Not-often-mentioned dangers and things to watch out

[tambok 320]

These dangers rarely if ever get mentioned anywhere so I must warn people here about them. I am not a lawyer so this is based on hearsay - nothing below is legal advice. Here we go:

1) In the Philippines, yelling at a person in public is considered a serious offense. Pretty much a criminal offense. You can get thrown in jail for yelling at someone at work. Or at your wife. What's more, if you are a foreigner, that Filipino you are yelling at can get you deported. There was a Korean who yelled at a Filipino caddy on a golf court. He got deported just for that. It's actually pretty easy to get deported for disturbing peace.

The same goes for insulting/ridiculing someone in public. For example, if someone snatches your gold chain, you cannot yell "Catch that thief!" You should yell- "Catch that man!"

Even if you are not in the Philippines, and have an altercation with some Filipino on FB or YM, they can just go and file a black list request, and you will not be allowed into the country. This is rare, but it's been known to happen.

Since incompetence, cheating, overcharging, bad food and bad service are endemic in the country, many expats lose their cool. I've yelled at people, too, but I was lucky. Some weren't. One needs to keep in mind that the Philippines is, basically, a Hindu country acting Catholic.

The Malay culture dictates that you be tolerant to other people and not get mad if they make mistakes. This is partly the reason why mistakes are so pervasive. They forget things, they do things wrong, they omit and delay things. All the freaking time! And other Filipinos just accept it with a tolerant smile. You should, too.

Criticism of or correcting people in front of others may cause them to hate you and want to harm you. This is why they all gossip behind one's back.

2) Freedom of speech is iffy. Some people get away with it, some don't. People got killed for writing an article criticizing some official. Some got sued and are still in courts, and will have a case pending against them for years. Foreigners got deported for writing some article in newspapers deemed as "ridicule of Filipinos". Don't get involved in local politics. Anecdotally speaking, some people did and got away with it, some did not. Some human rights activists were banned from entering the country and got turned away at the airport.

3) Some guys who sell cigarettes and chewing gum can "foist" marijuana on you ( shove it quickly into your hand) and then call a cop and say that you tried to sell it to them. A nightmare follows. At best it's a pay-off, at worst, you stay in jail.

4) Some girls who work in bars or do cyber online lie about their age and use their relatives' birth certificates. There's no mandatory photo ID in the Philippines, and a fake one is very easy to get. Just take a friend's birth certificate and your photo and pay some money, and presto- they have a fake ID.
This way you can get framed and be in deep shite if you decide to meet them for fun.

I've heard that the way to shake down some bar owners is for some well connected people to send girls to work in the bars with such fake IDs, and then raid the bars. The bars get closed until the owner pays huge "fines".

A common frame up also is like this: some girl who is of legal age goes to visit you at your hotel with a friend/sister who happens to be a minor. Her sister goes to the bathroom and gets naked. Then, cops storm in and arrest you- "You are corrupting a minor! 20 years in prison. Or pay us Php 100,000 and we'll leave you alone".

Online dating sites only allow 18 plus but some girls lie and put a fake age. Be mindful of that. Before you get any further in a relationship ask for some school or employment ID. Those will not be fake for the most time. A postal ID can be faked easily.

Even if the girl is legal, and not a bar girl, getting fresh with her, touching and slapping her rear, pawing, say, a waitress, will land you in jail just as easily as anywhere else in the West. If she complains, that is.

5) Do not shake hands with strange kids. The parents can accuse you of molestation. Do not buy them candy because the parents can accuse you of making them sick. In my neighborhood, all the people knew me and considered me a valued resident and a member of the community. So, I always bought candy for the neighbors' kids around, but I knew them all and always learned to ask the parents' permission first.

Just being alone in a room with a minor who is not your blood relative is a criminal offense. Even if it is your stepchild, you should apparently go and get a letter from the Department of Social Services. On Brit who was old was framed like that. The neighbor wanted to shake him down and sent in a 12 year old daughter to sweep his room. She then accused him of molestation and he was arrested, tried and sentenced to death. A lawyer from Australia flew in and defended him and got him acquitted.

Do not give money to kids coming up and begging when you are in a taxi ( or better never) and do not buy anything from them. You can be accused of "child endangerment".

5a) Giving money to beggars is apparently illegal, too. Just say "patawAd po" and keep walking. Do not yell at them. I don't know about giving food. I've always bought food for them and homeless kids, but you never know what they can accuse you of.

If anyone bothers you and wants you to buy something, and you don't want to be bothered, it should always be "patawad po" and a brisk walk past.

Do not become a famous private philanthropist who helps everyone and becomes too visible and gets to meet the officials, unless you are with some church or organization and work with those groups. Someone may get jealous that you get all this attention and fame and pay for someone to get you killed.

5b) It is not always safe to live in gated communities and sometimes there's less danger if you live in a barangay among the local populace. These will all know you and protect you. Living high off the hog in some community may expose you to danger. Some robbers may just bribe the guards and then come and rob/kill you. In that country becoming one of the masses pays off.

