aaronkemp

Hi guys, hope all is well.

I am planning on staying in General Santos for a couple of months but taking a look at what the British government says, it says to avoid all travel to this area even avoid if it is essential travel.

Source - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/philippines (scroll down for the chart of where I shouldn't go).

I am wondering if any white expats live in this red zone and just how dangerous it is?

I mean, surely it can't be worse than spending 3 years in Indonesia and 2 suicide bombers blowing them selves up in the same city as me?

According to the UK government, there is a high risk of Kidnap and a lot of people kidnapped do not survive.

I would love information about this area from white Caucasians about personal experience.

"There has been an increase in kidnapping of foreign nationals, including attacks targeting foreigners and tourists since late 2015. Multiple attacks have occurred in November 2016. Terrorist groups continue to plan kidnap operations against western nationals in the Philippines. This threat extends throughout the Philippines, both on land and at sea, but is particularly acute in the southern Philippines (Mindanao, southern Palawan and central Visayas, including Siquijor and Dumaguete)."

Kind regards,

Aaron

mikemike

try this

https://www.facebook.com/General-San...5500231467303/

Crystal Dale

Manny Pacquio apparently hails from there, so maybe he can make it safe for you?

quiltman

The problem with going to an area the foreign Office advises against is that your travel insurance becomes invalid.

scot47

My spin is that the problem is you might be kidnapped and murdered !

Yorkie_leeds

Hi Scot47,
I've been General Santos City (Gensan) many times and just experienced the usual warm Filipino welcome. The only areas I would really avoid is Cotabato, and the surrounding remote areas around there.

Yorkie

soulman1949

Hi there, just joined the forum.

I would concur with Yorkie_leeds advice. Cotabato and any Muslim areas such as Zamboanga are no-go but the south of Mindanao is fine. Davao is the safest and as a large city has a fair number of whites living there (mainly Americans) and GenSan is the next level down - not as many ex-pats as Davao but still relatively safe. I use the word "relatively" because the definition of safety changed once bombers struck in Paris and the south of France.

I live in Koronadal which is an hour north of Gensan and while us whites are a relative novelty here, even compared to Gensan, as Yorkie has said I've had nothing but friendliness from the Filipinos, even though they think I'm a Joe or Kano!

The problem with Foreign Office advice is that it treats Mindanao as one homogenous area and the reality is very different.

I'm lucky in that I've got a Pinay partner looking after me and while I'm totally ok going into town to do the shopping etc, the golden rules I adhere to include not going out alone at dark and not getting to arguments with locals. If you keep your nose clean, you'll be as safe as anywhere.

Regards

Alan

scot47

Sound advice - and it applies in most places. Particularly useful in Glasgow on a Saturday night.

Stokkevn

Unfortunately the World is full of criminals, but from my experience few are here, follow the golden rules ( which as scot says includes Glasgow and from my experience Union St in Aberdeen ) when out and about.
Don't wear designer cloths
Don't wear expensive or flashy jewelry or watch
Don't flash an expensive mobile phone
Agree with ( or at least don't disagree ) whoever you are speaking to.

If you think you are in a dodgy part of town
Don't carry an expensive mobile ( take a cheap spare with a different SIM to your normal phone )
Do carry a second wallet with fake credit cards/drivers license and a few hundred Pesos cash etc. If threatened just hand this over.

With the exception of a few places, they are as safe as you make them.

sean_311

Any update on this thread ? After the Marawi situation....

I have opportunity to visit Gensan and Koronadal in the next two weeks. It would be to visit the family of some coworkers from Cebu who are from there.

I really would like to go - just for a few days.. Thoughts ?

mikemike

At this time it would be wise to consider staying away. Not because of what is happening in Marawi, which is bad enough. The suggestions that more overseas ISIS are arriving and may strike elsewhere to relieve pressure on Marawi does make CDO , Gen S and Davao likely targets and the foreigners there even more so. As for Korondal at this time I think you are inviting serious problems without having to exert any effort at all!!

soulman1949

I totally disagree with that assessment mikemike.

My home town is Manchester in the UK. Unless you were a trappist monk you will have heard about the suicide bomber who exploded his bomb as thousands of people were leaving a pop concert with considerable loss of life. After Paris and Berlin tell me where is
safe? Quite honestly, if we followed your reasoning we would stay indoors and not go out anywhere, because, let's face it, terrorists could strike anywhere anytime. That's the path to going crazy.

