General Info

[QUOTE=Denom]And this is exactly what happened. None get criminal charges, all charges lifted for his friends Puno and the like, only light "administrative" charges against Lim (read: nothing really, just for show), and only the smaller fishes (police official) get the blame on very general charges whereas specific charges against political allies (the real culprit) are ignored.

What else is new? The whole thing is a joke and a waste of time, with the IIRC recommendations basically ignored by the "President" after over-long delays. If I was Chinese from Hong Kong I would be steaming mad but I am not so let's just move on to the next mongering business while we still can...[/QUOTE]My 2 cents? If a country can vote Estrada as second place for Presidential election and let the marcos family be in the senate. Don't bother whining of fuming about it. Philippines is for Filipinos. Lesser mortals like us will never figure out what is in their head.

And as for Chinese fuming, the filipinos replied nicely by compiling a list of human rights violations by China and there you have it: It was sort of OK for the tourists to be killed, and worse. Donald Tsang only complicated the issue by not following 'protocol'

Next question please?

[QUOTE=Denom]And this is exactly what happened. None get criminal charges, all charges lifted for his friends Puno and the like, only light "administrative" charges against Lim (read: nothing really, just for show), and only the smaller fishes (police official) get the blame on very general charges whereas specific charges against political allies (the real culprit) are ignored.

What else is new? The whole thing is a joke and a waste of time, with the IIRC recommendations basically ignored by the "President" after over-long delays. If I was Chinese from Hong Kong I would be steaming mad but I am not so let's just move on to the next mongering business while we still can...[/QUOTE]

You were right Denom...As we discussed earlier, all the accused in the report will be praised and left free...its sad...another six years wasted again ...I don't think we will see any changes in the PH...it would be things as usual.....the thing is Marcos son is raising his voice and he could get a shot at presidency some time.

Well, being from a Third world country myself...i dont have high expectations anyways :) anywhere...things are more shitty back home...I would be happy in PH as long as there are filipinas and i have the money...these are the only two things that matters to me...:)

Some time ago a forum member suggested reading "Culture Shock Phlippines" by Alfredo and Grace Roces. I bought it on Amazon and have been reading it during this trip. It makes a lot of Filipino politics much clearer. The entire utang na loob or "personal favors" concept seems to be the basis for much of what happens here; be it how one votes, or getting a monthly stipend out of the foreign son in law.

[QUOTE=David_33]Some time ago a forum member suggested reading "Culture Shock Phlippines" by Alfredo and Grace Roces. I bought it on Amazon and have been reading it during this trip. It makes a lot of Filipino politics much clearer. The entire utang na loob or "personal favors" concept seems to be the basis for much of what happens here; be it how one votes, or getting a monthly stipend out of the foreign son in law.[/QUOTE]Yep, D_33, this is bedrock of the political/economic structure.

Down at the Barangay level, expect the chief to be the only one with the big house and the flashy SUV. He is the one who dispenses govt.

Largesse as he sees fit. In certain 'life or death' situations he's the one desperate families will turn to. Impoverished families will often have funeral expenses covered by the barangay chief. In return, absolute loyalty is expected.

So all down the line, from the apex to the base of the political structure, govt. Funds are dispensed as if they are the personal bankroll of each official. There seems to be little concept of government money being OUR money.

It's a lot like the fuedal system of the Middle Ages. Vassals all.

[QUOTE=Questor55]...................

Down at the Barangay level, expect the chief to be the only one with the big house and the flashy SUV. He is the one who dispenses govt. largesse as he sees fit. In certain 'life or death' situations he's the one desperate families will turn to. Impoverished families will often have funeral expenses covered by the barangay chief. In return, absolute loyalty is expected.
..................................[/QUOTE]

I think you need to spend a little time living in a barangay like I have before you say things like this that are totally misleading Q 55.
In all of the 3 barangays in which I have spent extended periods it is NOT the barangay captain with any money but more likely the local congressman/woman who has the "pork barrel" handout from the government. These are the people who can assist with the expenses that you mention

I have not yet ever seen a barangay captain with very much money at all.

[QUOTE=Starchild2012]Well, being from a Third world country myself...i dont have high expectations anyways :) anywhere...things are more shitty back home...I would be happy in PH as long as there are filipinas and i have the money...these are the only two things that matters to me...:)[/QUOTE]There are third world countries, and there are other third world countries.

Each country it's their own quirky stuff - like - could you compare african justice with arabian justice?

Yes, as long as there are filipinas, we should forget the rest.

[QUOTE=Econo Tech]There are third world countries, and there are other third world countries.

Each country it's their own quirky stuff - like - could you compare african justice with arabian justice?

Yes, as long as there are filipinas, we should forget the rest.[/QUOTE]

For those of us who live here, it's not so easy to forget the rest, as the rest affects several facets of our day-to-day lives.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough]For those of us who live here, it's not so easy to forget the rest, as the rest affects several facets of our day-to-day lives.[/QUOTE]Oops. I too got some connections up there, but my comments were in jest.

In my own opinion, of all South Asian countries, Philippines is a world apart. To be honest, like people getting killed and the killers getting pardoned, mutineers who by right should be court martialled excused, and known plunderers (Marcos Family and Estrada) enjoying the confidence of the 'forgiving' people. And when a Chinese gets killed, the response being "China has a bad human rights history, so, it is not a bad thing another Chinese killed, and when a Filipino gets death sentance for a murder proven beyond guilty or for other offence like drug smuggling. The whole nation demands mercy and clemency. And. Sympathy. And attack visitors from those countries, and then with too much of romantic books cook up some stories like the person was innocent, and was setup by the law enforcement authority. (I always wondered what a squeeky clean country like Singapore would gain by setting up arriving passengers with Drugs. Caught in their possession and how the Singapore Customs would be able to do such stunts.) and. When a prostitute was murdered in Singapore on a deal gone bad, first thing that comes out is "well, regardless, Singaporean have shown they are bunch of nasty people" and when the culprit is found to be another Filipino, the answer is "well, who knows what happened, poor guy. He maybe a murderer but he doesn't deserve the death sentance. "

Well, I could go on, but I know. It will never end.

