Life in the Philippine
or
The Land Of Broken Dreams
Like anywhere in the world there are positives and
negatives attached to wherever you live. And in the Philippines there's a hell
of a lot of negatives which I will warn you about if you're contemplating
retiring out there. I lived in the country for over a year and made
quite a few English and American friends some of whom had described it as 'The
land of broken dreams'. Before I went I had no idea there were more negatives
than positives, much more than all my prior research could have told me.
The Pilipino people
Beware of the indigenous people especially the females, they are very
accomplished liars and anyone who is not a Pilipino is fair game.
The native people are very friendly and love to befriend and chat to us
'foreigners' (which is what all non-Pilipinos are referred to) and enjoy
helping us whenever they can. Their philosophy of life seems in many ways is to
live from day to day without any concern for the future. But the longer you
live there the more you begin to understand the camouflaged pretence behind all
this bonhomie. Basically it all boils down to the most common of all
denominators - money. Westerners have it and usually Pilipinos don't. So
basically they are after it and depending on how nicely they have been raised
influences how they get it.
There
are many tales and confessions about foreigners who have lost absolutely
everything. They went to the islands full of hope of retiring, marrying a
lovely Filipina and living happily ever after. Perhaps a small percentage do
but the majority most certainly don’t. I have heard plenty of horror stories
about foreigners who have lost all their hard-earned money. They marry, settle
down with a Filipina wife who secretly has a Filipino lover or husband and
before they know it the law which is heavily swayed on the side of the Pilipinos
gives all the foreigner's assets to the wife. I have heard these tales so many
times I have come to believe them. Not only that, for these are the luckier
ones, some foreigners have become victims to more psychopathic locals. I have
been reliably told of an Englishman who drank with Pilipino men for five long
years every evening, buying all the drinks, when one night they killed him for
a few pesos. The moral of the story is you can't trust them however friendly
they appear to be.
Then there is the noise. This is because the
locals do not like peace and quiet and is largely due to Pilipino men enjoying
watching and betting on two animals fighting to the death. So they breed
roosters and fighting dogs. In the UK roosters annoying crow at 5am and then
stop. There they crow all day and sometimes during the night. When I first
arrived in Lapu Lapu our close-by neighbour had eight cockerals who would all
crow loudly in unison for most of the day and often into the night. There is
also the barking dog syndrome where the animals are allowed, often encouraged,
to yap and bark all day. I have learnt Pilipinos enjoy loud noise and have
absolutely no concerns for upsetting neighbours. So apart from the
ear-shattering cockadoodle-dooing of roosters and barking dogs there is the
blaring repetitive music emanating from huge speakers into the early hours.
Some of my Filipino friends often appear tired when I saw them due to lack of
sleep from other selfish locals. But Pilipinos are very tolerant of their
inconsiderate countrymen although far less so of foreigners.
I have discovered another Pilipino trait of which my upbringing
disapproves and that is whatever you give to the poor isn't really appreciated,
it's expected. I recently spent about thirteen thousand pesos on taking a
female friend to her niece's wedding in the province (the birth place) and many
of her relatives on a day trip but got no acknowledgement of gratitude. I've
bought phones, tablets, air tickets, all sorts for a variety of female friends
all to the same degree. In an effort to find the right partner, someone who is
honest and has integrity, I have been out with nine females. One I paid for air
tickets and taxis from Manila, treated her like a queen, bought a tablet and
found out after I sent her off at the airport she had stolen 13,000 pesos. My
last girlfriend who I thought was ideal and we planned to marry and she
desperately wanted a child by me, also had a Pilipino boyfriend on the side as
I discovered from two of her relatives. I looked after her and her family very
well and her two children called me ‘Dad’. Amazingly there is no actual Pilipino
expression for 'thank you' and the word they rarely use, salamat, actually
originates from Arabia. Even the street beggars don’t thank you for your
donations and every time you pass children they will openly demand, ‘Give me
money’, whether they are street kids or not.
