General Info

[QUOTE=MauiDude; 1289617]There is a class that a filipina can take to get a stamp and ceritificate on her passport.

The information is on internet.

Its the office of filipinos overseas or something like that.

People I know are taking the class and then less problems with immigration.

Office of oversea filipinos?[/QUOTE]MD,

There are two main categories for filipinas-filipinos that wish to leave the Phillippines. One is mainly for OFW long-term contract workers, and one is mainly for short term travellers and those that will leave the Philippines on finace and spousal visas, immigrant visas, shorter term OFW visa, student visas.

The agency that deals mainly with OFW long-term contract workers is the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). It's run by the Republic of the Philippines Department of Labor and Employment. They require all OFW's to take there 4day Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS).

The second agency is the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). They require all finace and spousal visa applicants to attend there guidance and counseling session to obtain there Guidance and Counseling Certificate (GCC) and the CFO sticker. They can't leave the Philippines without the sticker. I think the session is one day long if I remember correct.

Also, some filipinas who are travelling alone to other destinations within SEA have been denied boarding and instructed to complete there GCC to obtain there CFO sticker. This is done to try and slow the flow of filipinas BI suspects are travelling for sexual purposes. It does NOT MATTER to BI or CFO if you know the filipina or not, if they suspect the filipina will travel outside the Philippines for the purposes of sex they can and will deny boarding to any filipina at any time even if they have the GCC and CFO sticker. As always YMMV.

[QUOTE=Stroker Ace88;1290297]Actually its just two small counters within the clothing bazar, one for cardloads and the other that sells phones and does repairs.[/QUOTE]Could that be The Maze, which is in front of McDonalds? Clothes booths and two CP shops there, first one with guys in charge and the second one with girls. I always buy my loads and CPs for the girls there.

[QUOTE=AAA Hunter;1289776]. As soon as I signed the AOS for the little girl, we were allowed to depart.[/QUOTE]Forgot to mention: for flights to 'job rich countries' (read: countries. Where Filipinos heading to can be harassed / milked / bullied) the AOS has to be issued by the embassy in the respective country and comes, pompously with a Red Ribbon, as proof of originality.

Well, Filipinos are known to make anything grandiose and then more to make is super official!

And somebody did tell me that such AOS, supposedly issued by the Embassy of Singapore, for example, can be purchased in Manila complete with the Red Ribbon! Welcome to Philippines.

From what I see, those primary target are those heading for jobs, to Singapore / Mid East, so they can be forced to engage an agency who can rip off a few months hard earned salary.

[QUOTE=Stroker Ace88;1290307]. This is done to try and slow the flow of filipinas BI suspects are travelling for sexual purposes. It does NOT MATTER to BI or CFO if you know the filipina or not, if they suspect the filipina will travel outside the Philippines for the purposes of sex they can and will deny boarding to any filipina at any time .[/QUOTE]My humble 2 cents says that the 'trafficking' ruse is only to extract money or force job seekers to engage one of the many employment agencies connected to the senators or congressmen or president's family.

Why do they assume that only girls heading to certain country are suspected of victims of trafficking? Why not all?

Well, do you know there are cases of such suggestions to people heading to Canada, heading back to Canada after their holiday? Explain that?

For tourists to Singapore, as long as they are on package tour, somebody has been taken care of.

For others, if they go through agencies, they are considered genuine. I. E as long as the candidate offers / commits upto 6 months salary and more for spurious charges. Including HIV test in one hour and all and more.

All others, for BI, are possible victims, including my fiance' who was asked to produce her bank statement and also leave letter. Until she threw tantrum and asked if BI is implying she is a prostitute, and if she being a med specialist has no respect and if BI sees her heading to Singapore to fxxk for money (her words.) considering she has her own assets, her own practice and own clinic and all. It is degrading to be treated like a working girl.

The BI guy had quoted an ancient law that states govt agents must bring along proof of leave and all. Till my fiance quipped that seems the Phil Govt is so terrified everybody will run away and never come back. And in effect it is communism / iron curtain at work.

No questions, she was allowed to depart. And ever since, when they never asked her for any AOS or whatever.

Same in Singapore, the Singapore govt looks at her passport, sees her and never has she been asked for even show money. Or even a return ticket. And at no time dd she even have to show my invite letter.

[QUOTE=Stroker Ace88;1290297]One is a cell phone store called JUNREX located on the second level Ayala mall near Timezone arcade and Sbarro pizza. They are authorized sales-repair shop and they do a good job. You might have to leave your phone over night. FYI There are several JUNREX locations around Cebu but not all do repairs. .[/QUOTE]With due respect Stroker. Not a good idea.

Never ever leave a phone, especially a valuable authentic brand phone with a store that does "repair" work like this. There is a heap of advice everywhere about how phones will be switched; parts stolen and replaced by imitations etc etc if you take your eye off them for a few minutes. It only takes a few minutes to unlock a phone if the guy or gal knows what they are doing. They should NOT need to keep it any longer than a few minutes.

