Philippine Blues

[stogie bear]

(ziggystardust @ Jun. 08 2007,10:03) The 2 tiered pricing scheme exists in Thailand too!

Good - thank heavens for it. It's a smart move.

I wish the spineless Brits would adopt it.

[Guest]

(SamplerDoc @ Jun. 08 2007,06:42) Well Guys,

This certainly seems as if its a bashing towards the Phil as a whole country. While I have never been there yet (but soon will be going with my soon to be wife), I find it hard to believe every single person is corupt. It does sound tho as if many are.

I can say that (soon to be from the Phil) Mrs Doc has said be careful that people don't try to rip me off or steal from me or kidnap me etc.....

She said there are some places to go that are safe, I think she means so long as I am with her.

Just remember the small bribes as you put it, make life easier and they are small. Its about 50 Pesos to the USD. Not too bad for express lines or saftey

manila only bad if you meat yore girl friend on the internet

and to note some 1 will try rip you off any ware in the world not just phili thai even us will rip you off some times depends on ware yore going so lets not try think all phili or thai or bad and never give some 1 money if its unfare rate i will never step down to some 1 bribe

[Guest]

r_white, I was married to a Filipina.

I have been to Manila more than 50 times.

I don't post BS.

Insert your preferred expletive directed at yourself here.

You clearly don't know the Philippines. I've been with my ex where she had to pay police, license bureau, tax bureau, passport office, etc.

Having lived in Asia for about 12 years now, I think I know about taxis and meters.

[Road Runner]

The 2 tiered pricing scheme exists in Thailand too!

(stogie bear @ Jun. 08 2007,06:57) I wish the spineless Brits would adopt it.

In the UK it should be multi tiered!

100% extra for most non-UK passport holders

200% extra for the French if they can't speak English  


RR.

[Guest]

(ziggystardust @ Jun. 08 2007,21:19) I don't post BS.

[Guest]

(sangabriel @ Jun. 08 2007,23:44)

(ziggystardust @ Jun. 08 2007,21:19) I don't post BS.

   

I am still wondering Sangrabiel if you have ever actually been to Asia let alone Thailand or the PI?

You are just some wnaker who sits at home on his keyword thinking he is full of wit yet you are just full of shit.

[Guest]

(ziggystardust @ Jun. 08 2007,21:19) r_white, I was married to a Filipina.

I have been to Manila more than 50 times.

I don't post BS.

Insert your preferred expletive directed at yourself here.

You clearly don't know the Philippines. I've been with my ex where she had to pay police, license bureau, tax bureau, passport office, etc.

Having lived in Asia for about 12 years now, I think I know about taxis and meters.

Either you're exaggerating or you must be sending out some serious negative vibes. I have lived in the PI - both in Manila and in northern Mindanao for several years and have never found myself having to bribe any officer for anything. I respect the laws even if other Filipinos don't. My wife and I have owned several businesses in Manila (Sucat and Cubao) and never had to bribe anyone. We just followed the law, paid our license fees and taxes. I also make it a habit not to stick out in a crowd (which can be difficult when you€™re 6,4 and 230 lbs). Even in my crazy whoring days I kept a low profile, never staggered down streets drunk, or made an ass out of myself. These are the kind of things the cops look for. I€™m not saying Pinoy cops are not corrupt €“ they are but so are the Thai, Taiwanese, and other Asian cops. Have you or you asawa ever thought about just saying €“ hinde? The law is on your side if you€™re not breaking it or not flaunting money around.

RW

[Groundhog]

I'm just back from Manila, and had a great time around the Ermita area. In truth I can't tell much difference between the corruption in Thailand and the PI (or Malaysia, or Indonesia, etc. etc.). I think the girls in PI are a bit less professional than Thailand (... everything is less professional IMHO).

At the govt level, though, I think PI has every place else beat (and that's a tall order in Asia)

... if there were no PI, Disney would have to create one just to fill the market niche

[donnnnnny]

