When a friend first heard of my plan to go to the Philippines for a recent two-week holiday by myself, his response was: “Are you crazy? The country has an ongoing drug war!”

Other friends and relatives expressed similar concerns or wonderment.

The Philippines as a whole has received bad press in recent years due to President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, which has seen thousands of suspected drug dealers killed by the police in anti-narcotics operations, and the takeover of Marawi in 2017 by militants linked to the Islamic State terror group.

Hence there is a perception among some Singaporeans that the Philippines as a whole is a very dangerous country. It does not help that time and again, you also read about shootings in the country and travel advisories issued by embassies to their citizens.

Here is an example of one issued by the British Embassy in Manila in January 2019: “Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in the Philippines. Terrorist groups continue to plan attacks and have the capacity and the intent to carry out attacks at any time and anywhere in the country, including in the capital Manila and in places visited by foreigners, such as airports, shopping malls, public transport, including the metro system and places of worship.”

Then there are rankings of countries by security by the likes of Global Finance magazine, which early this year ranked the Philippines last among 128 countries based on three indices: war and peace; personal security and natural disaster risk. I find it a bit hard to believe that the Philippines is one place below Yemen, a war-torn country.

So why did I choose the Philippines for a holiday to mark the end of my National Service? Well, I have a friend who lives in that beautiful country and he told me that while certain areas of the country are dangerous, there are other safe parts for me to explore. I figured that my friend would know since he lives there.

So I bought a plane ticket to the city of Iloilo located on Panay Island, which would be my home for 16 days. My first trip to the Philippines turned out to be nothing but amazing.

Like Singapore, the Philippines has preserved some of its historical heritage places which remind people of the country's history. For example, I visited Miagao Church, which is over 300 years old and a Unesco World Heritage Site.

I also visited the University of Iloilo where I spoke to some students and I fondly remember a conversation with one of them.

This student has never been to Singapore and upon learning that I am a Singaporean, eagerly shared with me of what she knew about my country. She could even name Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. I was impressed and suggested that she visit Singapore one day.

During my stay, I also got to witness the sense of gratitude towards one another in the Filipino culture.

One day, when my friend and I left his house for a day trip, a rickshaw rider offered to take us to the street entrance free. This rider had received help once from my friend in the past and he remains grateful to my friend.

Such a small gesture of appreciation really made my day and I loved the fact that all neighbours knew one another in the neighbourhood. The Philippines has retained a sense of community spirit that I feel has been eroded in Singapore and I hope we can find that sense of community spirit.

But what struck me most about Iloilo was how safe I felt there.

I saw locals using their smartphones freely and openly in public without any fear of snitchers. Many openly do video calls in public on their phones with their friends and families.

There are security cameras everywhere in the city and the city feels very safe.

I went to the local bar for a drink and I saw local women waiting alone on the streets for a cab to go home. It was around 2am in the morning

I even went to the local park named Iloilo Esplanade many times for a solo run in the evening and I have never once felt unsafe. There were locals who did the same as me too. During my run, I encountered young couples walking with their baby strolls and youngsters taking wefies in the park.

To be honest, this was what I was not expecting to see in the Philippines.

Despite my Filipino friend’s assurance prior to the trip, I was quite prepared for a gritty city where I might even experience petty crime. Yet, it all turned out very differently.

Had I not travelled to see for myself, I would probably have fully believed the reports about the country. The adage “travel is the best form of education” could not be more true.

Of course, Iloilo is only one small part of the Philippines and there are other parts of the country where my experience would likely be very different.

But my aim here of sharing my experience is to correct the misperception which some Singaporeans may have towards the Philippines.

When my family and friends hear about how I enjoyed my recent holiday, they are surprised and now say they would love to travel to the Philippines soon.

I hope they too will find it as safe and beautiful as I did.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Maa Zhi Hong is an accounting graduate of Ngee Ann Polytechnic. He is looking to build a career in public speaking and writing.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misspelt the Filipino island of Panay as Pinay.