I am not being paranoid or distrustful. It is just a simple fact. It may never have happened to you BUT you might have been lucky or had a common phone of little value.

There are small kiosks, stall, shops etc everywhere that will unlock phones for you while you wait and watch. I have had several unlocked here in Manila in a tiangge near my condo, but that was before I realised it is easier to just buy a brand new cheap Nokia for 888 php and not have anybody mess around with phones that may or may not be under warranty.

[QUOTE=Red Kilt; 1290364]With due respect Stroker. Not a good idea.

Never ever leave a phone, especially a valuable authentic brand phone with a store that does "repair" work like this. There is a heap of advice everywhere about how phones will be switched; parts stolen and replaced by imitations etc etc if you take your eye off them for a few minutes. It only takes a few minutes to unlock a phone if the guy or gal knows what they are doing. They should NOT need to keep it any longer than a few minutes.

I am not being paranoid or distrustful. It is just a simple fact. It may never have happened to you BUT you might have been lucky or had a common phone of little value.

There are small kiosks, stall, shops etc everywhere that will unlock phones for you while you wait and watch. I have had several unlocked here in Manila in a tiangge near my condo, but that was before I realised it is easier to just buy a brand new cheap Nokia for 888 php and not have anybody mess around with phones that may or may not be under warranty.[/QUOTE]Sounds good advice in Manila, I think stroker advice in Cebu is ok I know the shops he is talking about and would trust them, some of the better stores do not unlock on site , they need to send to the place that will do it, maze is not carbon market, BTW junrex has moved to 3 floor, not near timezone any more,

[QUOTE=Econo Tech;1290358]And in effect it is communism / iron curtain at work.[/QUOTE]I can't quite see the connection to communism. Perhaps you can explain.

[QUOTE=David_33;1290337]Could that be The Maze, which is in front of McDonalds? Clothes booths and two CP shops there, first one with guys in charge and the second one with girls. I always buy my loads and CPs for the girls there.[/QUOTE]It is David. And you can buy some very sexy clothes there for your cutie.

JUNREX is the one store I would recommend and I have visited and used it before so is 'safe' (as that can be in PI).

SM has some shops also but I tend to use that as it has replaced a phone forme (ie new) as it accepted the warranty.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1290438]I can't quite see the connection to communism. Perhaps you can explain.[/QUOTE]Simple: the govt is so terrified that if people leave to countries where they could find a job / settle down, they may never come back.

So do everything to make it hard and tough for people, especially the middle-class. From even leaving the country.

Take Singapore, if Singapore wasn't tough, with the 200, 000 filipinos, each of them may have got out 5 family member each and overnight, Philippines may be short of a million or more people missing. And most of them. Educated / talented / experienced.

There are even lecturers, engineers, accountants and more, who ended up here, on dependent pass, flipping burger or working as call center agents / waiters / cashiers / sundry job workers. Can't blame 'them considering that here they make more than 1, 800 S$ vs almost half that back home for a better job.

As per last count, officially there was 190, 000 filipinos in Singapore, excluding those on dependant pass, or other forms of Long Term Pass. An a bright estimate says about 400, 000 are here registered as working and otherwise.

[QUOTE=David_33;1290337]Could that be The Maze, which is in front of McDonalds? Clothes booths and two CP shops there, first one with guys in charge and the second one with girls. I always buy my loads and CPs for the girls there.[/QUOTE]D33,

Yes it's The Maze. I drew a blank on the store name. Thanks. I too buy my card loads there from time to time.

[QUOTE=Frenzy3;1290368]Sounds good advice in Manila, I think stroker advice in Cebu is ok I know the shops he is talking about and would trust them, some of the better stores do not unlock on site , they need to send to the place that will do it, maze is not carbon market, BTW junrex has moved to 3 floor, not near timezone any more,[/QUOTE]F3,

I have bought cell phones from Junrex. Decent prices. I agree, Junrex is one of the better repair-retail cell places in Cebu. Thanks for the update on the new location.

[QUOTE=Wicked Roger; 1290529]It is David. And you can buy some very sexy clothes there for your cutie.

JUNREX is the one store I would recommend and I have visited and used it before so is 'safe' (as that can be in PI).

SM has some shops also but I tend to use that as it has replaced a phone forme (ie new) as it accepted the warranty.[/QUOTE]WR,

Agreed, Maze does have some sexy clothes with reasonable prices. Great to buy your babe a sexy dress and complete the look with a nice pair of shoes from SoFab all for around 2k.

[QUOTE=Red Kilt; 1290364]With due respect Stroker. Not a good idea.

Never ever leave a phone, especially a valuable authentic brand phone with a store that does "repair" work like this. There is a heap of advice everywhere about how phones will be switched; parts stolen and replaced by imitations etc etc if you take your eye off them for a few minutes. It only takes a few minutes to unlock a phone if the guy or gal knows what they are doing. They should NOT need to keep it any longer than a few minutes.

