I'll take that with a grain of salt. That was the exact area we covered when I was there. Yes, you cannot legally carry a firearm, but OTT, I'd rate it as about as dangerous as Cleveland. I never had an issue with the people in the islands along the Sulu Highway. Of course, that was back in 2004-'05. Things have a tendency to change over the years, many times for the worse.
“I’ll take that with a grain of salt”
Me to.
The Philippines or any other third world country is not the place for most people. However for some, (most often prior military) these countries are great. Folks here simply cannot imagine whats its like there as evidenced by some of the posts in this thread.
As far as carrying a firearm, a coconut knife (machete) serves its purpose and has many other uses :)
I like Red Horse as I said but my favorite is the Tuba the relatives make in the province..I drink that straight..come to think of it my relatives there are my favorites also.
December 28, 2011 19:03 PM
Abu Sayyaf Demands A$22,600 For Release Of Kidnapped Aussie
MELBOURNE, Dec 28 (Bernama) — The Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines is demanding an initial ransom of about A$22,600 (about RM72,000) for the release of kidnapped Australian Warren Rodwell.
The demand came after the terrorist group sent four “proof of life” photographs to Rodwell’s Filipina wife, Miraflor Gutang, 27, last week, The Age newspaper reports.
“There was a demand for money — the kidnappers demanded 1 million pesos (about RM72,000) as initial ransom,” a Philippine security official told the newspaper.
“The demand was sent through text messages and the family said they cannot afford to pay any ransom.”
Rodwell, 53, an adventurer, is being held on the southern island of Basilan.
Up to 2,000 soldiers are searching the island for Rodwell, who was kidnapped on Dec 5 by four gunmen posing as police officers.
He was taken from his house in a village near the seaside town of Ipil on Mindanao island, four hours by speedboat from Basilan.
Rodwell and Gutang married in June after meeting on the Internet. Gutang has been held in protective police custody since the kidnapping.
The newspaper said Abu Sayyaf initially contacted provincial governor Rommel Jalosjos and asked him to negotiate Rodwell’s release.
But Australia asked Jalosjos to reject the request, insisting a professional police negotiator handle any talks.
Police have blamed Abu Sayyaf leader Puruji Indama for the kidnapping of Rodwell as well as for kidnapping US woman Gerfa Lunsmann, her son Kevin and a Filipino relative in July in Zamboanga City, several kilometres from Basilan.
The three were released separately after the woman’s husband, Heiko Lunsmann, paid a huge ransom to Abu Sayyaf.
As well as Rodwell, the group is holding an Indian, two Malaysians and a Japanese man, the newspaper said.
— BERNAMA
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=636886
“I’d rate it as about as dangerous as Cleveland. “
Well then. Boy, you’re convincing me to move to the Philippines now that you say it’s just like Cleveland.....
NPA rebs earned P300M from extortion in 2011 — AFP
December 28, 2011 3:14pm
Communist rebels earned at least P300 million from their extortion activities this year, and had perpetrated criminal activities that left 56 civilians dead, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Wednesday, citing its yearend report.
To augment their extortion activities and “support their criminal activities,” members of the New People’s Army (NPA) perpetrated 31 “atrocities” against business establishments and government infrastructure projects, the AFP said.
“Despite their projection of being a guerilla organization, the NPA has resorted to extortion and other criminal activities to gain funds and support,” said Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, chief of the AFP’s public information office, in a statement.
The NPA’s extortion activities come in the form of “revolutionary tax,” with it says funds the communist movement’s administration, defense, land reform, promotion of production and social programs, including public education, health, cultural and other activities.
Burgos said the rebels were also involved in other criminal activities — among them arson, bombing, robbery, kidnapping, and murder — that resulted in the deaths of 56 civilians and six soldiers.
CARHRIHL
In its statement, the military also said the NPA “has mastered the use of improvised explosive devices (IED)” which it said is prohibited under the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
“This resulted to the detonation of 21 IEDs that killed a total of 28 people, five of these casualties are AFP personnel,” Burgos said.
The CARHRIHL is a written agreement between the government and the communist-backed National Democratic Front of the Philippines signed in March 1998 in the Hague, The Netherlands and was approved in the same year by both parties. The CARHRIHL brings into light both parties’ reverence to human rights marking the basis for their action which should be for the furtherance of life and liberty and against the use of violence.