that is known as the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao where most of perpetrators of these actions are found. On September 17, 2009 the State Department issued a warning to travelers visiting Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago due to the threat of kidnap-for-ransom gangs targeting foreign citizens.
The upshot is there are 7,000 different islands in the Philippines and the only dangerous area is on one part of the main island and a small archipelago to the far south. Philippine people are in general very congenial and friendly people who for the most part really like Americans. Luzon, the Visayas, and even the eastern part of Mindanao are safe for travel.
It is important to note that the Abu Sayef have acted outside the island as the kidnappings in 2001 occurred on the safe island of Palawan in the Visayas and a ferry capsized leaving Manila due to a bomb attributed to them in 2004 killing over 100 people. However, the State Department says it best when they say that they are "concerned about the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world. The Worldwide Caution reminds U.S. citizens that terrorism can occur anywhere."
Terrorism can occur anywhere and so can violence. The probability of ending up a victim of a terrorist act or a random act of violence is far greater in the United States than in a country like the Philippines.
In March of 1942 General Douglas MacArthur was ordered by President Roosevelt to evacuate Corregidor Island in Manila Bay to Australia as the small American army could not lose one of its ablest senior commanders. MacArthur actually considered resigning his commission and reenlisting as a private and to stay and fight with Philippine guerillas. In the end he obeyed the orders and left his bedraggled army to surrender, but before he did he vowed he would return.
Malapasqua Island in the Visayas
He did this because he loved the Philippine people and the country almost as much as his own after serving there for three tours of duty. Return he did in October of 1944 as he led the attack on the island that helped liberate the country from the Japanese Army. MacArthur returned to the Philippines as he vowed and so should the adventure traveler despite the terrible news coming from the south this morning.
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Comments
I had not heard about the news out of the Phillipines today. You really can get all your news from Examiner.com
Your pictures from the Phillipines are great.
How horrible! I must not have watched the news today or they didn't report this! I will have to seek out more about this tragedy. I'm sure there are safe parts of the Phillipines to visit, as you say...but this is bound to be off-putting to potential travelers.
maybe it shouldn't scare people from visiting, but i don't think i'll be going there.
I hadn't heard about this, either. Unfortunately, I can't imagine how the event would have anything but a detrimental effect on tourism.
Should not scare travelers ? Are you serious, do you understand or comprehend the gravity of the situation ? 100 people abducted 40 people in which only 21 people have been found.
And you are saying it should not deter tourists ? If the Filipino government cannot take a strong stand to quell those fanatical insurgents, just protest by not visiting the country, for you to visit would be like putting a blind eye on the thousands of innocent lives lost.
I would not visit Mindanao right now Rik, but I would feel completely safe in the rest of the country. I visited the Philippines immediately after the prison uprising that killed 20+ Abu Sayef terrorists in April of 2005. They vowed retaliation in Manila during Holy week when I was in Manila. I was concerned, but not afraid and nothing happened anywhere.
Actually, the abductions that occurred today seem to have nothing to do with terrorism anyway and more to do with local politics and therefore does not affect travelers who I am writing for.
I do understand the gravity of the situation. The massacre was horrible and senseless and I grieve over the innocent people that were tortured, slaughtered, and raped. I hope the government reacts strongly and is able to track down those responsible.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
This is a really terrible situation and I send my sympathies to the families of the people killed. I think people would be well-advised to travel elsewhere. The world's a big place and there is plenty else to see and be relatively safe.
The world is a big place and so is the Philippines. What happens in the south is not necessarily reflective of the country as a whole and especially Luzon.
It's poignant to illustrate the specific problem area for prospective travelers..it appears quite a bit of the remaining areas are safe to visit. Good read....
Cheers..
Should not scare travelers ? Are you serious, do you understand or comprehend the gravity of the situation ? 100 people abducted 40 people in which only 21 people have been found.
And you are saying it should not deter tourists ? If the Filipino government cannot take a strong stand to quell those fanatical insurgents, just protest by not visiting the country, for you to visit would be like putting a blind eye on the thousands of innocent lives lost.
