Actor-host Edu Manzano is urging Filipinos to experience travel beyond the country’s borders, arguing that exposure to other nations would open their eyes to what the Philippines has been failing to deliver — particularly in transportation and tourism.
“All Filipinos should travel outside the Philippines so that you will know that we deserve BETTER,” Manzano wrote in a recent social media post that quickly gained traction online.
He sharpened the point in the comments section, drawing attention to a pricing gap that many Filipino travelers have long complained about. “It’s cheaper to travel to our Southeast Asian neighbors than it is to fly to Cebu or Davao,” he said.
The remarks resonated with many online, with users pointing out that Filipinos living or traveling abroad often witness how foreign governments put tax revenues to visible, tangible use — a stark contrast, they said, to their experience back home.
Manzano’s post enters a broader conversation that several Filipino celebrities have been having about the cost and quality of local travel. Bianca Gonzalez previously called out steep fares to Siargao as a deterrent to supporting Philippine tourism, while actor John Manalo criticized what he described as a lack of originality in local tourist destinations, saying some spots feel like imitations of places found elsewhere in the world. Anne Curtis, meanwhile, has spoken more broadly about systemic failures she says have long been making life harder for ordinary Filipinos.
The frustration over domestic air travel costs is not without basis. Flights to local destinations such as Siargao or Cebu City can sometimes exceed fares to nearby countries like Vietnam or Thailand. Compounding the concern, a portion of the ceiling at Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 1 recently gave way during the Holy Week rush — an incident that renewed scrutiny of the country’s aging aviation infrastructure.
