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In the Western world most people would have drivers licence or proof of age card or passport. Can someone explain the ID system in the Philippines. Obviously most Filipinos won't have a passport or drivers licence. But what is the official formal ID? Is it unusual I get told by many girls they don't have ID? If they don't have it. How much does it cost for them to apply to get it (I would be prepared to fund it to remove any doubt)?
[QUOTE=MsAccount;2024613]In the Western world most people would have drivers licence or proof of age card or passport. Can someone explain the ID system in the Philippines. Obviously most Filipinos won't have a passport or drivers licence. But what is the official formal ID? Is it unusual I get told by many girls they don't have ID? If they don't have it. How much does it cost for them to apply to get it (I would be prepared to fund it to remove any doubt)?[/QUOTE]Yes in the western world it is easy and cheap to get an ID. It is hard for us westerners to comprehend another system, let alone to understand it.
In the Philippines as I understand there are many ID's like these but not limited to Postal, Barangay, School, Employer, Drivers license and birth certificate. Many are acceptable and many are not to some places, especially like Western Union, Cebuana and other money remittances businesses.
Most girls do not have ID because of the cost. Depending on the issuer the cost could be $3 or more. $3 may not sound like much to us lucky foreigners but $3 could feed the family for a few days. Thusly most will never afford the luxury to pay for an ID.
Some posters here think the girls are making a windfall at 1 k! 90% are always playing catch up with their money, paying on their credits and or 5/6 loans.
President Du30 said he would like to centralize one national ID system but I have not heard anything else about that.
[QUOTE=MsAccount;2024613]In the Western world most people would have drivers licence or proof of age card or passport. Can someone explain the ID system in the Philippines. Obviously most Filipinos won't have a passport or drivers licence. But what is the official formal ID? Is it unusual I get told by many girls they don't have ID? If they don't have it. How much does it cost for them to apply to get it (I would be prepared to fund it to remove any doubt)?[/QUOTE]What most pinays would have as a minimum is a postal ID (that's semi official, these days they talk about distributing an electronical one with biometrics as well), then you have various sorts of student visas, voters ID, drivers license SSS ID, NBI ID, PNP ID, etc etc. To get one ID you need to have this or that ID plus supporting documents (you have to read for each and one of them bcs its never the same for each ID). To get a passport you also need certain IDs and supporting documents. It is total chaos for me as an outsider so to stay sane I don't dive into this more.
[QUOTE=Vitaplex;2024736]What most pinays would have as a minimum is a postal ID (that's semi official, these days they talk about distributing an electronical one with biometrics as well), then you have various sorts of student visas, voters ID, drivers license SSS ID, NBI ID, PNP ID, etc etc. To get one ID you need to have this or that ID plus supporting documents (you have to read for each and one of them bcs its never the same for each ID). To get a passport you also need certain IDs and supporting documents. It is total chaos for me as an outsider so to stay sane I don't dive into this more.[/QUOTE]Remember, this is a country that "temporarily" ran out of photo, laminated driver's licenses about thee or four years ago, and still can't produce them; "temporarily" ran out of license plates about 5 years ago and still can't produce them; and "temporarily" ran out of automobile renewal stickers five years ago and can't replace them, though they still charge full price for all three. Given the aforementioned it should come as no surprise that the process for the issuance of any official document here is a lengthy, convoluted mess.
GE.
GE, I applied for a duplicate DL and waited a year. Finally I told them I'm leaving the country and I really need it please. So with my magic ball pen I scratched out a note on a piece of paper and they printed my new licence right there. (100p tip). God works in mysterious ways.
GE comments etc hold truth and I was this very morning talking about how easy it was to get IDs and official documents for whatever purpose they may serve back in my real world (most is fixed with your social security number, password, electronical keydevice and a computer). My pinoy co worker slammed his hand at the table and told us to listen (we did); he told about his daughter trying to get herself a SSS ID. She was told it would take 3 months. When 3 months were up she called for her missing ID and got this "sorry we can not find you in our system"crap. She had paid some money upfront ofcourse. She was told the receit was no longer valid. Then she had to apply again, pay and wait for another 3 months. I believe the story to be true, he was furious (her dad) so how long can people keep up with the mistreatment of its own people. Well I guess the elite get needed document fast without any hazzles. Its laughable for an outsider but I feel sorry for people stucked there.
[QUOTE=Sam14;2024965]GE, I applied for a duplicate DL and waited a year. Finally I told them I'm leaving the country and I really need it please. So with my magic ball pen I scratched out a note on a piece of paper and they printed my new licence right there. (100p tip). God works in mysterious ways.[/QUOTE]You wasted 100 p Sam.
It's not really magic.
All of us have been waiting for at least a year (me 14 months), but since mid-January you just need to rock up to the License agency (wherever LTO or an agency in a mall), show your "receipt" that verifies you've been waiting and then after around 30 minutes they will print your licence for you.
They have spare cards now; you just have to present yourself to collect it. You also need to be careful offering cash for services too. Be sure the agent you deal with is receptive. There are CCTVs everywhere now and some employees are very scared to get caught accepting bribes.
