I had a bad week, not going to lie. This is the sequence of events that took place during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. My new job is in a dangerous area and is not safe for a girl who is a foreigner. A taxi driver almost took me on the way home. He was actually 56 years old, and already gave me an uncomfortable feeling when I got into his car. He also smelled awful. It's normal and standard for people in the Philippines to rely on their work when they don't have money, so I don't comment on that. The driver was going to take me. I have been living in this country for a long time, so I am aware of how to get back. But I always end up taking someone else's advice. My team members advised me to take a taxi to and from work to save money. I've been thinking about this for the past few days, especially since private escort services are so expensive these days. On Wednesday, I decided that turned out to be bad. He took a route that was wrong and unfamiliar to me. I was getting nervous when I noticed that. Like I already said, I know my way home. But that one is beyond my grasp. There are some constructions ongoing on the normal route going home. However, all of a sudden, he stopped the car, took a robe out of the side of his door, and said: you are taken. He wanted to get my hands, but I was smashing the door into his knees. I ran away. My fortune in that situation was that I am familiar with the surrounding places, normally. In that area, there is a sex worker hotel. I ran there. I said to the girl at the reception, please help me, there is a taxi that wants to take me. She said to get into the backyard, on the left, there is a toilet, go there, and close the door behind you, I will call the police. I was waiting there for like 30-40 minutes until the police arrived. They were asking me if I still remember the plate number of the car. Before I get into any, may that be a taxi or private escort, I write down the plate number into my, always, and that is also the way how we got him. On the next day, I got a call from the police, and they said to come to that station, make your statement, and identify the driver. I went there, and I remembered him immediately. 

As of September 2022, there were already 27 kidnapping cases that occurred in the Philippines, reflecting an increase from the 38 kidnapping cases registered in 2020. The number of kidnapping cases in the country peaked in 2019 at 85 cases. Today I can say that I had a terrible week behind me, but I am also able to say that I got lucky because of knowing the area where it happened, not the street itself. I have still no idea what the name of the road was, but I knew that there was a hotel for sex workers near. That was my fortune on that day.

Whenever I slept these days, I could see in front of my eyes what happened, but I am happy that I am not taken, that I am alive, and I am safe home now. On the following night I took the expensive escort services again, but they are safe, and they have an internal warning system in the app. So, if ever something happens to me, I could make use of that warning system. The reason for me sharing this information is that I want you to remember that kidnapping and taking people can happen everywhere. It also helps me to get over things, please refer to this article for more details. Always make sure that you know where are at, especially in a country you are new to. Always remember that there are choices of safe services for travelling and also the one that are not safe. I have learned my lesson, and from now on, I will go home with the most secure opportunities I have. Thanks for listening, share this article, it is important to share these kinds of information as a reminder that it can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone. Stay safe out there. 

Number of kidnapping cases Philippines 2019-2022