The tragedy at Resorts World Manila underscores how much damage a deranged individual can do. Details are still emerging, but the attack seems to have been a botched robbery attempt by a mentally unstable person with unclear motives. The discovery of at least 35 bodies on the gaming floor, apparently suffocated in fires set by the marauding gunman, transforms the nightmare into a catastrophe. Investigators will tell the world more about what happened, plus, perhaps, why and how to best try to prevent it from happening again. Along with offering hugs and prayers, sincerest condolences to victims and their families and support to the survivors, let’s try to put the incident in perspective.

Resorts World Manila is one of the first Philippine casinos I ever visited, and I look in whenever I’m in town, checking out the gaming floor and maybe getting a bite to eat in the mall. I spent time at RW Manila most recently in March, taking my first tour of the property since 2013, including a walk around the gaming floor. A couple of nights earlier, a club in RW Manila had hosted a cocktail reception in connection with the ASEAN Gaming Summit. Afterward, I joined several other delegates for karaoke – you never know where you might find a story – at another club in the complex. In short, RW Manila is a multi-faceted property I know well.

Looking at the attack, it’s important recognize that it could have happened anywhere. If the motive was robbery – there’s ample reason for skepticism about claims linking the attack to terrorism – casinos are obvious targets, especially outside normal banking or shopping hours. They’re generally open 24 hours a day and have plenty of cash.

Among major casino destinations in Asia, the Philippines is the place where a violent criminal incident was most likely to occur. You can argue that bigger crimes take place behind closed doors in Singapore and Hong Kong (or Manila), and friends who live in Manila insist they feel safer there than many US cities, but the Philippine capital has more violent crime than typical for Asian capitals with casinos.

On the other hand, Manila has the most (visible) security measures of any Asian casino destination, designed to thwart violent attacks and other threats. Entering Resorts World Manila or any other Philippine integrated resort is no easy feat. If you approach by vehicle, its trunk is opened and checked by sniffer dog, along with inspections of the chassis and interior. At the casino entrance, as at any major hotel or shopping mall in Manila, your bag is searched or x-rayed, you walk through a metal detector and if it rings, you get patted down.

Sniffer dogs and metal detectors make some people feel unsafe. I’m frankly much more comfortable seeing reasonable security measures in evidence, indicating the property is paying attention to potential threats rather than pretending they don’t exist.

The Resorts World tragedy will heighten concerns about safety for visitors to the Philippines, fueling the perception that Manila is not a safe place to visit. In its wake, the Philippines has to tackle the issue head on, instead of pretending it doesn’t exist – or insisting that it shouldn’t.

It’s time for the government, the gaming industry and other tourism stakeholders to join hands, acknowledge concerns and demonstrate they are serious about addressing them. As always, they’ve got an ace in the hole, Philippine hospitality, born of a sincerity and warmth that, once sampled, make it hard not to come back for more.