Crime in Manila, Philippines

Manila is the worst place ever! Violence are rampant in those city. Better go Palawan.

You cannot keep having kids endlessly and then expect life to be good. It doesn't work that way.

why is manila have so many criminals? i know the reason because they hate working they just wanna rob to be rich.the police must stop them they are so cruel they don't care about us. they must be stop i hate criminals. president rodrigo duterte will finish them all. no matter what it takes. president rodrigo duterte will send so many army and police to stop the abusiaf and the criminals.

What is the "Pony ride" everyone is mentioning. One guy said "Andy" explained it, but on my phone I don't see his name. Is it a taxi, or like in Guadalajara,Jalisco, Mexico, a real ride in a horse and buggy like in the times of the Spanish?

I hate this city so much.

It stinks, corruption, ugly people, and the food is worse than what you'd feed your pet.

Manilla airport very dangerous many corrupt undercover police.They thought I was cia or military.Nope . Just redneck oilfield worker.US. government should give you tax deductionfor giving to charitable, organization.when going to phillipines.Or the united states should issue to all people going to phillipines counterfit money.

The government is corrupted, taxing of everything, roads constantly being fixed when there is nothing wrong. High traffic, high taxes, however, for visiting it is not so bad. Living you should think twice.

Hello guys. Philippines is maybe the most dangerous country in Asia. I have travelled a lot in Asia and for sure Manila is the most dangerous city in entire Asia. The filipinos fool you with a sweet smile....very low ethic cultured and for money they are big acrobats......shameful people.....when they cheat you, simply they say we are poor....Never go to this 4th country....Wished it was called a nation of Thieves and Evil people.

most of a women in manila are scammer! that's the truth
they will spend your money until you become depleted and leave you like a shit!

To start with Manila has too many people. Too many people will result in lots of different types. Yes the city needs to clean up. Yes there are questionable people. But that is in most over populated cities with lots of poverty. I've been pick pocketed once. The "Pony Ride" mentioned by "Andy" has been going on a long time. They got me back in 2003. Kept trying to find a place to rob us. A guard at the old fort would not let them in and gave me a serious look. I knew it was bad when they tried to take me into a jungle area and got out at McDonalds (they all have armed guards) they demanded $50 for a $5 fare, placed themselves in back of my wife getting ready to grab her. I opened my wallet and dropped the 2000P and they both bent to pick it up...we went to McDonalds and they eventually left. Of course the guard and shotgun may have been a factor. Now, most of Manila is safe as long as you don't act stupid, carry an ID, an ATM card, and no more then enough cash to meet your needs. (in different locations). I do that anywhere I travel. If you are looking for female companions, be sure you know their age. There are scams to shake down foreign men. If you can, shop with a friend who is from there. But go, have fun, enjoy some of the friendliest people in the world. Great food! Won't name my favorite Hotel...but a good one is Bayview Pacific.

Beware of the guys operating the pony and trap ride in Manila. Trap describes it perfectly. I naively accepted a ride for PHP20, glad to take the weight off my feet. The guy did a U-turn and picked up his "co-worker". When I grew uneasy and asked to get off (within about 5 minutes), they kept going until we were off the main street away from onlookers then demanded PHP2000 ($43), insisting that was the agreed fare. That's $43 for a five minute ride. I was threatened with the horse's whip if I didn't pay. For my safety, I had to give up all the money I had on me - PHP2600($55) - before I was allowed to disembark. It would have been more if they had not believed they had cleaned me out, which they had, except for PHP600 in another pocket. So this wasn't an inflated fare or "foreigner's price", it was actual robbery. This experience has put me off returning to Manila ever again (which is sad) but if you do go, trust only the trains and hotel transport.

I'v walked all over Manila and Davao day and night as I please with my beautiful soon to be wife. We were never particular about where or when we walked around. Given I'm tall and very muscular, but still I never saw the bad things people say. Love the people and will visit again soon before she gets visa to the u.s.

Sensible is the way to go don't carry too much cash and be aware of what's going on around you at all times
Usual for any big city
No problems if you follow the above
I live in Quezon City

Hi, I live in Manila, been living there for 29 years now, I understand there's a lot of incidents going around, but it happens everywhere, pickpocket, drugs, poverty, its every countries problem, also, most of the news are happening are for the metro manila, not exactly Manila itself...