If any one ever go to the philippines make sure you don't go at Mindanao. Mindanao is worse place to go to, even filipino from deferent island wont even go there. People from Mindanao they don't consider them selve filipino.
I cannot believe that there were people more evil than Satan who without conscience,butchered their fellow human being for the sake of power and position.Their soul must be grilled to hell.They are indescribably more than demons.To the criminals,how I pray that one day you will come up to the fact that these people you killed were specially created by God.
I wanted to see the power of the government now with regards to this situation.Can the woman president act wisely on this matter?
Oh,how I remember president Erap who bravely ordered his soldier to march towards Camp Abubacar.I strongly challenge our president to use justice to the fullest even if it means to make her political friend and ally become her enemy.
Randy, thank you for chiming in because it was the point I was trying to make. In most places a heinous situation like this would make me not want to visit the country at all, but due to the island nature of the Philippines and the fact that the situation in Mindanao is completely different than the Visayas and Luzon I would still feel safe to travel in the other two island groups in this country.
Bello, it will be interesting to see how the President handles the situation. It is alarming that the forces implicated in the savagery might possibly be loyal to the government. It is a sad day when a political situation is used as an excuse to rape, torture, and murder innocent victims.
How devastating. The Philippines was not exactly on my places to travel to list but I do know quite a few people from there so this is very saddening to hear.
As a Filipino-American myself, I have always wanted to visit the country of my roots. I cannot tell you how many times my own family and other Filipinos who have immigrated to America have made me change my mind. There are many stories of kidnappings and holding for ransoms and terrorist groups. Many American born Filipinos who have gone are warned not to speak, not to dress to "richly" or wear any jewelry in order not to be singled out for a chance kidnapping. A distant uncle from America was kidnapped and murdered when the ransom could not be paid. Also, not to mention, the corruption of officials and to be prepared to pay extra not to be harassed. I can't say what will happen to someone who isn't even Filipino at all, what could happen to them. If you are to visit, be sure to bring a local at all time and stay around tourists.
Jojo, I hope you decide to visit your homeland someday. The advice about not wearing jewelry and not sticking out as too rich is valid in any third world country and even in some parts of our own country. I traveled freely around the Philippines taking buses where I was the only foreigner and never once felt threatened.
I heard about this on CNN but caught the tail end of it and wasn't sure where it was. Sorry to say, there's always something going on there, and it isn't good. Can't say it's on my list to visit either, altho I respect those who feel comfortable going to other parts of the Philippines. I hope order can be restored soon...just another beautiful place with people out of control. It's happening all too often all over the globe.
I live with my grandpa and grandma in Cotabato. It is very safe to travel.
Isolated case happen in Maguindanao.
Orville,
Thank you for reading and commenting. Glad to hear from someone in the Philippines who agrees the country is safe.
An excellent report, Ted, with lots of good information, and historical research. Your photos also enhance the story. Well done!
Thanks for this report Ted. How scary... but as you point out in your comments, you traveled throughout the Philippines without a problem. It sounds like some parts of the country are safer than others, and of course travelers should exercise the same caution as always when traveling overseas.
Wow.... I'm very speechless. This is devastating!
While this should be scary, the Philippines is a beautiful country with beautiful people who are actually rather peaceful folks. Mindanao Island to the far south, where this took place, is the sight of most of the unrest in the country. Manila, Cebu and other major areas are really great. I should know. I have two adopted kids from Cebu City, one who is now 18 and was 9 months old when I picked him up, and a 14 year old daughter who was 15 months old.
As I traveled, especially when on a small sailboat, decisions were made on the basis of safety, but within reason. Parts of a country may be ok, while others should be avoided. There are so many lovely places in the world, that those with dangers and crime need to understand tourists have choices. We can't go everywhere, so they do risk losing our business if they allow dangerous situations to prevail.
Thanks for this interesting series. The Philippines has been on my radar for a while, as it's the only SE Asian country I've yet to visit. Hoping to see it in 2011. Appreciate the efforts to advise people to not fear the entire place nor its people due to one sad act of violence. The American media can do that to people, so informed writing is always helpful. Cheers!
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