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A vlogger recounted his "not so" fun experience while Samal Island. Screengrabbed from an episode on Journey of Josh's Youtube account

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Foreign vlogger’s “not so fun” experience in Samal Island sparks action from city gov’t

Hernel Tocmo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1756275308296vlog.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>A vlogger recounted his &quot;not so&quot; fun experience while Samal Island. Screengrab from an episode on Journey of Josh&#x27;s YouTube account</div><div> </div>DAVAO CITY — A vlogger from the United Kingdom recounted his “not so” fun experience while visiting the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) in Davao del Norte, prompting the local government to take action against a young man who appeared to mock and harass the foreigner.In his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnXGANBLHL0">YouTube video</a> uploaded on August 24 entitled “Sometimes It&#x27;s NOT Always Fun in The Philippines!”, YouTuber “Journey of Josh” went cliff diving on his first day at the tourist spot in the Davao Region, where he met a group of boys and young men jumping from the cliff.On his first jump into the water, a 16-year-old boy spoke with him, asked how he was, told him that a younger kid was better than him, and urged him to jump from a higher cliff.The teenage boy then spoke to him in Bisaya, and the vlogger replied that he could only speak a little Tagalog.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/4/21/sc-urged-to-halt-construction-of-china-funded-samal-island-davao-city-bridge-1348">SC urged to halt construction of China-funded Samal Island-Davao City bridge </a></div>“Pagtuon og Bisaya, ‘kol. Naunsa man tawon ka uy. Niabot man ka og Samal. Di ka kamao mo-bisaya (Learn how to speak Bisaya. What happened to you? You came to Samal and you don&#x27;t even know how to speak Bisaya),” he said.The teenager then jokingly told the foreigner that he should speak Bisaya or else he would drown him.“Mao pagtuon kol. Lumsan taka ron. Di kamao mo Bisaya. Lumsan ko ni ron, (That’s why you should learn or else I’ll drown you. He doesn’t know how to speak Bisaya. I will drown him),” he said.The teenage boy also cursed, saying “f*** y**” while recording the foreign vlogger doing backflips as he dived.He also asked the vlogger to buy them beer, and the vlogger ended up buying drinks for the boy and his friends.“I just wanna say this is absolutely not representation of the Philippines or the Filipino people as a whole. The vast majority of my experiences here are always positive, and most of the people are some of the most friendly and kind people I’ve ever met,” Josh said in his vlog.“I think it’s pretty clear that he didn’t actually have any bad intentions… but it is just a good example of how you should always be mindful of your surroundings when traveling and try to stay aware of the people you are with and how they are acting, especially if you are new to traveling,” he added.Mayor Lemuel Reyes of the Island Garden City of Samal acted on the incident and met with the young man and his family on August 26.Reyes reminded him to be cautious with his actions and to take the incident as a lesson. He also apologized for the damage caused to the city’s image.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/2024/6/19/rosmar-tan-rendon-labador-declared-persona-non-grata-in-palawan-1202">Rosmar Tan, Rendon Labador declared persona non grata in Palawan </a></div>“The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) will provide interventions in line with RA 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, which include spiritual counseling and a three-month barangay community service,” Samal Island Information said on their Facebook page.The boy also posted an apology on his social media account for his behavior and lack of respect toward the foreign vlogger, acknowledging his mistakes.Tourism contributed P2.35 trillion to the Philippine economy in 2024, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.Tourism industries employed around 6.75 million people, about 13.8 percent of total employment, that year.

A vlogger recounted his "not so" fun experience while visiting the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) in Davao del Norte, where a teenage buy jokingly told him that he should speak Bisaya or else he would "drown" him.

A vlogger recounted his "not so" fun experience while visiting the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) in Davao del Norte, where a teenage buy jokingly told him that he should speak Bisaya or else he would "drown" him.

Mayor steps in after foreign vlogger’s 'not so fun' experience on Samal Island

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Mayor steps in after foreign vlogger’s 'not so fun' experience on Samal Island

Hernel Tocmo,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 27, 2025 03:08 PM PHT

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Updated August 27, 2025 03:45 PM PHT

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