Hence my writing. There was a bit of humour intended there. But. Well, I understand your pain. To a great extent.

Cheers

[QUOTE=GoodEnough]For those of us who live here, it's not so easy to forget the rest, as the rest affects several facets of our day-to-day lives.[/QUOTE]Rather I was trying to emulate PNoy - smile in the face of severe pain (as he did when he was visiting the scene of the HK hostage Massacre.

[QUOTE=Red Kilt]I think you need to spend a little time living in a barangay like I have before you say things like this that are totally misleading Q 55.
In all of the 3 barangays in which I have spent extended periods it is NOT the barangay captain with any money but more likely the local congressman/woman who has the "pork barrel" handout from the government. These are the people who can assist with the expenses that you mention

I have not yet ever seen a barangay captain with very much money at all.[/QUOTE]Overall I agree.

A barangay captain is the bottom of the food chain for public monies, and doubt they get to dip much.

At the municipal level, mayors hold the purse-strings.

My dentist in Dumagete is captain of the downtown barangay. He's well off by his own means.

One of the trike drivers I know is a captain. He works every shift.

As an overview, more than half of the federal budget is transfered to the provinces.

Much like canada's 'transfer payments' under confederation.

Historically under the spanish regime, the governors would traval to manila once a year to meet the 'black ship' carrying that year's spec in bullion.

They'd meet, set policy, and take their alotment of gold back to the province to mantain goverment for the comming year.

The americans saw the utility in the practice and its continued til today.

30+ provinces, 70 odd languages, and countless islands makes for decentralised budgetary autonomy.

That's a mouthful.

GL!

I've played some high stakes poker (well high stakes poker for the phils! I'm no Ivey or Negranu of course). And I've won 80, 000 pesos last night (in a single pot).

I don't think I'll be able to spent it all, as I book hotels online in order to get cheaper rates.

My problem is that apparently you're only allowed to leave the phils with 10; 000 pesos unless you got an authorization. Even though I never had my pockets searched, I clearly want to avoid problems with phils customs.

Can I change back this amount back to euro somewhere?

Perhaps I should open a bank account, but I remember some banks create problems for people without an addy in the phils and some other (hsbsc) as far I as I remember would request client to deposit 100K. Guess I should go play again LOL.

[QUOTE=Escort Fan]I've played some high stakes poker (well high stakes poker for the phils! I'm no Ivey or Negranu of course). And I've won 80, 000 pesos last night (in a single pot).

I don't think I'll be able to spent it all, as I book hotels online in order to get cheaper rates.

My problem is that apparently you're only allowed to leave the phils with 10; 000 pesos unless you got an authorization. Even though I never had my pockets searched, I clearly want to avoid problems with phils customs.

Can I change back this amount back to euro somewhere?

Perhaps I should open a bank account, but I remember some banks create problems for people without an addy in the phils and some other (hsbsc) as far I as I remember would request client to deposit 100K. Guess I should go play again LOL.[/QUOTE]

EF

You could leave in an envelope with my name on it and trust me I will give it my favourite charity :D

Or you could go to one of the local banks and ask

HSBC needs a 5,000 pesos deposit for certain accounts others less so give it a go. Issue is that it can take time to establish the account...hence my envelope idea....

Or give some to Red Kilt's charity to help underpriviledged kids in their education (see earlier FRs), good karma .....

No need to open a bank account, you wouldn't do that if you were changing Euros or Dollars into Pesos and the reverse is just the same. I have changed some of my excess Pesos back into my own currency before, just use one of the larger banks that has a foreign exchange counter. I don't know if there are any limits to the amount you can change, I have changed 10,000 before without any problem. All you need to have with you is your passport. The only problem you may encounter is that they do not have enough Euros in stock and you may have to wait a day or two for the money to be ordered
M

[QUOTE=Escort Fan]I've played some high stakes poker (well high stakes poker for the phils! I'm no Ivey or Negranu of course). And I've won 80, 000 pesos last night (in a single pot).

I don't think I'll be able to spent it all, as I book hotels online in order to get cheaper rates.

My problem is that apparently you're only allowed to leave the phils with 10; 000 pesos unless you got an authorization. Even though I never had my pockets searched, I clearly want to avoid problems with phils customs.

Can I change back this amount back to euro somewhere?

Perhaps I should open a bank account, but I remember some banks create problems for people without an addy in the phils and some other (hsbsc) as far I as I remember would request client to deposit 100K. Guess I should go play again LOL.[/QUOTE]Escort,

If you are planning to visit Manila again just open a account with HSBC, it is better to have peso than change it back to USD anyway the way the US dollar is dropping, all just spend it on p4p so you don't need to worry about it.

Fast Eddie 48

[QUOTE=Mortman]No need to open a bank account, you wouldn't do that if you were changing Euros or Dollars into Pesos and the reverse is just the same. I have changed some of my excess Pesos back into my own currency before, just use one of the larger banks that has a foreign exchange counter.

M[/QUOTE]Cool didn't knew pesos could be exchanged both ways. I change at those little malate vendors, they have the best rates, and I was always under the impression they exchanged one way €, £, Y, $ PHP and not vice versa.

Won another 30K last night. I'm not too sure about going to malate with 100K pesos in an fat enveloppe asking if the guy has 1, 600 EUROS in stock behind his crappy counter.:)

Anyway thanks for tip I'll try one of the larger bank in Makati.