Things To Do And Not Do While In The Philippines

[Mr Lee]

Another topic I saw within one of Inspectors posts, so maybe members can expand on it.

We can also start a simple what to do/not to do list for foreigners, and those that have laptops at bars at 4.30 AM, well...you would get robbed in most cities around the world if you are known as having money and in a rougher area. I dare anybody to even walk as a white man in the South Bronx at 4.30 AM...as Lars says, I can do that with any and all places around the world...pick out the negatives. Yes, a list of the do's and don't would be great...I believe Jim Sibbick (sp?) has been in the Philippines for 50 or so years, and living in downtown Cebu (I bet he has a cough)...guy should be able to provide a very detailed list for pinning on what to do, and not to..regarding safety. :thumbsup:

[softail]

As for the Do's side of things. I am going to say "do follow your gut instinct", if your gut dosn't feel right about something don't do it. I once ignored my gut and nearly got myself killed. I allowed the gal I was with at the time to talk me into being on a pretty nasty deserted Manila street in the early morning hours of maby 2AM, I got surronded by beggers, about 7 I would say and they wouldn't let me move . I got out alive but I learned my lesson, if it dosn't feel right it probably isn't the right thing to do. I'll spare you the long winded details.Doug

[Jim Sibbick]

I didn't notice the original article.I only recently had my 50th birthday party at Villa Terisita in Talisay City. So I haven't lived in Cebu City for 50 years.Here are some of my thoughtsNo matter what your thoughts are on any given situation, just grin and bear it.Never ever cause a Filipino to lose face.Treat ALL Filipinos and with respect ALL if the time.Don't make yourself a target and you are unlikely to become one.By that I mean, - Dress down, do not dress like you are worth a million dollars.- Don’t flash your cash- Do not text or talk on a mobile/cell phone while walking in the street because it can be easily snatched- Keep your valuables hidden. Do not have a necklace showing on the back or your neck that can easily be snatched- Do not wear a bum bag, fanny pack or any other type of bag around your middle that will identify you as a tourist. In fact do not carry any type of bag at all, in the streets, for any reason. If you must carry a bag, make sure there is nothing valuable inside such as cash or passport.- Keep your cash in front pockets that are zippered, velcro or buttoned. Keep large notes P200 and above separate from small notes P100 and below, This is because you will mostly be using P20 and P50 notes with the occasional P100 note but will rarely need the larger notes except for larger purchases. Then, any potential pick pocket will not know where on your person you main stash of cash is held.Regards: Jim

[Old55]

Words to live by…. Big Jim= "No matter what your thoughts are on any given situation, just grin and bear it.""Treat ALL Filipinos and with respect ALL if the time." :th_thbestpost:Once in Philippines slow down relax and enjoy it’s all good. If you treat Filipinos with courtesy and respect along with a smile you will get the same back ten fold.

[MikeB]

I am no expert on how to treat "ALL Filipinos" but I will share a recent experience.I live in a kind of family compound meaning all the buildings behind the gate are owned by family members, some live in them some rent them out, like mine. Last week I ordered a water delivery to my apt. The same water company that has been delivering here for years with no problem. It was, of course, hot as hell. The owner of the 1st house by the gate is an older woman who just returned from wherever. She sees herself as "keeper of the gate" and has a reputation among the residents as being mean and miserable. She refused to let the water delivery truck inside the gate, meaning they had to leave it outside on a narrow and dangerous street and wheel the water in a long distance then up a flight to my apt. When they told her they were delivering to the American like they always do she told them I don't care if it's Obama, you're not coming in. I went down there and told her in no uncertain terms that they would be coming in just as they always had. A discussion ensued about who do you think you are etc and bottom line is they brought the truck in and delivered the water just as they always had. I could have just grinned and bared it, hell it wasn't me unloading the truck on the street or hauling it in the hot sun but, for me at least, that wasn't the right thing to do in this situation. There are times when you have to stand up for yourself.