I am not being paranoid or distrustful. It is just a simple fact. It may never have happened to you BUT you might have been lucky or had a common phone of little value.

There are small kiosks, stall, shops etc everywhere that will unlock phones for you while you wait and watch. I have had several unlocked here in Manila in a tiangge near my condo, but that was before I realised it is easier to just buy a brand new cheap Nokia for 888 php and not have anybody mess around with phones that may or may not be under warranty.[/QUOTE]RK,

I agree with you. Leaving a valuable cell phone with a repair shop anywhere in the Philippines usually results in exactly what you describe. That's why I use a simple older Nokia I bought years ago at Junrex for use within the Philippines. If my older nokia (common phone of little value LOL) breaks or has to be repaired again I will sell it in Colon and buy a new one at Junrex for 888-1800p depending on the options as long as it's an original nokia and not a China phone.

[QUOTE=Econo Tech;1290689]Simple: the govt is so terrified that if people leave to countries where they could find a job / settle down, they may never come back.[/QUOTE]The conditions as you lay them out are an oppressive and controlling government and economy in a shambles. But those conditions have also existed under authoritarian dictatorships, such as under Marcos or Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT in Taiwan. Those regimes could hardly have been characterized as communism. Perhaps you're conceiving of similarities to present day North Korea; but the Philippines is a far cry from North Korea.

The history of the Philippines from early Spanish colonial times through the American colonial period and right up to the present has involved a system of governmental and land ownership institutions designed to extract benefits for a small group of elite families at the expense of the masses. That is not communism.

Philippine regimes under American colonial rule, during Marcos' regime, and under the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo exerted substantial military resources to try to stamp out communist rebels known loosely as the New People's Army (and seen as a threat to the elite status quo) , especially in mountainous areas of Luzon, Samar, and Leyte. The NPA is hardly in control of the Philippines. It seems a bit odd to equate the government of the Philippines with communism.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1290748]Philippine regimes under American colonial rule, during Marcos' regime, and under the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo exerted substantial military resources to try to stamp out communist rebels known loosely as the New People's Army (and seen as a threat to the elite status quo) , especially in mountainous areas of Luzon, Samar, and Leyte. The NPA is hardly in control of the Philippines. It seems a bit odd to equate the government of the Philippines with communism.[/QUOTE]There is people thinking a regime or dictatorialship belongs only to communism, so the equation is quite simple. All extremes are no good. A lot has also to do how a philosophy (such as communism, for sake of argument) is then made real or enforced. I would not say that the past soviet regime (cold war times) were a true expression of communism (people's power to summarize). Was merely a dictatorialship. Today's Putin regime is not much better. He issuing the same means that he used when he was at the helm of the KGB. The typical expression of the dictatorialship at that time. Fact is that they described themselves as communist to justify their actions. But I digress too much and I stop.

[QUOTE=Econo Tech;1290689]Simple: the govt is so terrified that if people leave to countries where they could find a job / settle down, they may never come back.[/QUOTE]I think this is a fairly blatant misinterpretation of the government's point of view. The fact is that the government strongly supports the export of labor. It's the second largest source of foreign exchange that the country has, and accounts for double digits of the Philippine' GDP. The prior president called the OFWs "heros." Without the overseas workers this economy would implode more quickly than a deflating balloon, and the government, such as it is, is well aware of that fact.

This is a country that manufactures and exports nothing of value aside from fish, fruits and vegetables. It invents nothing, contributes nothing much to global trade, and year by year slips inexorably further toward the bottom of ASEAN economies.

The fact is that the government doesn't want the OFWs back. It wants them to continue to send remittances that support the rest of the country.

GE

[QUOTE=GoodEnough; 1290796]. <SNIP

The fact is that the government doesn't want the OFWs back. It wants them to continue to send remittances that support the rest of the country.

GE[/QUOTE]GE is correct.

What's more, they encourage qualified professionals to go off and work as OFWs too because they get higher salaries and so send back more remittances.

Never mind that this creates a "brain drain" with the exodus of the very people the community can least afford to lose.

I have been dating a very attractive Filipina that is what I'd consider crazy and hot tempered. She has been known to physically fight me, throw things at me, curse and just general difficult out of control behavior. A few minutes later think nothing happened. She also thinks of fighting is Forplay. I would think I had the only crazy one, but I have been reading on other websites men desribing very similar behavior from girls from Phil, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Is this common SE Asian behavior?

The second thing I've noticed is what I've seen called Narcissistic behavior. Everything is about them. Example is I could do 100 things for my GF and just try to get her to do one or two things. I asked her to teach her daughter English and even though my GF is fluent in Tagalog, Wari, and English, she's taught her nothing in 3 years. My GF has now graduated college, but lets her daughter stay ignorant. Excuses, excuses, excuses. I see Filipinas as not being able to grow in the least. I have other friends who have Filipina GFs and hear the same from them. Are they just lazy and inept.

I know there are some guys out there that live in SE Asia. Please reply if you know something more about SE Asian girls than just fucking them. Are there some well adjusted Filipinas out there?