Accommodation
After Lapu Lapu I stayed for a year in a nicely landscaped compound in
Upper Labogon, Mandaue City. And herein lies the rub: If you enjoy the
sound of noisy barking dogs (there were four in the compound) and loud crowing
roosters this is the place for you. Also beware of the landlady, who any
foreigner who has stayed there will tell you is not trustworthy. She reneged on
a promise to contribute towards my monthly internet charge after I paid one
year's rent and two months security deposit in advance. She also deducted
amounts from the return of the deposit for non-existent problems, for example
there is an aircon downstairs for which I never had a remote controller but she
charged me 1,700 pesos for its loss, plus for damaged faucets which were not,
plus for cleaning a stained mattress which was already in this state when I
moved in, and she had lived in that apartment before me. Most Pilipino
landlords and landladies are not to be trusted.
Animal welfare
We
Westerners are invariably animal lovers so it was a culture shock for me when I
saw tiny kittens left to die in the sun, stray cats everywhere or abandoned
dogs scraping for survival with barely any fur left on their emaciated bodies.
Compassion for animals is not a usual Pilipino characteristic. So my soft
nature came to the fore and I always fed any strays with scraps in the hope
they'll survive at least another day. The compound where I lived was high up
with a view of a deep valley and mountains as a backdrop. A mother cat and her
three kittens had adopted me because I gave them rice mixed with leftovers or
sardines. When I awoke every morning they were waiting for me to open my front
door, their small whinges demanding breakfast. A tin of sardines is cheaper there
than a tin of cat food in the UK and yet the locals wouldn't dream of providing
this food source to stray felines. One of the kittens, a jet black runt of the
litter with a defective ear and was close to dying when I first moved in became
a healthy fit young cat able to fend for itself like the others and it reminded
me of a miniature panther. But it is not only animals that Pilipinos lack
compassion for. Out of the 102 million population there are approximately 220,000
street children prone to drug addiction, starvation and sexual exploitation.
They spend all day begging and I have never once seen a Pilipino put their
hands in their pockets to give a small amount so the kid can buy some rice to
stave off their hunger. A ninety-year old English friend of mine who
contributes half of his measly UK pension to a Filipino family every week told
me of another family who were starving he was unable to assist. So he went to
the local priest who smokes, drinks and has a nice house and car and plays golf
if he could help. Oh course came his reply. That’s good, said my friend. Yes,
said the priest, I’ll pray for them.
Driving/travelling
Although I have been driving for over forty years mostly in the UK but
sometimes in Europe and East Africa I never once considered driving in the
Philippines for one second. Motoring there is a hit and miss affair and I was
amazed I didn't see more accidents. There is no such thing as those silly speed
limits or rules of the road we have back home and the roads are inundated with
thousands of speeding motorcycles all intent on arriving at their destinations
in the quickest time possible. Rules of the road and courtesy are non-existent there
especially for pedestrians and I was always relieved when I was able to cross
the road in one piece without losing a limb or loss of life. The pedestrian
crossings are completely ignored by all and sundry and you have to wait for a
gap in the fast-moving traffic to scuttle across to the other side. A while
back I took an elderly English friend to a medical centre for a check-up where
we met a young man from Norway who had lost a leg in a motorbike accident. It
is not unusual for those types of accidents as many Pilipino motorcyclists have
had no proper training and drive like maniacs even speeding on the pavements.
Like most backward countries the authorities are corrupt so in the unlikely
event a motorist is stopped for an offence a bribe to the ineffective policeman
quickly sets the errant culprit back on the road.
Close to all the roads and highways there are high levels of pollution
which is a major problem. Concerned citizens, including myself, always wore a
mask to filter out the damaging exhaust discharges. By law every year every
vehicle has to pass an emissions test but a small bribe will get drivers
through so their diesel lorries can continue to belch out black smoke to
infiltrate unprotected lungs.
In the world of small people everything is reduced in size, and the
principles of health and safety haven't yet arrived in that part of Asia. So
unless I used taxis, which was only for luggage or difficult journeys, I used
jeepnies or tricycles. These modes of transport are basically designed for
midgets and although I am only five feet six inches tall, probably a below
average UK height, I still have small scars to show where I had banged my head
on numerous occasions getting in and out of these dangerous vehicles. Also,
because of the extremely cramped conditions, it always took a while for my
joints to return to normal after an uncomfortable journey.
