Manila

[QUOTE=LukeSkywalker;1327135]Of course MBC should consult its legal counsel re how Manila's vice busting mayor would view bald-headed old guys sucking on young, fresh pussies in the bar. .[/QUOTE]Municipal elections are scheduled for May 2013. Alfredo Lim, the current mayor, was responsible for pushing vice-like businesses out of the city during his earlier terms in the 90s. He has seemed a bit more moderated in his most recent two terms (2007-2010 and 2010-2013) , but he's also been responsible for some stupid actions, like wiping out all of the baywalk businesses, and some people fault him for the clumsy police handling of the Chinese tourist bus massacre. Some people also criticize him for failing to deal with flood drainage systems. He will turn 83 in December but intends to run for office again. (Sort of begs the image of an 83 year old Clint Eastwood carrying on an incoherent conversation with an empty chair.)

He will have stiffer competition this time around from Josesph Estrada, former President. Estrada was coerced into resigning as President when he got caught with his fingers in the illegal gambling cookie jar and was eventually prosecuted and found guilty of corruption charges. Gloria Arroyo, who had been his Vice President, replaced him and turned out to be even more corrupt than Estrada, eventually pardoned him. Estrada remains very popular with the masses, in part because as an actor he played numerous roles in which he came to the rescue of the poor and downtrodden, and the image stuck with Filipinos who couldn't separate his acting roles from his real-life persona. He's actually from a well-healed and influential Laguna Province family (real name Ejercito). He chain smokes, drinks a lot, loves to gamble, and has children by several different women. But he remains popular, and in Philippine politics personality and visibility are important, and political parties form and disassemble around major personalities and have little enduring stability around particular public policies.

Some informed people I talk to think Estrada will win. My hunch is that's good for mongers. Lim is a former police official who was famous for protecting Cory Aquino during one or more of the coup attempts against her, and he seems to still fancy himself a crusader. Of course, he takes his share of kickbacks too. Estrada, on the other hand, has lived a lifestyle that's much closer to people on this board. So as long as MBC and the other businesses grease his campaign and other coffers, life under Estrada (IMHO) is likely to be live-and-let-live.

It was the Japanese airline that would not let me on the plane so did not have any contact with phil immigration

Had I made it on and arrived in Manila with my passport the way it is no doubt the airline would have been fined.

Also.

I have extra pages put in last two passports and been in and out with no passport problems tons of times that includes the Phils so missing this item is probable.

My passport expires in March 2013 so why would I not go?

It just sucks to be watching the action again instead of being there.

I go on tues to see about renewing

Yes I had a retun ticket.

Had they not offered to not return my money I would have demanded my seat on the plane.

While waiting to be escorted out I just could not look at the Manila bound flight

I don't think I would have liked to be anywhere near JP Slicky after this happened! Not a good day. FWIW, my travel agent in Tokyo looks out for this. JP, you might want to make a complaint to your agent. It won't do you a damn bit of good, but maybe the next guy ends up having a better day than you did.

Oh, and I'm guessing your airline was NOT Philippine Airlines. Is that correct? I'm thinking PA would have let you board and then let you deal with immigration, which may have meant an exchange of money, which (I'm just saying!) explains the reason why they have such a ridiculous rule. X.

[QUOTE=Jp Slicky; 1327137]No WC1, I did not even make it on to the airplane thus not arrive in Phils.

The last two passports I have had, I needed to add extra pages. I have been in and out of many countries for mongering and non mongering purposes. I just never ever heard of this until yesterday when I tried to board. I would have taken care of the passport had I known this rule. I just do not understand why its a requirement and at 6 months too.

The person that should have nabbed me was at check in. So painful the feeling, I honestly did not want to look at the Manila bound airplane outside. I will apply for a new passport soon and hope for an Oct 5th depature and perhaps more Likely a Nov 22 departure.[/QUOTE]

Airline was Japan Air.

Even with PA I feel they would of yanked me there. PA Gate people run by japanese, and they follow the rules to the letter.

Take this. If you bought something in the store, and you were even one yen short, they will not give it to you.

The requirement to present a printout of your ticket out of the Philippines within 3 weeks of your date of arrival is the result of a nonsense policy. Not all tourists or business visitors have such a print out and I have seen quite a few people being refused checkin for a flight by Cebu Pacific and then having to find an internet cafe with a printer etc etc. And the immigration officers NEVER ask to see your ticket out. Only the airlines do this because they are paranoid that they will have to fork out for the ticket if person is rejected from the Philippines for not having an exit ticket.

