Except of a letter written by 15-year old Reigno Jose Dilao as posted on CNN iReport:
As you are reading this letter, I bet that you have seen/heard about what happened earlier in our country.
Tourists were hostages of a policeman here, Rolando Mendoza. After a few hours of the horrible crime, some of the victims were dead including the hostage-taker.
I wrote this letter not just to apologize but also to let everyone know that we Filipinos are not all like Mendoza. We are loving and good-hearted people.
For so many years, our country has been standing tall and surpassing every dilemma; be it small or big. Years ago (back when I wasn’t born yet), you have watched us fight for what we think is right. We fought for the democracy of our nation.. The EDSA revolution. But that’s just one out of many.
Twitter users: please include the hashtag #ManilaIsSafe.
“I love this country and I love living here. This incident should not make us hostage. This is something we can learn from and not something we can be remembered for,” said sports anchor and Yahoo! Southeast Asia blogger Patricia Hizon, the initiator of the campaign.
runningpinoy 
Hi Dennis. Thank you for the post and to Reigno for the letter to CNN. Have been following the unfortunate incident on CNN. Also, several people have contacted me by phone, e-mail, Facebook, Daily Mile and in person. Some have gone as far as to tell me not to take my vacation in a few weeks. Though I’ve listened, I’ve respectfully disagreed with what they’re sharing.
Unfortunately, this incident could have happened anywhere. Remember about nine years ago, there was an incident that lost nearly 4000 lives in several areas of the U.S. that changed the world forever. Today, I still hear several friends of mine tell me that they never thought what happened on September 11 would. However, there were several warning signs that led up to that day here. Though it’s a wake up call, we shouldn’t be in fear.
Reigno, Dennis and the readers here……I don’t feel any different about the Philippines today as I did yesterday. Very thankful of the friends that I’ve met and about to meet in a few weeks time. Please take care and will see you in a few weeks!
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Thank you very much Wayne for your trust in the country! Yes it is such a tragedy and unfortunately it happens. It can happen anytime, anywhere, to anyone and it just sadly happened to the victims. We are at one with the victims and their families in condemning this debauchery. Rest assured to all our dear friends that this does not define the Philippines or even Manila as a whole but it serves as a wakeup call for us to be more vigilant against violence. Manila is safe, just as any other urban centers in the world, and so is the rest of the country.
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