6) The "Get out of my office, you're fired!" can get you killed. This is very humiliating and they don't take kindly to being put down in public like that. A German boss who did that to his staff had a visitation by a motorcycle hit man and he's still dead.

7) There's no privacy act when it comes to becoming a suspect. TV crews and newspapers will swoop on you, and your face will be on the news and in press with your name and all. Even if you have not been convicted, and falsely accused. The whole country will know you.

The Philippine law enforcement as well as personal revenge are spotty and sporadic, but one never knows when they decide to throw the book at you or give you shite. Every time you allow for anything like the above to happen, you are taking a chance.

Having said all that, if you are a genuinely good person, not arrogant and you speak the local language well and build a reputation of being respectful and a member of the community, the people there will protect you and not harm you. But it takes time.

So be safe, and welcome to the Philippines!

Edited September 27, 2013 by Paul
removed external links to another forum.

[Paul 55,116]

Where, exactly, did this come from? 

I do have a question, where is the history involving these two cases: 
 

Just being alone in a room with a minor who is not your blood relative is a criminal offense. Even if it is your stepchild, you should apparently go and get a letter from the Department of Social Services. On Brit who was old was framed like that. The neighbor wanted to shake him down and sent in a 12 year old daughter to sweep his room. She then accused him of molestation and he was arrested, tried and sentenced to death. A lawyer from Australia flew in and defended him and got him acquitted.

 
 

6) The "Get out of my office, you're fired!" can get you killed. This is very humiliating and they don't take kindly to being put down in public like that. A German boss who did that to his staff had a visitation by a motorcycle hit man and he's still dead.

[SomeRandomGuy 6,596]

 

 

Having said all that, if you are a genuinely good person, not arrogant and you speak the local language well and build a reputation of being respectful and a member of the community, the people there will protect you and not harm you. But it takes time.

ha after everything you wrote here ( and lets be honest there is a whole lot more to right about all sorts of stuff.. like for instance you can be sued for imagined insults... yes that is right imagined) for u to say that scares the shit out of me...

 

Lately there has been a large anti-foreigner push in this country and it is not good for us.

This is not a country I would live in long term ( population is about to be 50% teenagers in the next few years)....

You also forgot to mention we have no rights here... none... diddly squat..... if u are hit by a local in your car... you are to blame..( we all know this happens, so do not tell me it doesn't)

No one here at all takes any responsibility for anything at all... ever.

A very small percentage of foreigners do bad things in this country.... most do nothing but good things... funny we never here about the good things.

Locals get jealous... very easily.. very quickly... over things we can never understand.

I had a mate that ran a water project... brought students to teach children after school activities and a whole bunch of other stuff for the local area all out of his pocket... yet the locals did not like him.... because he was an asshole????... no because he did not donate his old clothes to people in the barangy.

 

Oh and last and not least.... filipino's remember everything.... u might be living here for 15 years.... and all of a sudden someone tries to kill u for some insult or something u said in passing 14 years ago.....   

I could go on and on and on..........   but It is all here in these here forums......     are u sure u still want to live here?

[Paul 55,116]

To the O/P: You need to get permission from that forum, to have that information posted here. I just followed a link that was embedded in your post back to it. 

 

If / When they come a callin' and want this gone, it will be done. You copies this, word for word, from that forum. Please do not do that in the future, without posting that you have expressed written permission to do so. 

Oh, whomever originally wrote that, wrote it to apply to Tagalog land, not Cebu or elsewhere in the Visayas. "patawad po" is tagalog, no Cebuano. If you were to say that to a Cebuano, they may very well understand it. But, to be more respectful to them, speak in Cebuano.

[Knowdafish 1,772]

Not often mentioned dangers and things to watch out for in the Philippines

 

1) Giant cockroaches

2) Rats

3) Snakes

4) Loud neighbors

5) Loud chickens

6) Loud dogs

7) Loud dogs with fleas, rabies, and mange

8) Loud vehicles

9) Sea snakes

10) Spiders

11) Mosquitoes and dengue fever

12) "Don't drink the water"

13) Always stand when the PH national anthem is played and show respect or suffer the consequences

14) Beware of filipinas 

15) There are 114 national holidays where all businesses are closed. These days will always coincide with the times when you REALLY need to get something done. 

16) 24/7 Karaoke

17) Falling coconuts

18) The kano tax

19) Pickpockets

20) Laws not being enforced

21) Bribery

22) You MOST favorite food is not available here 

23) "Brownouts"

24) Typhoons

25) Landslides

26) Real estate and construction "woes"

27) The in-laws

28) The relatives

29) You want it when? 

30) 647 different species of ants

31) Floods

32) You will not be able to find a public restroom when you need one, and if you should luck out and find one, it will either be out of order, extremely dirty, smelly, or _______, and there will be no toilet paper. 