This nonsense policy is yet another reason for business people and tourists not to come to the Philippines, no matter how much money the government spends on TV ads like "ITs more Fun in the Philippines." Foreign Direct Investment in Philippines is a fraction of what other countries in Asia (like Vietnam) are getting; as are tourist numbers when compared with THailand. Getting rid of this nonsense policy would not be a solution to these problems but it would be a start!

[QUOTE=Simian;1327309]The requirement to present a printout of your ticket out of the Philippines within 3 weeks of your date of arrival is the result of a nonsense policy. Not all tourists or business visitors have such a print out and I have seen quite a few people being refused checkin for a flight by Cebu Pacific and then having to find an internet cafe with a printer etc etc. And the immigration officers NEVER ask to see your ticket out. Only the airlines do this because they are paranoid that they will have to fork out for the ticket if person is rejected from the Philippines for not having an exit ticket.[/QUOTE]It is not only for the "ticket out" price.

I don't know about Philippines but other countries can charge the airline $2000-5000 USD if the passenger can not show to the immigration officer on arrival a ticket out of the country.

[QUOTE=Simian;1327309]The requirement to present a printout of your ticket out of the Philippines within 3 weeks of your date of arrival is the result of a nonsense policy. Not all tourists or business visitors have such a print out and I have seen quite a few people being refused checkin for a flight by Cebu Pacific and then having to find an internet cafe with a printer etc etc.[/QUOTE]I was asked by SEAIR (tiger) 4 my ticket out of phils in feb. I didn't have a print out but knew the date and the airline (Cebu Pac) and they were able to look it up. I found it strange because it was a rival airline and my destination was not SG either but there you go they can actually find you on the system. They wrote my details and the the details of my flight out on the back of the boarding pass and let me through.

[QUOTE=X Man;1327268]I don't think I would have liked to be anywhere near JP Slicky after this happened! Not a good day. FWIW, my travel agent in Tokyo looks out for this. JP, you might want to make a complaint to your agent. It won't do you a damn bit of good, but maybe the next guy ends up having a better day than you did.[/QUOTE]He might not use an agent.

[QUOTE=Simian;1327309]The requirement to present a printout of your ticket out of the Philippines within 3 weeks of your date of arrival is the result of a nonsense policy. Not all tourists or business visitors have such a print out and I have seen quite a few people being refused checkin for a flight by Cebu Pacific and then having to find an internet cafe with a printer etc etc.[/QUOTE]When departing the US for phils, I've had two different airlines in the last year question my onward travel itinerary. Also a gent in queue next to me was pulled aside for failing to have an onward itinerary within the 21-day limit (lets assume he was denied boarding).

[QUOTE=Simian;1327309]And the immigration officers NEVER ask to see your ticket out. Only the airlines do this because they are paranoid that they will have to fork out for the ticket if person is rejected from the Philippines for not having an exit ticket.[/QUOTE]Au contraire. I've been asked for my proof of onward travel previously (and recently) , and previously a guy in the que next to me was asked for his when he handed his passport to the Immigration lady upon arrival (he fished it out of his pocket).

An interesting discussion one year ago with an AC mama that I date, regarding some of the rules (that may seem silly to me) that limit us. Why the 21-day-only rule? Why the airline outbound ticket check? Etc. One of her explainations: 'You want to spend many weeks here? Maybe 1 month or 2 months? You think we want you here for whole two months? No. We want you to fly here spend money fly home fly here spend money fly home fly here spend money many times. Three trips this year stay few weeks, better than one trip stay two months. Please use Philippine Airlines hahaha. ' Being a business woman, she was thinking of the transportation industry, and she thinks a bit more advanced than your typical pinay (who can't tell you what island her province is located on). While I too would like to see the 21-day rule extended to 30 days (or more) , shorter stay times may mean more trips (or not, but that may be their thinking). In other words, while you see it to their advantage for letting you stay longer in phils (you will spend more on hotels and food and such, good for them) , they might not see it the same way that you do. They must be dead serious about this thing if they are hitting airlines with large fees.

[quote=westcoast1; 1327351]he might not use an agent.

an interesting discussion one year ago with an ac mama that i date, regarding some of the rules (that may seem silly to me) that limit us. why the 21-day-only rule?

