By SCMP’s Asia desk
A Canadian travel insurance comparison firm has issued a formal apology and withdrawn a controversial ranking that labelled the Philippines as the least safe country in the world – a designation that provoked sharp condemnation from the Philippine government and tourism industry.
HelloSafe, which had published its “2025 Safety Index” in early June, scored the Philippines 82.32 – placing it at the bottom of a list measuring safety through indicators such as natural disasters, healthcare, societal…