Tourism Philippines

Three days after Islamic rebels kidnapped a group of tourists from the Dos Palmas resort on Palawan island, Philippine leaders struck back: They gave away a trip for two to the same resort. Over the past three weeks, as soldiers have chased the kidnappers across the southern Philippines and fought them in deadly battles, tourism officials have launched their own campaign to salvage the country's reputation as a safe place for visitors.

The Philippines plans to deploy about 1,000 police officers in key tourist spots after the slaying of an Israeli visitor at a famous island resort, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon said today. The move to step up security for tourists comes as U.S. troops prepare for a joint military exercise in the southern Philippines as part of Washington's first significant expansion of its war against terrorism. The exercise is to start in a few days.

Three days after Islamic rebels kidnapped a group of tourists from the Dos Palmas resort on Palawan island, Philippine leaders struck back: They gave away a trip for two to the same resort. Over the past three weeks, as soldiers have chased the kidnappers across the southern Philippines and fought them in deadly battles, tourism officials have launched their own campaign to salvage the country's reputation as a safe place for visitors.

The Philippines plans to deploy about 1,000 police officers in key tourist spots after the slaying of an Israeli visitor at a famous island resort, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon said today. The move to step up security for tourists comes as U.S. troops prepare for a joint military exercise in the southern Philippines as part of Washington's first significant expansion of its war against terrorism. The exercise is to start in a few days.

Police have dubbed it Operation Sampaguita after the Philippines' fragrant national flower, which is sold by bunches each night to foreigners doing business with the thousands of women of the evening in Manila's jammed, honky-tonk district of Ermita. The purpose of the two-week-long police operation is to shut down the district forever--flowers, women, bars and all--an unprecedented effort to destroy Manila's international image as the "sin capital" of the Orient.

Hundreds of American families and at least six ambassadors fled heavy fighting around the capital's financial district early today, but a plan to evacuate thousands of people trapped in high-rise hotels stalled as government troops battled rebels in the streets.

For Secretary of State George P. Shultz, a former Marine officer, and his one-time Army nurse wife, Helena, World War II was "our war." So it was something of a sentimental journey for George and Helena Shultz on Monday when they visited this island in Manila Bay where U.S. and Filipino forces made their last stand before the Philippines fell to Japan in 1942 and where Allied troops again raised the Stars and Stripes on March 2, 1945. But time has not been kind to Corregidor.

I was here in January, an auspicious time for a visit to the Philippines, with the exchange rate heavily in the foreigner's favor and a welcome social stability in marked contrast to the anguish and violence racking the country's southern neighbor, Indonesia. On my first trip here several months before, I was reminded of Indonesia, also a former colonial nation of islands under long-standing authoritarian rule, yet the Philippines is very different.

Piecing together my first vacation in the Philippines was like assembling a jigsaw puzzle without seeing any of the pieces. Of the country's 7,107 islands, 5,000 are uninhabited. That left me researching Web sites, books, Internet message boards and Manila travel bureaus for the right places to visit. I admit, the Philippines may seem like an unusual choice for leisure travelers.

Piecing together my first vacation in the Philippines was like assembling a jigsaw puzzle without seeing any of the pieces. Of the country's 7,107 islands, 5,000 are uninhabited. That left me researching Web sites, books, Internet message boards and Manila travel bureaus for the right places to visit. I admit, the Philippines may seem like an unusual choice for leisure travelers.

I was here in January, an auspicious time for a visit to the Philippines, with the exchange rate heavily in the foreigner's favor and a welcome social stability in marked contrast to the anguish and violence racking the country's southern neighbor, Indonesia. On my first trip here several months before, I was reminded of Indonesia, also a former colonial nation of islands under long-standing authoritarian rule, yet the Philippines is very different.

Hundreds of American families and at least six ambassadors fled heavy fighting around the capital's financial district early today, but a plan to evacuate thousands of people trapped in high-rise hotels stalled as government troops battled rebels in the streets.

Police have dubbed it Operation Sampaguita after the Philippines' fragrant national flower, which is sold by bunches each night to foreigners doing business with the thousands of women of the evening in Manila's jammed, honky-tonk district of Ermita. The purpose of the two-week-long police operation is to shut down the district forever--flowers, women, bars and all--an unprecedented effort to destroy Manila's international image as the "sin capital" of the Orient.

For Secretary of State George P. Shultz, a former Marine officer, and his one-time Army nurse wife, Helena, World War II was "our war." So it was something of a sentimental journey for George and Helena Shultz on Monday when they visited this island in Manila Bay where U.S. and Filipino forces made their last stand before the Philippines fell to Japan in 1942 and where Allied troops again raised the Stars and Stripes on March 2, 1945. But time has not been kind to Corregidor.