EDITORIAL - Violence against tourists

A Japanese tourist reportedly sightseeing in a wetland park was viciously attacked and then robbed by a local in Parañaque City last Saturday, January 24.

According to reports, the 62-year-old Japanese national was repeatedly hit with a piece of wood by the suspect, leaving him bloodied on the ground, before running off with the bag containing his valuables.

The victim was taken to the hospital where he was found to have a bruised eye, a cracked skull, and a partially-split ear. He needed stitches.

The suspect, who was later arrested by the police who turned to security video and followed up leads, was identified as 49-year-old vendor Ariel Alido. He was taken to the hospital where the victim personally identified him. Most of the tourist’s belongings were recovered.

Alido clearly went too far with his actions. Strike one was robbing the tourist; strike two was hurting the tourist. Strike one, while already a reprehensible act in itself, could have been committed without strike two.

Was there really a need to hurt the tourist to that extent? Was the vendor, who was supposed to be part of a sector that caters to tourists also, fueled by drugs, bitterness, or some particular hate for tourists? Or did he just want to make sure the old man couldn’t fight back?

In any country, visiting tourists can be considered a particularly vulnerable sector. In cases of emergencies or natural disasters they don’t immediately know where the safe places are. In cases where crimes are committed against them they don’t immediately know whom to turn to.

In the case of the Japanese tourist, he didn’t even speak English, so he had difficulty communicating with those who wanted to help him.

We are losing tourists to other Southeast Asian nations for several reasons including ease of payment schemes, cheaper airfare and package rates, and better-sustained tourism programs not marred by politics. And while it is true that tourists also fall victim to crimes in other countries as well, we certainly don’t need incidents like these that give our tourism a black eye.

We need to better protect our tourists or, because nothing is perfect, make sure crimes against them are solved quickly. Like what happened in this case.