I'm currently back in the UK but I Skype twice a day with my partner who is in our house in Koronadal (Marbel as it's called locally). Whites are a relative novelty in Marbel, more so than Manila or Davao, but if you follow basic safety rules you will be as safe as anywhere else!

Alan

mikemike

Soulman we all have different views and until it goes wrong we are always safe and sound

I drove around Mindanao on my own many years ago when it was not as unsafe as it is now. I drove through Gen San and stopped there for two days , no issues. Would I go back the answer is not at this time. I drove up through Cotabato into Marawi where I also stopped for a walk around, I would not be doing that again any time soon. I encouraged others using similar language you are using now. Except I no longer do that, I think the risk is now too great. Davao was once considered safe, after the kidnappings and murders of the foreigners taken from Samal resorts. I no longer suggest that Davao is without risk, yet once I did.

Unlike Manchester, 55 ISIS infiltrators have been taken into custody, no one is sure how many more have slipped through the net. That they are thought to be targeting CDO, Gen San and Davao is an assessment made by those whose job it is to keep people safe.

I routinely ignored embassy notifications, not sure I would be so glib nowadays.

I am not too sure that basic or indeed sophisticated safety rules apply anymore, they did once.

I have lived here full time for the last 18 years and nothing tells me that I can tell anyone else that it is safe to go anywhere. I remember telling people that Northern Mindanao was safer than Manila which in turn was safer than parts of South London that I used to stomp around.

There are parts of the Philippines that are now more at risk than they ever were. To suggest otherwise, is, in my view contrarian to say the least, especially if encouraging others to take that risk.

I remember being one of those novelty whites in Mindanao where I lived full time for 6 years, the novelty has now worn off.

As for sanity, I am told by my wife and kids that I am crazy, perhaps that is my excuse.

I agree I have never found Skype to be threatening either.

soulman1949

I never said that it was totally safe, there is NO such thing as total safety. All you can do is assess the relative risks and reach your own conclusions.

The UK Foreign Office along with US authorities do not recommend travel to Mindanao. I think that is a simplistic generalisation as there are some areas where the risk is higher than in others. For example, majority Muslim areas are a problem - for some time now Cotabato has been in that category. I have Filipino family members who relocated from Cotabato City to Marbel because they felt uneasy living there. There is no way I would go to any area like that. Equally I would avoid areas that attract large amounts of Western tourists, Boracay, for example, but then I'm not keen on westernised resorts anyway. I live like a local as much as I can when I am in the PH, rather than as an expat or a tourist.

Because of the poverty in the Philippines, Westerners are an "easy target" for scams, kidnap attempts etc and terrorist groups take advantage of that. It isn't only ISIS inspired groups you have to worry about, for example, there's the NPA as well. But, as I said, you can drive yourself crazy worrying about everything under the sun.

I take my basic precautions but after that, the risk of terrorism is ever present anywhere in the world. The youngsters attending the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester never bargained for what happened that night. You have to realise that we don't know how many ISIS terrorists there are in the UK, unfortunately they often only become known when they have struck! But I'm not prepared to stay indoors permanently and have my supplies helicoptered in.

We have our home in Marbel, and, short of going to meet my maker, I'm not going any where soon.

Alan

Oh and please add a smiley to your final line, otherwise it comes over as a mocking comment.

mikemike

Soul man

Are you serious about the NPA? Have you any evidence of any of us white guys getting into a problem with the NPA? I spent many a happy hour in the company of some of their members as a lady I knew in Bukkidnon was the daughter of the local commander. He made it very clear that the NPA had no issue with foreigners unless they were abusive of their employees. Their argument was with their own government

I think it is fair to say I never suggested anyone get a helicopter in, that is just plain rude. I made it clear I drove around on my own. I live here full time, many years in Mindanao and gave you examples of where I went and why. I did not see it as an issue at that time, one of the reasons why I like many others ignored embassy warning as I already told you.

If you are so sensitive to feel that a post mocks you, then I suggest that you improve your reading and comprehension skills.

Bottom line is a poster has asked for opinions, he has got them . You have your views as an occasional visitor over however long. I have mine as a full time resident, many years in Mindanao and having not been concerned to get out and explore.

If I was to be as strident in my views as you are with yours. I would be more than suggesting that you offer meaningful guarantees beyond mere words with regards to safety in that area at this time.

My view may alter once this terrible period of increased risk and danger is over. I would expect that to be once Marawi and its people are secured and the flow of new ISIS fighters has been stemmed/cut off. i would like to be able to retrace that route starting off again in Pagapud, North Luzon