[Jake]

I am no expert on how to treat "ALL Filipinos" but I will share a recent experience.I live in a kind of family compound meaning all the buildings behind the gate are owned by family members, some live in them some rent them out, like mine. Last week I ordered a water delivery to my apt. The same water company that has been delivering here for years with no problem. It was, of course, hot as hell. The owner of the 1st house by the gate is an older woman who just returned from wherever. She sees herself as "keeper of the gate" and has a reputation among the residents as being mean and miserable. She refused to let the water delivery truck inside the gate, meaning they had to leave it outside on a narrow and dangerous street and wheel the water in a long distance then up a flight to my apt. When they told her they were delivering to the American like they always do she told them I don't care if it's Obama, you're not coming in. I went down there and told her in no uncertain terms that they would be coming in just as they always had. A discussion ensued about who do you think you are etc and bottom line is they brought the truck in and delivered the water just as they always had. I could have just grinned and bared it, hell it wasn't me unloading the truck on the street or hauling it in the hot sun but, for me at least, that wasn't the right thing to do in this situation. There are times when you have to stand up for yourself.

Well done MikeB! May I suggest that you also talk to the other family members about the situationin order to prevent "escalation". Remember, she lost "face" as the gate keeper. She may try to getyou back but I'm sure you're prepared for that as well......he, he.Respectfully -- Jake

[Mr Lee]

I am no expert on how to treat "ALL Filipinos" but I will share a recent experience.

I am no expert on how to treat others either, I just try to use the logic that would I wish them to do that to me if I was them. I always feel that two wrongs do not make a right, so if I feel the other person is wrong, should I stoop to their level.

I live in a kind of family compound meaning all the buildings behind the gate are owned by family members, some live in them some rent them out, like mine. Last week I ordered a water delivery to my apt. The same water company that has been delivering here for years with no problem. It was, of course, hot as hell. The owner of the 1st house by the gate is an older woman who just returned from wherever. She sees herself as "keeper of the gate" and has a reputation among the residents as being mean and miserable. She refused to let the water delivery truck inside the gate, meaning they had to leave it outside on a narrow and dangerous street and wheel the water in a long distance then up a flight to my apt. When they told her they were delivering to the American like they always do she told them I don't care if it's Obama, you're not coming in. I went down there and told her in no uncertain terms that they would be coming in just as they always had. A discussion ensued about who do you think you are etc and bottom line is they brought the truck in and delivered the water just as they always had. I could have just grinned and bared it, hell it wasn't me unloading the truck on the street or hauling it in the hot sun but, for me at least, that wasn't the right thing to do in this situation. There are times when you have to stand up for yourself.

Mike first of all I am not picking on you, I am going to pick on what you wrote, and what you wrote that you did.I happen to know where you were living because one of my friends used to live there and eventually moved out, and from what I had been told, the owners family occupies many of the homes and one of them is the grandmother, but I am not sure if she was the one you had this problem with or if that lady is family of the compound owner or not, but if she is older than you are, should you not show her some respect, regardless of whether she was wrong or what country you are in, and especially in the Philippines where elders are looked up to? How would you feel if someone ordered your grandmother around and made her lose face.Does an owner of a property not have more rights than a renter. I suspect that any time she is home that the truck might not be allowed in the property but since your truck got away with it all the times she was gone, does that make it OK for them to do once she got back. The guys who deliver water to our condo carry them a long way because the trucks are not allowed in much past the gate, so should I go down and tell the condo management that I do not want those poor men to carry my water so far, so they should be allowed to bring the truck right up to the building door. I think we all know many things do not make sense in the Philippines but one of the things I feel that makes the least sense is some of us coming over ordering the locals how we expect things done.So this woman just got back from a trip, possibly even from another country where the time zone was different, so therefore she may have been extra cranky and you feel it is OK to tell her in no uncertain terms what would be allowed in her country and possibly even her compound and in front of her home? I am sorry but I do not feel we should disrespect the locals and especially not disrespect our elders, but you obviously feel both is the correct thing to do.Mike I surely hope your apparent attitude does not end up getting you into a jam one of these days because if a person talked to my grandmother the way you seem to have spoken to her based on your written words, then they might have me to deal with, and I am not even Filipino.The term Ugly American comes to mind when I read statements such as above. Then many of us end up wondering why locals and many from other countries end up looking down on us. The one word in there which really stands out to me is ethnocentrism which means "The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture."added, standing up for ones rights can be done in many ways, maybe speaking to the owner of the compound, the other owners or speaking nicely to the person themselves. Edited December 22, 2011 by Mr. Lee

[Jake]