I'm a Filipino. Stayed in country all my life with a few visits to other countries all over. Got the Raileurope a few years back for over a month visiting various countries and cities. My wallet was picked in Napoles,Italy and in Rome. It was my fault as I ventured in areas not wholesome to tourists. No harm, most of my funds were in the hotel safe together with my travel documents. Been to the US a number of times and also had my wallet taken in New York, Washington and San Francisco. Again I entered areas not suggested to me. You wouldn't think someone would grab your cellphone in Guam but someone did. Got a bum deal on some goods I purchased in Guangzhou and could not find anyone to help me. Even the police was indiffernt to my problem.

This did not happen to me in Thailand, Vietnam and Hongkong where I also went to those so called seedy places. Natually I have never been mugged in the Phillipines. Someone picked my wallet in Divisoria market (another not so welcome area in Manila) but I got that back within 3 hours after reporting to the police, without the money of course. All credit cards, IDs and government passes were intact.

All I can say is that the Philippines is as safe as any country in the world. You just need to take the necessary precautions, stay out of seedy areas and life would be a lot safer. It also helps not to look so out of place.

MRT problems are the same even though the fare increases

Been in Manila many times ,, Walked down Mabini Street at 1.00am very dark in parts lots of people sleeping on the sidewalk and just hanging out..No problem.Walked out of the Manila bay Cafe and was surrounded by about seven ladyboys who started to grab me and argue about who was coming back to my hotel room..Again no real problems..Kinda funny looking back..All of Manila does not smell and have gone to ATM machines by myself..Been to the gogo bars , walked around by mysrlf..To me most of the Philippino people I met were very nice and a lot of fun to talk to..Yeah who doesn't want your money.?? Go to any Jiffy lube here in Los Angeles and see how quickly they will try to seperate you from your money..Manila is like any big city , some places you don't need to go..Here in Los Angeles you dont go wandering around Compton, South Central , Willington if your a white boy ..Maybe you would drive over to 254th and Marigold to get some crack to smoke ..???? Who knows, , You dont need to be a target,, dont wear fancy clothes, watches, gold chains or rings, Be humble, Please don't be the ugly American.Have fun and respect the locals..

Seeing some of the dissing comments about the Philippines makes me wish a meteor hit the earth.

I am a globe trotter as I am involved in the footwear trade.

I dunno chaps- even locales in Philippines like Tondo, Melate etc is a LOT safer than locales in USA such as Steelton PA or Compton in LA where u could get capped for a pair of Air Jordans.

Not to mention running into gropers-r-us aks TSA when u check into an airport like LAX.

Philippines is gold compared to some of the so called first world where u r more likely to be killed by Al Coppa more than Al Qaeda.

I felt a LOT more unease in a US metropolitan area than I did in the Philippines. And as an added bonus there is no race or religious fueled violence like Islamaphpbia inspired violence there.

Philippines is awesome and the ppl there are some of the friendliest I met my whole entire life.

Filipinos can be divided into two people: the men and the women. The women are warm, friendly, and trustworthy. The men are arrogant, unfriendly, and inhospitable. They have this ill conceived pride in their shitty country. They keep saying yessir, thank you sir, sir, sir, sir all the time - drives you crazy. Most annoying is the way they pronounce the sir with pursed lips. Everywhere you are these shady characters looking to con you. And the smell - oh my god the smell. All of manila smells like raw sewage. There's no escaping this. And walking along the bay the smell was so overpowering I had to gag to keep from puking.

#Bob who spoke of child sex trade... You should be very careful in making assumptions about the ages of the females you observed. You are not from any of the Asian countries and have no foundation on which to base your assumption. My 38-yr-old fiancee looks like she's barely 20, and that is NOT uncommon at all.

In response to Mark's comment questioning those of us who indicated that the Philippines is unsafe, I would like to say that his comment is sheer and utter nonsense. The fact is that many parts of the Philippines are unsafe - and no, people aren't "looking for it". The fact is that Manila is unsafe. My daughter in law, who was born and raised in a village 60 miles north of Manila and has worked there also indicates that it is unsafe. Her father and mother also said it is unsafe and that under no circumstances should my spouse and I ever walk about the city alone. And no, we aren't "flaunting" wealth. We would not wear watches, expensive clothes, etc. However, we are not Philippinos; and that was enough, in our relatives' opinions, to make it unsafe.

I agree that Makati is a relatively safe place to be both day & night, but don't do obvious things out in the open ,like outside ATM or pull out a wad of money in Jolibee/McDos etc.
Just take enough money with you to pay fares & food then if robbed you don't loose much.
Beware the nice looking girls who will freely give you their mobile number then on their third text to you may say that their mother is in hospital & can you help them with the costs, haha so many times this has happened to foreigners. I was robbed of 3 credit cards & 200 pesos in my wallet on the LRT from Guadaloupe to Boni so put your wallet in your socks or an inside zipped pocket. Any trouble with taxi-drivers just scream at them to stop & when you exit the taxi leave te back door open & may teach them a lesson, happened twice in two year period. Beware the rental deposit (2 Mths) as you may not get any back as they make you wait 2 mths & then you are back home & can do nothing. Otherwise Filipinas are nice people & beautiful in their teens & twenties, I know I marred one 3 yrs ago & yet to meet her family in the Provinces.