[QUOTE=Vitaplex;2024993] Then she had to apply again, pay and wait for another 3 months. I believe the story to be true, he was furious (her dad) so how long can people keep up with the mistreatment of its own people. Well I guess the elite get needed document fast without any hazzles. Its laughable for an outsider but I feel sorry for people stucked there.[/QUOTE]Thanks for all the feedback. In essence the answer is that the ID system in the Philippines is in chaos and I should not be surprised that most girls don't have formal ID. Many will have a university ID or employer ID but a lot of those don't have birth date on it. Just makes the whole goal of validating age more difficult. The more time I spend here the more I do feel sorry for people here as the system is against them.
[QUOTE=GoodEnough;2024927]Remember, this is a country that "temporarily" ran out of photo, laminated driver's licenses about thee or four years ago, and still can't produce them; "temporarily" ran out of license plates about 5 years ago and still can't produce them; and "temporarily" ran out of automobile renewal stickers five years ago and can't replace them, though they still charge full price for all three. Given the aforementioned it should come as no surprise that the process for the issuance of any official document here is a lengthy, convoluted mess.
GE.[/QUOTE]I managed to get my rego plates for my car in about 8 months and even the dealer was shocked.
My cuties get their DL depending on where they are, one has been waiting 18 months and is a cause of huge frustration, Cebu is a mess based on what I hear but then as GE careful payments can help if receptive.
I am in Cebu and I bought a motorcycle to travel around. I wanted to extend my visa from 30 days and I went to Cebu BI in J Mall in Mandaue. Very friendly stay issued me a 29 days extension and they suggested me to get a 6 months visa also to prevent problems in a case of an accident. But they have a rule one transaction per day. So, next day I went and they issued me a 6 month extension which now good until end of November.
Immigration office is very friendly and very little waiting period. It was a good service.
[QUOTE=Dg8787;2026429]Probably due to "contractulaztion"! The 4 year degreed employees are on 6 month contracts so employers don't have to pay them benefits. So the staff person is either coming or going at any given time.[/QUOTE]The good part about this for regular visitors is that if you get a hottie's number from a worker at any mall or fast food place, she'll probably be unemployed in a few months and more "openminded" about meeting. Some hustle and stay almost constantly employed, but many don't.
[QUOTE=MsAccount;2025105]Many will have a university ID or employer ID but a lot of those don't have birth date on it. Just makes the whole goal of validating age more difficult. The more time I spend here the more I do feel sorry for people here as the system is against them.[/QUOTE]Yeah and regarding validating age, if they can not show a proper ID aka SSS-, Voters ID and / or passport, if you are in doubt, don't be and let her sail away. Student and employer IDs are easy faked (can even be bought for a couple of 100's php). Don't go that route. I know I am probably paranoid but for the love of whoever I don't want to end in a Phil slammer.
[QUOTE=VernierCaliper;2026599]Yeah and regarding validating age, if they can not show a proper ID aka SSS-, Voters ID and / or passport, if you are in doubt, don't be and let her sail away. Student and employer IDs are easy faked (can even be bought for a couple of 100's php). Don't go that route. I know I am probably paranoid but for the love of whoever I don't want to end in a Phil slammer.[/QUOTE]Postal IDs are easily faked and have the age on it. A few shops in Manila (Greenhills) are known to do this.
[QUOTE=BrainDrain;2019323]The other thing to notice is the amount of capital that was invested to return bugger all. So often we can sit in these places and see no one else. The money has been spent on the building, it cannot be recovered, it cannot leave the country. The business will survive because of the low cost of OJT labor. The country is also filled with poorly maintained resorts.[/QUOTE]There is gold in them there hills if you know where to look. The key is getting into a niche market that is not glamorous but provides steady returns. Tourism oriented industries which cater to foreigners are very risky and vulnerable to both internal sociopolitical developments and external economic shocks. Too many foreigners are looking for fun and fortune in dodgy business endeavors such as monger bars, rub-and-tug shops, cyber-sex dens, and a variety of other harebrained schemes.
Any business that involves hiring locals is risky and the risks increase with the number of locals employed. More than a few foreign businessmen have met their end at the hands of disgruntled local employees or ex-employees. Local businessmen use contracted labor both to avoid paying benefits and to avoid having to sack employees who then seek revenge by blowing the business owner's brains out. A six-month contract keeps things much more pleasant as all employees know that they must leave at the end of 6 months upon being hired. Many of them try to leave on good terms in the hopes that they can cycle through the following year after spending 6 months at another job or freelancing.
A growing business opportunity exists in retailing clothing for plus-sized pinays. The girls are getting bigger and bigger every year, while most of the clothes on sale at conventional retail outlets and ukay-ukay stores remain largely aimed at the spinner and average size categories.
Based on data from the World Health Organization, the prevalence of overweight in the Philippines as of 2014 was close to 20 percent of the population and that of obesity by about 5 percent.
"In a study done in the Philippines, increasing urbanization with association to increasing Westernized food habits such as high fat diets, processed foods and consumption of refined carbohydrates; trade liberalization making available a wide variety of processed and fast foods; increased frequency of eating away from home; influence of mass media and sedentary lifestyles have been implicated in the rise of overweight and obesity," the report said.
[QUOTE=ChochaMonger;2027403] Based on data from the World Health Organization, the prevalence of overweight in the Philippines as of 2014 was close to 20 percent of the population and that of obesity by about 5 percent.[/QUOTE]The latest data in the US indicates over 71% overweight and 36% Obese. I know things have changed a lot in the Philippines (and Thailand!) over the last decade, but it is still worth it for me to fly half way around the world to escape a nation of fatties.