Me being a Filipino, I would have confronted that old "gate keeper" in a similar fashion. Of course I would gatherall my allies (my neighbors) who had common complaints about her and discuss the matter with the owner(s) ofthe subdivision. If things escalate, I would just relocate in the middle of the night, trashing the place in revenge. Hey, it's just me......my background is Filipino and the rules of the jungle applies here.Respectfully -- Jake

Edited December 22, 2011 by JAKE
Removed my offensive remarks

[MikeB]

Mike first of all I am not picking on you, I am going to pick on what you wrote, and what you wrote that you did.I happen to know where you were living because one of my friends used to live there and eventually moved out, and from what I had been told, the owners family occupies many of the homes and one of them is the grandmother, but I am not sure if she was the one you had this problem with or if that lady is family of the compound owner or not, but if she is older than you are, should you not show her some respect, regardless of whether she was wrong or what country you are in, and especially in the Philippines where elders are looked up to? How would you feel if someone ordered your grandmother around and made her lose face.Does an owner of a property not have more rights than a renter. I suspect that any time she is home that the truck might not be allowed in the property but since your truck got away with it all the times she was gone, does that make it OK for them to do once she got back. The guys who deliver water to our condo carry them a long way because the trucks are not allowed in much past the gate, so should I go down and tell the condo management that I do not want those poor men to carry my water so far, so they should be allowed to bring the truck right up to the building door. I think we all know many things do not make sense in the Philippines but one of the things I feel that makes the least sense is some of us coming over ordering the locals how we expect things done.So this woman just got back from a trip, possibly even from another country where the time zone was different, so therefore she may have been extra cranky and you feel it is OK to tell her in no uncertain terms what would be allowed in her country and possibly even her compound and in front of her home? I am sorry but I do not feel we should disrespect the locals and especially not disrespect our elders, but you obviously feel both is the correct thing to do.Mike I surely hope your apparent attitude does not end up getting you into a jam one of these days because if a person talked to my grandmother the way you seem to have spoken to her based on your written words, then they might have me to deal with, and I am not even Filipino.The term Ugly American comes to mind when I read statements such as above. Then many of us end up wondering why locals and many from other countries end up looking down on us. The one word in there which really stands out to me is ethnocentrism which means "The tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one's own culture."added, standing up for ones rights can be done in many ways, maybe speaking to the owner of the compound, the other owners or speaking nicely to the person themselves.

First of all, you don't know where the compound is, all the compounds are "family-owned" in one way or another, this is one of a million. This person owns 1 building out of about 30. Does that give her the right to restrict all vehicles that have a legitimate need to enter the compound and make deliveries to the hundreds of people living there? I am not going to waste my time arguing with you, I'm sure you would have handled it differently and I couldn't care less, and I'm sure I care a lot less about what the locals think of me then you do. I did what I felt was the right thing and I would not hesitate to do it again. You weren't there, you don't know what was said but if doing what I felt was right culminated with having to "deal with you" then that would be just fine with me.

[Mr Lee]

Me being a Filipino, I would have confronted that old "gate keeper" in a similar fashion. Of course I would gatherall my allies (my neighbors) who had common complaints about her and discuss the matter with the owner(s) ofthe subdivision. If things escalate, I would just relocate in the middle of the night, trashing the place in revenge. Hey, it's just me......my background is Filipino and the rules of the jungle applies here.Respectfully -- Jake

One main thing I would like to point out is that Jake, Art, gapotwo and many others have one leg up on some of us other guys who do not blend in. Jake you can probably get away with a lot more than some of us might, whereas some of us who have spent lots of time in the country such as Jim Sibbick and who may have met the right people, might also get away with more than some others who think they know it all, just because they come from first world countries. If I remember correctly and please correct me if I am wrong, Jake moved back to the US after trying life in the Philippines once before, and even being Filipino the bs got to you back then, am I correct Jake? So while I would like things to be different and I have also met some of the people in the right places during many of our visits, I also know it is best not to push my luck, so I won't. For the others who think they know better, it is your life, do as you wish.For MikeB, I will not even bother responding to some more of what I consider to be even more ethnocentrism and Ugly American behavior on your part in your posts.Added, BTW, if I am correct, it was my wife and I who told you where that compound is because our friend Mike lived there way before you did and if I remember correctly we told you about it in the new Robinsons while eating at a restaurant there, well at least that is what my wife says happened and I seem to remember telling you it was another choice for you to look at. Edited December 23, 2011 by Mr. Lee