AHHHHHH  this  thread  brings it all back to me.i first arrived in manila in1982,del pilar st  wonderfull place, but like any 3rd world country you have to be street wise. in those days  the good taxis were  called golden and everyone  who knew anything about manila got a golden taxi at the airport.The phils  was  allways one big hassel  from the moment you got off the plane until  the monent you left again.scams  and rip off  were everywhere, as were gangs of  nasty cunts waiting to rob or stab you.The angeles  trike riders were the worst cunts ofall.You lern fast and avoid the  wankers. we allways walked home in groups of  2  aussies and  the girls, never alone.
Thje bus service was called philipine rabbit and most of the drivers thought they were jack brabham.
travelked to many places in the pii cebu thousand islands mountai province to name a few
Last time i went to manila  and angeles was  back in 1987  just after the  people power revolution and marcos. manila was  a filthy  hole, but  boy were there some hot  ggs around  and at good prices
I always remember the local food  being absolute shit  cold and  taistless, no wonder ther hamburger took off over there.ya and as someone said the  local girls started to get  fat and horrid.
I was considering gong back for a few days in aug sept  but this  thread has reminded me off  how i used to hate the dammm place , and all the scams and  shit that go on.
Thailand is like a breath  of  fresh air  compared to   the pi, and the girls and lbs are i a different league
I remeber in 1987 walking down del pilar st lookig in all the bars  for a slim girl, could,nt find one, not even in the fire house  blue hawaiii or  bird cage,not one my friend and i  proceeded to  the swagman bar on  the next  street down and got  drunk and went to bed alone.
just my 2 bobs worth on the dump the philipines

[Guest]

(ozzie @ Jun. 09 2007,02:31) I am still wondering Sangrabiel if you have ever actually been to Asia let alone Thailand or the PI?

You are just some wnaker who sits at home on his keyword thinking he is full of wit yet you are just full of shit.

Somehow I bet that even if I was a permanent resident you would still think I was full of shit.

[Guest]

r_white, Thailand is corrupt as hell too, and truth is I like Philippines except for the unending tips, and minor corruption. Take that away, people are the funniest and happiest on earth.

I frankly cannot see how you haven't bribed. To bring my wife to Canada she needed a tax receipt. She never paid taxes. For a few hundred pesos, voila, tax receipt. She was trying to get a driver's license. She was told 1 year or 1 week, the difference being...few hundred pesos. In my last trip, I watched the taxi guy give money to the police and then the security guard at the airport, it wasn't like I was imagining it, he had a bag full of coins for just such things.

Anyhow, I'm glad you managed to avoid it, but all evidence (like international corruption charts) put Phil near the top of the world.

If they get over that, and the gov't starts doing something useful, it will be one of the best places in the world, but it's looking like that will take quite some time, as the pace of improvement is agonizingly slow.

[Stewart]

The definition of tip/bribe/corruption in a poor 3rd world country with no social net is very blurred.

From our western perspective, it feels like a bribe and everything is corrupt. From the Pi perspective, it is about eating or not eating that day in some cases.

When it becomes institutionalised, THEN you can clearly call it corruption, and that happens in every country in Asia (maybe not here in Spore)

Not black and white

[Stewart]

(dummy_plug @ Jun. 08 2007,11:48) Damn, the PI sounds so much more unattractive when you put it this way. With all the horror stories I've read, I don't recall ever seeing a positive story, I might as well forget going to the PI.

If anyone does not go to the Pi just because of a few negative stories on an internet forum, you are just crazy

I have only been there 10 times for 5-6 days at a time plus one long 6 week stay, so not an expert, and only ever had 1 problem - got on one of them tourist trike things in Ermita, and the guy took me somewhere and demanded another 200 pesos to take me back!!

It wasn't my fault......I didn't want to go on the damn thing, but the gg I was with promised me an extra special bj if I took her I am weak!!

Anyway, told the guy to fuck off and hailed a cab!

Some of the nicest people I have ever met out there, and as someone said, many of the girls are far less 'prfessional' than their thai counterparts....much more of a gfe and they speak English

[divertwo]

(ziggystardust @ Jun. 07 2007,17:03) The 2 tiered pricing scheme exists in Thailand too!

many expensive, tourist areas in the USA try to give locals a break too.....here in Hawaii as well as in a southeast coast tourist city where my parents live locals can save on certain entertainment events as well as hotels....also, these areas put big "sur" charges on tourist items.....rental cars, hotels, airport departures......items the locals usually do not use much........

[Guest]

(ziggystardust @ Jun. 09 2007,11:54) ...If they get over that, and the gov't starts doing something useful, it will be one of the best places in the world, but it's looking like that will take quite some time, as the pace of improvement is agonizingly slow.

Ziggy,

You hit the nail on the head. Before Marcos the PI had the second strongest economy behind Japan. After Marcos they had one weak president after another (with the exception of Ramos). GMA had the best opportunity to pull the country out of the economic state it's in but I don't think she's going to have enough time. She€™s had too many problems in her party not to mention opposition party politicians. The €œCrab Effect€ is ever present in Filipino politics. With all this being said the peso is very strong to the USD. I€™ve seen the dollar drop by more than 10 pesos in less than three years.

RW