this year i got an extended stay visit issued from a philippines consulate in the usa it's good for multiple stays of no more than 59 days each. i have to use this visa within a year of its issue date and then it expires. you can apply for one extended stay of 59 dafr $30. 00 us or multiple stays for $90. 00. i thought when i applied that i was getting three long stays for my $90. 00 but the visa simply says 'multiple' stays, so it could be more. you have to do the dance properly to get this visa. the form and its directions can be found on the philippine embassy websites, but the directions are not complete. not only that, i called the closest embassy to me (800 miles away) twice to clarify the directions to make sure the application was complete. bzzzt! no, it was not. here's what they don't make clear: 1) you send them a cashier's check for $30 or $90, your preference: 2) you send them a return envelope with postage that is certified mail, not just a regular return envelope; 3) and you send them your current passport. that last requirement gave me the willies. what if they lost it, or did not return it in time? trip down the drain and huge hassle getting a new passport and changing all reservations and tickets. i sent all of the documents to them three months before my trip. nothing happened for a month, so i started calling the embassy phone number. most of the time no one answered. it took a week to finally get through to someone in the visa section that spoke english well enough to be understood on our crummy cell phone system. that's when i found out about the cashier's check (not my personal check already sent) , the certified mail return envelope (versus the manila envelope with postage already sent) and my passport! i gulped about eight times before finally sending the package to them. would it find the right person? would the new package intersect with the application already sent? would they get the business done in time? much to my shock, the embassy began calling me daily to tell me about the progress of my application (received; complete; at so-and so-s desk; will be finished and mailed tomorrow; then calls every day to see if i had received my passport back). the service received and the speed were incredible, given my prior experience with phils bureaucracy. all seemed in order, with the shiny plastic extended multiple stay visa glued onto a page in my passport. it was only when i was on the plane to manila that i noticed that my passport number had been copied onto the extended stay visa but was off by a digit. it didn't seem to matter when i cleared immigration in manila.

anyway, long story to fill you in on the pitfalls and rewards of this program. for 90 bucks i think it's a bargain. my first use of this visa was only 29 days, not 59, but the trip was way more enjoyable without that 21 day pressure to get business done and get out.

[quote=mrhombre; 1327363]this year i got an extended stay visit issued from a philippines consulate in the usa it's good for multiple stays of no more than 59 days each. i have to use this visa within a year of its issue date and then it expires. snip.

nothing happened for a month, so i started calling the embassy phone number. most of the time no one answered. it took a week to finally get through to someone in the visa section that spoke english well enough to be understood on our crummy cell phone system. that's when i found out about the cashier's check (not my personal check already sent) , the certified mail return envelope (versus the manila envelope with postage already sent) and my passport! i gulped about eight times before finally sending the package to them. would it find the right person? would the new package intersect with the application already sent? would they get the business done in time? much to my shock, the embassy began calling me daily to tell me about the progress of my application (received; complete; at so-and so-s desk; will be finished and mailed tomorrow; then calls every day to see if i had received my passport back). the service received and the speed were incredible, given my prior experience with phils bureaucracy. all seemed in order, with the shiny plastic extended multiple stay visa glued onto a page in my passport. it was only when i was on the plane to manila that i noticed that my passport number had been copied onto the extended stay visa but was off by a digit. it didn't seem to matter when i cleared immigration in manila.

anyway, long story to fill you in on the pitfalls and rewards of this program. for 90 bucks i think it's a bargain. my first use of this visa was only 29 days, not 59, but the trip was way more enjoyable without that 21 day pressure to get business done and get out.[/quote]i, too applied for an extended visa. i, too gulped when sending my passport to a pilipine embassy. i thought the directions were clear on the application directions about the cashier's check or postal money order. i used ups to send the app, passport, check, and return envelope; and i sent it round-trip. i was able to follow its tracking with the ups number. here's how stunningly well it went: the filipine embassy processed my visa and had it outbound from within 24 hours of receipt (via ups tracking). that means it arrived wednesday morning, and they were done with it by wednesday afternoon and had it ready for ups pickup the next morning.

as an aside, i got the questioning about my length of stay from my airline when checking in at lax: "sir your itinerary shows longer than 21 days. do you have a visa? this could be a problem." i showed him the visa in the passport. another gent in the line next to me was starting to have an argument with the checkin-agent about a similar thing, and he was asked to step aside and a supervisor walked away with the gent. also when i got to manila i handed the passport and itinerary to the immigration lady, and before she even swiped the passport, she looked at my itinerary and began to tell me i was staying longer than 21 days, blah blah. i pointed her to the visa in the passport. she swiped it and told me to have a good trip, with a smile. sometimes things do work right.

costs: $30 app fee. $21 ups. also you must include two passport-sized pics. notary needed on signature line, free thru my trabajo. about $60 total.

[QUOTE=Westcoast1; 1327351]Au contraire. I've been asked for my proof of onward travel previously (and recently) , and previously a guy in the que next to me was asked for his when he handed his passport to the Immigration lady upon arrival (he fished it out of his pocket).[/QUOTE]This has been discussed on another thread in the PI forum but the Philippines is the only country I travel to (and I fly a lot) that asks for this. It is stupid and as someone pointed out earlier that the e ticket system is supposed to save costs except in this country.

