Mr Lee Posted July 20, 2009 Posted July 20, 2009 Violence happens everywhere. For those who think the Philippines is dangerous, here is an example of a piece of garbage allegedly killing a kind elderly Filipino couple for basically no reason. Animals walk the streets of the US and kill innocent people for no reason, at least that does not happen often in the Philippines. Illinois neighbor arrested in elderly Pinoy couple's brutal killingCHICAGO, Illinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMason Posted July 21, 2009 Posted July 21, 2009 Of course violent crime happens everywhere. I'm pretty sure we all know that violence is a world-wide phenomenon and not localized to the Philippines. However, when comparing the safety and crime situation for expats in the Philippines to that of our home counties, there are a few things that make it more dangerous than Western countries.In the Philippines, it is considered normal and acceptable for foreigners to be singled out for crimes, primarily because we have more money than most people around us. Yet, despite our comparative wealth, we do not enjoy the same proctections given to wealthy Filipinos by the authorities. To the contrary, foreginers are frequently blamed for 'asking for it' when they are crime victims. The media and govt. in the Philippines consistently portray foreigners in a negative light and most average Filipinos have a negative opinion of foreigners in general, so people don't have much of a problem with foreigners being singled out and victimized. We're seen as drunken degenerates by many. If we're victimized, we were probably out whoring or boozing it up and got what we deserved. I've seen the same sentiment posted by expats and locals alike on various forums about the Philippines.In addition to being foreigners, the Philippines has haphazard to non-existent law enforcement. If you are the victim of a crime here, nobody will really care or go out of their way to assist you. Police will file a report, but thats about where it will end. If you read the article, the crime was investigated by police, the perpetrator pursued, and apprehended. Shortly a trial will take place. When the trial does happen, the fact that the victims were Filipinos will not be an issue. They will simply be seen as murder victims. There was a recent story about an expat that was shot by a retired police office because he accidentally bumped in to him. The justification was that the foreigner was big so the Filipino got scared and shot him. Does anyone think that retired police office will be brought to justice? I know I sure don't. Attacking foreigners is the safest thing criminals can do. We generally won't get help from the authorities and we don't have the connections to take care of things extra-judicially. Victimizing foreigners is really a low-risk crime.The last thing that makes it more dangerous for expats here is not being able to read the signs of danger around us. We are foreigners here and most of us don't know how to identify trouble before it happens. It is easy to misidentify your surroundings, miss danger signs due to language barriers, or misinterpret the intentions of the people around you.The statement 'Animals walk the streets of the US and kill innocent people for no reason, at least that does not happen often in the Philippines.' is a huge leap of faith in my opinion. Given the spotty media coverage and fanciful government statistics in the Philippines, I don't think we have any idea how often crime happens. It could be more or less than the US, who knows? But since this forum is intended for people coming to visit the Philippines, the crimes against locals are pretty much irrelevant to the safety of most of the members. Its crime against expats that are of primary concern. In that light, as wealthy foreigners we stick out to criminals and there is little reason for them not to prey upon us. If you choose to visit or live here, it pays to watch your back and not assume you are in a safe, friendly, tropical paradise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMason Posted July 21, 2009 Posted July 21, 2009 I came across this story that illustrates some of the challenges law enforcement faces in the Philippines. If things have gotten to this point, I'd say the Philippines is already a lot like Mexico.http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadl...arks-shock-rage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jollygoodfellow Posted July 21, 2009 Posted July 21, 2009 I came across this story that illustrates some of the challenges law enforcement faces in the Philippines. If things have gotten to this point, I'd say the Philippines is already a lot like Mexico.http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadl...arks-shock-rage And then theres the next story http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/...ghter-not-raped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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