I just realized it’s been over a year since I posted (and created this account).

I’m back to give it a chance though. I’ve always enjoyed writing and well, maybe this will serve as the space to express the thoughts I can’t or won’t bother posting on Facebook or Twitter. 

I guess I should get started by learning how to use the site. Ha! Any help would be appreciated.

Forget my thoughts on the hostage situation itself, or my recommendations on how it should have been solved. I’ll merely be echoing the statements of so many others.

Fast-forward to the aftermath. The Philippine police has failed, foreigners have been slain, and now the rest of the world is talking. We are now supposedly the worst place to travel to. 

Putting aside the obvious hyperbole from CNN, do you disagree that the Philippines isn’t exactly a safe destination? I ask because there seems to have been an influx of defensive responses to this criticism. Many Filipinos are crying foul and according to them, these events could have easily taken place anywhere in the world. 

But could they really? Was it just a fluke? I mean, kidnappings and hostage situations could occur anywhere. I’ll give them that. You never know when some deranged man will pull off a similar stunt. But the issue here is the manner in which the situation was handled. Did it have to drag on for as long as it did? Did that many lives to be lost? Remember that Mendoza was a schmuck with petty demands, no plan, no support, and no resources at his disposal. I find it hard to believe that this would have happened anywhere else in the world. In fact, I would bet on the crisis being diffused right away had this occurred in most other countries.

Maybe we ought to take a step back and loosen up the blinders. If we are being labeled as an unsafe destination, it is because we have earned that label. The way this mess unfolded sure doesn’t inspire confidence in foreigners. Our police/security forces are incompetent and poorly prepared. That awful showing a few days ago was just another reminder in case the fact had not yet sunk in. The international media has every reason to issue advisories and fear for the well-being of travellers.

Nothing wrong in swallowing the bitter pill.