I have recently seen a young couple asked for the outbound ticket (from PI) when arriving on Cebu Pacific from an overseas destination. They did not have it as coming from Europe (the couple that is) it was an e ticket they had bought online and the guy rightly, IMHO, pointed this out to the immigration guy saying "why must I have a hard copy as I have an e ticket". I was not in the queue long enough to see what happended to the couple.

It is annoyinmg, it is ridiculous and the continued lack of a 30 day visa (coupled with the over active NGOs) may make some look to Thailand etc.

I was asked for my outbound ticket by Emirates (for the first time recently) and I was truly stunned. So was the cutie behind the desk who smiled and said this was "the Philippine government not the airline asking as I can see your return flight in the system". So I always have a print out for the Philippines (nowhere else)

They really know how to welcome tourists to the Philippines.

If I'm staying longer than 21 days, its always an excuse to run up to AC and have an agency handle it. GF hasn't caught onto my other motives for those trips.

Hahaha. We know its all stupid. BUT I would never ever take a chance between hell and paradise when all between them is a piece of paper. Our knowledge, our intelligence, our sanity, our whole way of life is put to question in these occasions BUT why take a risk. Traveling 10, 000 miles to paradise just so that they can find an excuse to send us back home to hell. 'because you did not had a piece of paper.

I have learned a hard lesson. JUST COMPLY. Never ever argue with an Immigration officer. Always smile, obey, even if you knew its stupid. The gate to heaven through hell is always difficult.

On my last visit, I was pulled over and I was lucky I had all the papers. Hotel voucher, return ticket, visa under 21 days, old expired passport visa stamps, my work experience, my credit card details, my six months bank statement, my identity documents, my reference in Philippines and I showed them one by one. All for 10 day tourist visa. And I was surrounded by two immigration officers who asked senseless questions even before I landed in the immigration counter. They just pulled me over out of 100 people. I was the unlucky one that day.

THEY JUST NEED PAPERS. I doubt. If they even read through it. Just show them bunch of papers and they will be happy.

I wouldn't care if they threw me out. If I was in for work or meeting or conference in Philippines. 'because my mood would be already gloomy, but if they do this on my vacation. I would hate it. Besides. Once you get laid. All is forgotten. So its all worth it. . :0)

[QUOTE=Wicked Roger; 1327444]This has been discussed on another thread in the PI forum but the Philippines is the only country I travel to (and I fly a lot) that asks for this. It is stupid and as someone pointed out earlier that the e ticket system is supposed to save costs except in this country.

I have recently seen a young couple asked for the outbound ticket (from PI) when arriving on Cebu Pacific from an overseas destination. They did not have it as coming from Europe (the couple that is) it was an e ticket they had bought online and the guy rightly, IMHO, pointed this out to the immigration guy saying "why must I have a hard copy as I have an e ticket". I was not in the queue long enough to see what happended to the couple.

It is annoyinmg, it is ridiculous and the continued lack of a 30 day visa (coupled with the over active NGOs) may make some look to Thailand etc.

I was asked for my outbound ticket by Emirates (for the first time recently) and I was truly stunned. So was the cutie behind the desk who smiled and said this was "the Philippine government not the airline asking as I can see your return flight in the system". So I always have a print out for the Philippines (nowhere else)

They really know how to welcome tourists to the Philippines.[/QUOTE]To Wicked roger.

I go to PI 2 time a yr the last 10 yr only ask to show onward ticket once, Indoneasia government also request you to have onward ticket and I was in Hong kong last yr on a flight to Jarkata cathay pacific I must have a onward ticket before I can board the flight.

Fast Eddie 48

[QUOTE=Starchild2012; 1327532]On my last visit, I was pulled over and I was lucky I had all the papers. Hotel voucher, return ticket, visa under 21 days, old expired passport visa stamps, my work experience, my credit card details, my six months bank statement, my identity documents, my reference in Philippines and I showed them one by one. All for 10 day tourist visa. And I was surrounded by two immigration officers who asked senseless questions even before I landed in the immigration counter. They just pulled me over out of 100 people. I was the unlucky one that day.

THEY JUST NEED PAPERS. I doubt. If they even read through it. Just show them bunch of papers and they will be happy.

:0) [/QUOTE]SC.

Methinks you are getting a tad paranoid.

Who pulled you over before immigration and why show all that stuff. If you are legitimate visitor they may ask for the ticket home (hard copy) and of course a valid passport, but the rest? I am doubtful IMHO as I have been through NAIA a lot and never seen that.

I have seen an Indain sub continent guy in the 59 day visa office who had been previously banned and was wondering why he was not being allowed in but that is all.

Just saying this sounds so odd and seems that you brought all the papers in anticipation of being given the full search etc. So maybe you draw attention to yourself somehow.