Certainly Zamboanga has a bad reputation.

It would not be my first choice for a place to visit however, I have been corresponding with a person who just came back from there. He had no safety issues and is even considering moving there to live.

If the safety thing bothers you too much, arrange to meet your friend somewhere else like Cebu City or Manila.

Regards; Jim Sibbick

if you really look australian, then go with the advice of the previous poster, it might be wise to meet her somewhere else. then maybe you can go togehter to zamboanga after.

i don't mean to scare you with this but sometimes, we just never know. foreigners (especially white) are easy target for anything. so better to play it safe first.

Zamboanga is a really neat place. It's quite pretty, just as Cebu was 40 yrs ago. Getting in/out of the airport was a breeze as it was organized and was right by the water, very pretty. When we were there in '05, my bro-in-law's family took us around in their vehices. I noticed some checkpoints but it didn't seem to be an issue. Their fresh produce market is great. There are a good number of expats who live there in Dapitan and Dipolog. If you google sites that have forums on multinationals who live in Zamboanga, they'd be more than glad to advice you where to get lodging, restaurants and may even meet w/ you for a beer, mate.

Enjoy, the people are really nice!

PS: My husband who's from Massachusets even thought of settling there.