33) They are all after your money 

34) They are all after your money, but it takes forever to pay the simplest of bills 

35) All items for sale are often the junior-sized, or kids meal version

36) You will be whiter than most and taller than most 

37) The locals can be extremely inquisitive

38) Watch where you step (see #7)

39) It's almost always very hot and very humid

40) It never snows

41) There are no ski resorts here

42) Philippine dishes often contain hidden bones

43) Almost all trike drivers pee in public

44) "Hey Joe" 

45) That red-brown gravy really isn't gravy 

46) All work ceases when there is a fiesta within 20 miles

47) Internet speed is always "up to", but seldom is 

48) There are over 7,000 islands, but it isn't easy finding fish to catch

49) Local drivers - enough said

50) Traffic

51) Pollution

52) Banana ketchup 

53) 2XL is not really 2XL

54) Cheap Chinese made goods with no guarantee

55) Looks can be deceiving

56) "P", "Ph", or "F"

57) Mud

58) Lightning - I've had one "cousin" instantly BBQ'd already 

59) Termites

60) Cebu Pacific 

61) Balut

62) Inferior pillows

63) Midget-sized furniture

64) The exchange rate

65) Philippine T.V.

Edited September 27, 2013 by Knowdafish

[Denis 362]

 

 

Not often mentioned dangers and things to watch out for in the Philippines

 

what are you trying to say....?... 

[Knowdafish 1,772]

 

 

what are you trying to say....?... 

 

It's more fun in the Philippines! 

[Denis 362]

 

 

Some guys who sell cigarettes and chewing gum

 

so I shouldn't buy my Viagra from a street vendor...?...

[ThomsonJr 275]

In places such as Cebu, indeed, some Filipinos have memories like elephants. Many Filipinas and Filipinos remember stuff about me which I have forgotten a long time ago. Some Filipinos still know my name although I have long forgotten theirs. I think this is the island mentality... some people just don't have much stuff going on so they'll remember stuff that I simply can't remember because it wasn't important to me. This is something to think about. Becareful what you say, how you behave and with you hang out with, they'll remember that.

Also you should know that Filipinas and Filipinos gossip alot. The deeper you go in the provinces, the more gossip. They really don't care about the truth, the more gossip the more the stories change.

Edited September 27, 2013 by ThomsonJr

[tokyoman 535]

 

 

5a) Giving money to beggars is apparently illegal, too. Just say "patawAd po" and keep walking. Do not yell at them. I don't know about giving food. I've always bought food for them and homeless kids, but you never know what they can accuse you of.

 

Tourist police are eveywhere in Burgos St in Makati but I question their usefulness

 

What I hate is that they make no effort to STOP the same kid beggars from hassling foreigners and trying to get into their pockets

 

Most newbies will give them coins to get rid of them (illegal)  or yell at them or push them if they try to pickpocket (illegal)

 

 

 

hey I do feel sorry for them but a lot of them work for gangs 

[tambok 320]

Where, exactly, did this come from? 

 

I do have a question, where is the history involving these two cases: 

 

 

 

There was a book' Sentenced to Death" and it was at the National Book store on sale several years ago.  The first case was described in it. The second- happened to a friend of a friend.

[tambok 320]

To the O/P: You need to get permission from that forum, to have that information posted here. I just followed a link that was embedded in your post back to it. 

 

If / When they come a callin' and want this gone, it will be done. You copies this, word for word, from that forum. Please do not do that in the future, without posting that you have expressed written permission to do so. 

Oh, whomever originally wrote that, wrote it to apply to Tagalog land, not Cebu or elsewhere in the Visayas. "patawad po" is tagalog, no Cebuano. If you were to say that to a Cebuano, they may very well understand it. But, to be more respectful to them, speak in Cebuano.

I was the author and the one who posted it on that other forum. I just wrote it a couple of days ago.

 

Should I say "Pasayloa ku" in Cebuano? What should I say?

Edited September 27, 2013 by tambok

[smokey 22,071]

i say most of the stuff stated by the op only happens to tourist.... once living here you gain friends and connections ... 

[hyaku 2,920]

I find some of the comments in the OPs post very strange. The locals around here shout at each other in daily conversation. Even if they are a meter away from each other they are loud enough for the whole barangay to hear. Being insensitive enough to use speakers or mikes any any hour regardless of how it might iconvenience someone else is a national pastime. As for giving money that last boy I refused outside Robinson's waved 1000 me and told me to F off.

[sjp 316]

I find some of the comments in the OPs post very strange. The locals around here shout at each other in daily conversation. Even if they are a meter away from each other they are loud enough for the whole barangay to hear. Being insensitive enough to use speakers or mikes any any hour regardless of how it might iconvenience someone else is a national pastime. As for giving money that last boy I refused outside Robinson's waved 1000 me and told me to F off.

most of the laws in the Philippines are only enforced if they think they can get money out of you. Foreigner = money