Pilipino habits
It also took me a while to become accustomed to the uncivilised habits
of Pilipino males. Back home teenagers spit where they stand at bus stops but there
men of all ages loudly hawk and spit on the pavements. I often had to run the
gauntlet of spittle whilst at the same time dodging bikes, motorcycles or
vehicles driving inches from where I stood due to the sidewalks being part of
the road. Then there was the urinating. The men will relieve themselves
virtually anywhere by the side of the road with no attempt at privacy. So too
do the kids, they will pee in front of you where they stand. And the burping of
either gender when eating is neither disguised nor attempted to be covered up.
To watch some of my Pilipino friends eat is reminiscent of observing
a pig consuming its swill.
Shopping
Every supermarket, bank or any large outlet has armed guards at the
entrances who search every single piece of baggage and handbags. This would
have been reassuring if there were any concerns for armed robberies or
terrorism but there never were so this unnecessary procedure only served as an
inconvenience.
Education
Sadly the education is far below European or US standards even at private
schools. The state schools usually have classrooms of sixty-plus children. Even
'educated' people can't tell the difference between Americans or Europeans.
Basically, and it hurts me to say this, most of the people are educationally
substandard. Ask any foreigner and you will get the same answer.
Internet/communication
If communication is important to you don't go to the Philppines. There
are several internet providers and I have tried them all and each and every one
of them is utterly useless. The customer service staff are mindless, the
technical staff haven't got a clue and to see just how useless the providers
really are just pop into any office of PLDT, the biggest company, to voice your
concerns and the place is absolutely packed out with people each clutching a
ticket queuing number who have come to complain about the service. When I last
visited before refusing to pay my bill there were probably thirty or more
customers patiently waiting their turn.
Banking
The main bank is the Bank Of The Philippine Islands. They also have a
branch in London so I thought it would be a good idea to open up an account in
the UK, one over there, and then I could easily transfer money between the two.
Not so although I was told I could. And the internet website looks like it was
set up by a ten year old schoolboy and is definitely not user-friendly. This in
mainly due to the way a Pilipino mind works which is different to a Western
mind.
Immigration
The government is so corrupt that they will take your money under false
pretences. When I decided to emigrate I
went to the Pilipino embassy in London and paid for a three-month visa thinking
this would delay having to renew it less often. Upon arrival at Cebu airport’s
immigration this quarterly visa evaporated into only a thirty-day visa so the
money I had spent simply went into the unscrupulous governments’ coffers. If you are from the UK you are only allowed
thirty days which is free. You cannot use a three month visa even if you paid
for it but the embassy don’t tell you this. After being in the country for one
month you can apply for another one month, then three months, then six months.
However you have to leave the country every sixteen months unless married to a
Filipina. Most fly to Hong Kong or Singapore for a couple of days on a shopping
trip. If you leave the Philippines having been there for longer than six months
you have to obtain an exit visa which puts more unnecessary money into the
corrupt government pockets. On top of that, and this is the only one of the
many countries I have been to for which this applies, you have to pay to exit
the country, 750 pesos at the airport, otherwise you can’t leave.
After having laid out most of the negative aspects of life in the
Philippines for foreigners I will tell of the positive points. The cost of
living is low and the scenery in parts is beautiful. We went with friends on a
trip to the island of Borhol where the white sand, palm trees and warm ocean
welcomed us with open arms. And it was quiet too, no barking dogs, no roosters
and no pollution, not like Cebu.
But I wouldn't ever live in the Philippines again due to all the many
negatives.
Now I'm here in Gozo (Malta) and it is peaceful, no barking undisciplined
dogs, no roosters crowing all day and night, no scamming ladies, no beggars, no
street kids abandoned because their parents didn't give a monkey's about them,
no being woken at five am because the locals want to make some silly noise and
most important of all no thick people.
