Safety Concerns In General Santos City

[Medic Mike]

I have to drop in down south around the General Santos City area. Has anyone heard of any out of the ordinary safety concerns for ex-pats in that area?

[Jollygoodfellow]

Theres been a few bombings there over the years but you will be able to stitch yourself up hopefully.  :541:

[Bruce]

The safety concerns for the south end of Mindanao have been well exaggerated. While there is a slight possibility that you may be wounded or killed by a random explosion when you were passing by, that is not a large concern. :tiphat:

 

As long as you follow simply common sense rules you will be fine. Remember to dress in white robes, grow your beard, wrap a towel around your head, keep your eyes to the ground when outside and NEVER look or watch or follow with your eyes any women. :th_unfair:

 

Eat inside restaurants instead of outside to lessen your chances of being the target of a drive by motorcycle hit. Go out only when needed. Be situationaly aware of your surroundings and if you see people suddenly backing away from you and you are suddenly 'alone' on the street... then assume that you are 'IT'. :th_unfair:

 

Make sure your hotel has both security of the two legged kind and the camera kind (as to better later identify the police officers who are assisting in your kidnapping). :dance:

 

Make sure you do NOT ask the hotel if there is a bible in your room. :hystery:  When eating out, do not ask the server 'so how is the halal pork sandwiches'? :hystery:  If you are approached by an unkempt looking man named 'Abdul' who offers you 'whores', do not ask for a 9yr old. It is a set up and the FBI / AFP will jump on you. :th_unfair: (this includes 9 yr old boys too unless you are from the middle east) 

 

Take a disposable phone only with no numbers in the memory. When you are kidnapped.. sorry, I meant to say IF you are kidnapped, they will use your phone's memory to call all the foreign numbers and demand Western Union payments or you will be killed.   :bash:

 

Remember to eat well each day to build up some body fat to sustain you as the average kidnapping victim is held in the 'jungle' of an outer island for 1-2 years until a large ransom is paid. If you manage to escape and see a police officer, do not approach him. The kidnappers will pay him a finders fee for returning you. :541:

 

Well, this is the short version. Oh yes, have you HAD YOUR HEAD EXAMINED? :hystery: Why would you go there? Is there a pretty Pinay trying to get you to go there under some pretext? :bash:

 

Have a safe trip! This public service announcement is just a simply guide. Your actual experience may be worse. :cheersty:

[JJReyes]

General Santos City is safe so long as you don't get caught in the crossfire between the military and insurgents. To be extra safe, stay in your hotel room all day and night using the chair and desk to jam the door. Another precaution is to crouch on the back seat of the taxi while traveling to and from the airport. The insurgents have not learned to mix rat poison with rice, so the meals should be okay. But if you are the cautious type, bring a large box of soda cracker and survive eating it. Also a couple of gallons of drinking water helps.

 

Have a nice trip!

[spyke69]

First Gensan has no taxi's just tricycles and puj....and prob best most of you stay home and safe in central or north phil's and never experience the beauty and people of mindanao...another reason not to visit we got the DDS (Davao Death Squad) you can find on google. You can read about our mayor Roddy Duterte and his views about bad guys our city also google. I would never walk anywhere in manila or cebu at 3AM....but in Davao another matter.... Gensan has their tuna fiesta and davao has kidapidawan I suggest you forget about both!!!! stay safe....lol

[2Cats2]

First Gensan has no taxi's just tricycles and puj....and prob best most of you stay home and safe in central or north phil's and never experience the beauty and people of mindanao...another reason not to visit we got the DDS (Davao Death Squad) you can find on google. You can read about our mayor Roddy Duterte and his views about bad guys our city also google. I would never walk anywhere in manila or cebu at 3AM....but in Davao another matter.... Gensan has their tuna fiesta and davao has kidapidawan I suggest you forget about both!!!! stay safe....lol

 

I'm assuming that most of the replies are toungue in cheek. Are there any from someone who has been to or lives in GenSan ??

 

Factually:  I've been to GenSan many times over past 3 years.  I've always felt and been safe there.  But I've always been with filipino friends.  Of course there are taxis in GenSan !!  I used one twice on my last visit, 3 weeks ago.

 

Why go there ?  For me the attraction is adventure sports opportunities. 

 

The best paragliding flying site in the Phlippines (there are only 2 !)  is there:

http://gensantravelguide.com/snapshots.php

 

Also excellent scuba-diving at Lemnulay:

http://www.lemlunayresort.com/about.html

It's an unusal dive resort, being located on top of a cliff.  But the cliff extends underwater and gives excellent diving right at the resort.

 

Whitewater rafting and zip-lining are also options nearby.

 

However I accept that these sorts of activities are not everyone's cup of tea.  They are mine.  :-)

 

Am I safe in GenSan ??  It feels like it.  But it's OK...until it isn't !!  Where in the Philippines is really safe ??

 

2Cats2

[BrettGC]

The safety concerns for the south end of Mindanao have been well exaggerated. While there is a slight possibility that you may be wounded or killed by a random explosion when you were passing by, that is not a large concern. :tiphat:

 

As long as you follow simply common sense rules you will be fine. Remember to dress in white robes, grow your beard, wrap a towel around your head, keep your eyes to the ground when outside and NEVER look or watch or follow with your eyes any women. :th_unfair:

 

Eat inside restaurants instead of outside to lessen your chances of being the target of a drive by motorcycle hit. Go out only when needed. Be situationaly aware of your surroundings and if you see people suddenly backing away from you and you are suddenly 'alone' on the street... then assume that you are 'IT'. :th_unfair:

 

Make sure your hotel has both security of the two legged kind and the camera kind (as to better later identify the police officers who are assisting in your kidnapping). :dance:

 

Make sure you do NOT ask the hotel if there is a bible in your room. :hystery:  When eating out, do not ask the server 'so how is the halal pork sandwiches'? :hystery:  If you are approached by an unkempt looking man named 'Abdul' who offers you 'whores', do not ask for a 9yr old. It is a set up and the FBI / AFP will jump on you. :th_unfair: (this includes 9 yr old boys too unless you are from the middle east) 

 

Take a disposable phone only with no numbers in the memory. When you are kidnapped.. sorry, I meant to say IF you are kidnapped, they will use your phone's memory to call all the foreign numbers and demand Western Union payments or you will be killed.   :bash:

 

Remember to eat well each day to build up some body fat to sustain you as the average kidnapping victim is held in the 'jungle' of an outer island for 1-2 years until a large ransom is paid. If you manage to escape and see a police officer, do not approach him. The kidnappers will pay him a finders fee for returning you. :541:

 

Well, this is the short version. Oh yes, have you HAD YOUR HEAD EXAMINED? :hystery: Why would you go there? Is there a pretty Pinay trying to get you to go there under some pretext? :bash:

 

Have a safe trip! This public service announcement is just a simply guide. Your actual experience may be worse. :cheersty:

 

Ah Bruce, how I've missed you... Welcome back mate!!

[Thomas]

Why go there ? For me the attraction is adventure sports opportunities. The best paragliding flying site in the Phlippines (there are only 2 !) is there:

Or fly when a bomb blast  :lol:  

 

Just joking. I have no idea how it is there, only heared there have been bombs and fights rather recently some northwest of there.