I'm 20 and my boyfriend 17.(both boys) We're going to phillipines within two months. Is it a good or bad idéa to visit Manila? We want to look around and go party. The plan is to stay like 3 days, and then go to Boracay. But as far as I know the change to get robbed seems to be more likely than not be.... I've read many stories of people who had to bribe the cops for doing nothing.

(for example someone random outside the disco/club/gogo begin to talk to you, seems nice, and then tell you to follow to a better party.... You walk like one minute, and then they are: cops who say you've sold drugs or had sex with a minor or anything like that...) And that my friends, is the most fear I have to going to Manila...

So if that or something near that would happen, what should I do? Bribe them with $100? Or it there something smart I could say? Like a name, a thing I will do if they don't let me go, or anything?

And which parts of the city is most safe, and which should I not visit at night?

Thanks

To all these people who are generalizing the Filipinos, you seriously need to check your hateful and ignorant attitudes. This is absolutely ridiculous. User TheGreatDane tells all Filipinos to "wake the fuck up" and have some self respect. Well to that pitiful ignoramus, you need to learn some self respect yourself as you are obviously depraving yourself. Having spent years and years in the Philippines, I can say that these are some of the most good natured and caring people on the planet. Yes, there are many people who commit awful crimes but to categorize all Filipinos in this way is completely ridiculous. And quite offensive. People here have the audacity to say that they hate everything about the Philippines. How can anyone say that? Have they visited the entire place? Have they seen it's beauty? There are thousands of islands, have they been to them? Have they even talked to anybody at all? Because it truly sounds like they haven't done anything, period.

Who can live in a country where you have to be afraid to be assaulted at any time, especially as a foreigner or visitor. I met many pinays and I am sad to say that the majority of them were liars, scammers, cheaters or even criminal. Some of them even used to be between 18 to 20 years of age or younger. Many pinays are selfish, money-minded and only care about their own families and themselves. In certain parts of the city there is a serious risk of being assaulted or robbed at any time of the day.

To be honest I kinda hate the Philippines - especially Manila.
What a fucking shithole. Dirty everywhere. Foreigners are NOT respected they are normally just seen as "cash cows".
Sorry - but that is a fact.
I hate the poverty, I hate how every fucking Filipino thinks that all foreigners are loaded with money, I hate the scamming, stealing, snatching.....yeah I almost hate everything there.

My girlfriend lives there...I want to get her out of there, but not very easy coz she has some kids.

When I was there about 1 year ago, I talked to an older guy, who used to work quite close to F. Marcos - meaning in his staff. I know that Marcos was not gods gift to mankind, but the old guy told me that actually many Filipinos were better off back then under Ferdinand Marcos. Poverty has risen, and people are struggling more nowadays to survive in the Philippines than maybe 25-30 years ago.

I know there are many nice people in the Philippines too....one of them is my GF. I know people in general are nice. But many Filipinos are so poor they will kill or steal to have food on the table.

I think the Filipinos should try to get some self respect. They should start respecting foreigners and to a higher extent they should allow foreign investments.

The Philippines have all the natural ressources. There is no nature law that says that The Philippines has to be a poor country.

But if the Philippines want to experience more wealth among the "normal" population they should start by not getting so many kids. They should fight corruption with every fucking possible method.

I just fear that corruption will still be a BIG issue in the Philippines in 100 years, because no one really wants to fight it.

So to all Filippinos: Wake the fuck up - respect foreigners, and dont forget they are not all loaded with money. And most important: Fight corruption with all the power you got.

Like any other countries which were occupied by the Spaniards during Colonial times, The Philippines is just as corrupt forever! The Govt or any politicians whoever they vote in the next Thousand years would still be the same!They don't wanna be colonize by the Yankees because the filthy rich who bribe the govt will be out of business. Same Shit different day as you know!The country is almost 80 percent Catholics or Christians but everybody is the same. No discipline and even the Catholic Church think they are still the Spanish rulers coz they have the power to tell the Govt what to do. Lastly, you have to pay everybody if you want good service even your best friend! if you have the mullah you can get anything even the illegal merchandise. Politician Family rule the land like the Ming Dynasty!