There is something particularly painful about being mistreated by a stranger.
But being humiliated by your own kababayan while thousands of miles away from home can hurt in an entirely different way.
That is what made the recent incident at Iseltwald Pier in Switzerland resonate with so many Filipinos online.
What was supposed to be a dream moment for four Filipina travelers reportedly turned into an experience of embarrassment, anger and tears after they were allegedly mocked by a group of fellow Filipino tourists while taking photos at the popular Swiss destination.
And perhaps the most uncomfortable part of the story isn’t that Filipinos were involved.
It is that the people involved were Filipinos bullying other Filipinos.
A Dream Trip Turns Into a Painful Memory
According to Filipina traveler Reamae Bagotsay, she and three friends visited Iseltwald Pier on August 29, 2026.
For many visitors, the pier is more than just another tourist attraction. The wooden pier on Lake Brienz became internationally famous after appearing in the Korean drama Crash Landing on You, attracting tourists who want to recreate the iconic scene.
Bagotsay said that she and her friends patiently waited for their turn at the popular photo spot.
But when their group finally reached the area, they allegedly began receiving comments from another group of Filipino tourists who were waiting behind them.
Among the remarks reportedly heard in a video were:
“One second lang dapat every picture!”
And, after one of the women reportedly stumbled:
“Sayang, ’di nalaglag!”
The latter comment—essentially expressing disappointment that the woman did not fall—was particularly disturbing to many viewers.
Bagotsay later described how the experience left her and her friends shaken and humiliated. One member of the other group eventually apologized and reportedly explained that the comments were meant as a joke.
But sometimes, calling something a joke doesn’t erase the hurt it caused.
“Joke Lang” Doesn’t Always Make It Okay
This is perhaps one of the biggest lessons from the incident.
There is a tendency among Filipinos to dismiss offensive behavior as “nagjo-joke lang” or “biro lang.”
But humor has a boundary.
If the person you’re supposedly joking with is uncomfortable, frightened, humiliated or crying, then perhaps it stopped being a joke a long time ago.
You don’t get to decide whether someone was hurt simply because you didn’t intend to hurt them.
Intent matters—but so does impact.
And this is especially important when you’re in a public place where everyone is simply trying to enjoy their vacation.
If the group felt that the four women were taking too long, there were countless respectful ways to communicate that.
They could have politely asked if they could go next.
They could have said, “Excuse me, could you please let us know when you’re finished?”
They could have simply waited.
Instead, according to the account shared publicly, the situation escalated into teasing and remarks that left the women feeling bullied.
And that is where basic courtesy should have prevailed.
Being Older Doesn’t Automatically Make Someone Right
Another part of the discussion that stood out was the issue of age.
In Filipino culture, we are taught from childhood to respect our elders.
And that value is important.
But respect should not mean that younger people have to tolerate humiliation simply because the person behaving badly happens to be older.
Respect is not supposed to be a one-way street.
Being older doesn’t give anyone a license to ridicule another person.
Being younger doesn’t mean you have to remain silent when someone crosses a line.
And being a tourist in another country doesn’t give anyone permission to treat fellow Filipinos—or anyone else—as inferior.
As Bagotsay herself emphasized in her account, respect should be mutual.
Why This Incident Hit a Nerve
Perhaps the reason this particular story spread so quickly is because many Filipinos can relate to the feeling of being judged by their own kababayan.
There is a familiar stereotype about Filipinos abroad: that sometimes we can be warm and welcoming toward foreigners while being unnecessarily critical toward fellow Filipinos.
Not every Filipino is like this, of course.
But the stereotype exists for a reason, and incidents like this inevitably bring the conversation back.
Why do we sometimes become more conscious of how we are perceived by foreigners than how we treat our own people?
Why can we be incredibly accommodating to a stranger but impatient with someone who speaks our language?
And why do some people seem to feel that being able to travel abroad gives them a higher social status?
A passport stamp doesn’t make anyone better than anyone else.
Neither does money.
Neither does age.
Neither does the number of countries you’ve visited.
At the end of the day, character is still character.
We Represent More Than Ourselves When We Travel
There is another important aspect to this story.
When Filipinos travel overseas, we inevitably carry a little piece of the Philippines with us.
That doesn’t mean every Filipino tourist has to behave perfectly.
It simply means that our actions can influence how other people perceive our countrymen.
Bagotsay captured this sentiment in her own message, saying:
“Bitbit natin ang pangalan ng bansa natin saan man tayo magpunta.”
We carry the name of our country wherever we go.
That’s why good behavior matters—not because we need to impress foreigners, but because basic decency should be part of being a decent human being regardless of where we are.
If you see another Filipino struggling abroad, help them.
If you see another Filipino taking a photo, give them their moment.
If you think someone is taking too long, ask politely.
And if you disagree with someone, you can communicate without humiliating them.
It really isn’t that difficult.
We Should Be a Safe Place for One Another
Perhaps the saddest part of this story is that the four women were thousands of miles away from home, experiencing what should have been one of the happiest memories of their lives.
Switzerland.
The Alps.
Lake Brienz.
A beautiful location they had dreamed of visiting.
And instead of remembering only the beauty of the place, they now also have to remember being mocked by fellow Filipinos.
That is the part we should think about.
We don’t know everything that happened between the two groups. The public account comes primarily from the women involved, and the other group has not publicly provided its own account, so it is important not to turn an online controversy into a trial where strangers are immediately condemned without knowing the complete circumstances.
But based on what has been publicly reported and shown, there is still a simple lesson that doesn’t require us to know every detail:
Don’t humiliate people for your own amusement.
Don’t make someone else’s vacation miserable because you’re impatient.
Don’t assume that someone deserves disrespect because they’re younger, taking photos, or simply doing something differently from you.
And most importantly, don’t forget that your kababayan is a human being before they are anything else.
Maybe the Real Lesson From Iseltwald Is Simple
The Iseltwald incident has sparked plenty of anger online.
Some people are calling it crab mentality. Others are criticizing the older tourists involved. Some have even used the incident to make sweeping judgments about Filipinos abroad.
But perhaps we should resist that temptation too.
Because saying “Filipinos are like this” simply replaces one form of stereotyping with another.
The better lesson is much simpler:
Some people behave badly. And when they do, we should call out the behavior—not condemn an entire nationality.
We can be proud Filipinos without pretending every Filipino is perfect.
We can defend our kababayan without automatically believing every detail of a viral story.
And we can acknowledge that someone may have been wrong without turning the internet into a mob.
Most importantly, we can choose to be kinder.
Because the truth is, traveling abroad can already be intimidating.
Sometimes, the person who makes you feel safe in a foreign country is another Filipino you happen to meet along the way.
Wouldn’t it be better if that were the experience more often?
Instead of being the kababayan who makes someone cry, be the kababayan who asks:
“Okay ka lang?”
Instead of laughing when someone stumbles, help them up.
Instead of making someone feel small, give them space.
And instead of saying “Biro lang,” perhaps we should learn to say:
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I hurt you.”
Because kindness costs nothing.
And wherever we go—whether it’s Switzerland, Japan, the Philippines, or anywhere else in the world—we should never forget that we are all capable of making someone’s day better.
Especially when that person is our own kababayan.
PADDYLAST INC. 