4 foreigners robbed in one day in dumaguete

Hi Wrye: Sounds like you are saying pickpocket thiefs are not a concern when shopping in Dumaguete. By maintaining my situational awareness, and looking around, I hope to prevent a pickpocket from getting an unnoticed entry. Even if pickpockets are not currently a threat I prefer to be on my guard & to expect the unexpected.

 

Maybe it is to let people know that "Yang Wang" is not a local.

 

Hi Wrye: I just looked up the definition of robbery and it is taking someone's property with force or the threat of force. So, I agree with you that it is unlikely to be robbed while shopping. However, I suspect some local people here will steal/pickpocket if given an opportunity, which is why we are on guard & vigalent when we are exposed outside in the local markets. Are my actions overkill? Possibly, but I would rather implement excessive protective measures than regret after the fact of not doing enough.

 

When you think about it, this very much the old "Better prepared than sorry" principle.

Very much the idea (IMHO) of the gun law in some other countries. Attempt to rob me, steal from me, abuse me, run me off the road, etc etc - I can and will shoot you. See here criminal - I have got a gun. Think twice about doing it to me.

The most difficult thing is having a gun and using it in a real world / real live situation. Failure to use it then means you are becoming a more direct threat.

My 2 cents worth. (d a m n too much coffee this morning).

 

Hi Nutz: Looks like we are generally on the same page regarding this topic.

We each must exercise the level of vigilance that we we feel is necessary & that we are comfortable with. Because of my military training, I tend to exercise a higher level of vigilance than most -- including varying my travel route & leaving home at different times, which is what the military teaches.

Yes, I follow the better safe than sorry principle.

Regarding a gun, I would be unlikely to show the weapon in an attempt to intimidate a bad guy to stand down. If I pull out a gun it is because I feel my life is in imminent danger and in that case I would likely shoot -- it's the same self-defense principle I would follow in America.

There are too many possible scenarios to cover here, but probably trying to run me off the road is not one of them. That said, a car can be used as a weapon and can obviously kill someone if it runs over them so if a car is heading towards me with the intent to drive over me than that could necessitate the use of lethal force.

My objective in my posts is not to pursuade anyone to believe what I do. My objective is to (hopefully) give people something to think about so they might tailor their level of vigilance & actions accordingly.

On any given day I rank the Threat Level from 1 to 5 with each level having a certain set of precautions that I exercise. Right now, I assess the threat level here as a 2, which is about as good as it gets for me in a foreign country -- and that's better than in some American cities -- like Chicago where guns are banned, but had 120 shootings in the first 10 days of 2016 (criminals in some places just don't care about following the gun laws).

 

Hi Again Wrye: I hope I did not give the impression that I feel it is always unsafe to go out alone here. In fact, this morning I went out shopping for hours without my gf/bodyguard. For me it depends on what I assess the threat level to be. I usually assess daytime to be fine for me to travel alone. Generally speaking, bad guys tend to come out at night so for nighttime travel, especially if I went to a club/bar, I would follow the 2-man concept, which is to have someone with me. That's just what I do. Many people go out alone here at night without experiencing any problems.

 

I think by maintaining situational awareness you are creating a 'safe zone' around you. Pickpockets, like any petty criminal, are usually opportunist looking for or taking advantage of the 'easy score'. Don't put a target on your back and you are much less likely to be targeted.

 

Yup, my gf is the eyes in back of my head & vice-versa. That works well for us.