Westerners complaining about Filipino issues that also affect them.

[OnMyWay]

5 hours ago, RBM said:

In the Philippines it may very well be one stops being a visitor how ever so long as your a foreigner thats where the buck ends. You can voice what ever you like how ever highly unlikely your opinions will ever be recognized except in a negative way.

I will mention an exception to the rule.

I have tried to keep a low profile in our community, but I have slowly loosened up over the years.  Before I moved, and after I moved, and still now, keeping a low profile seems to be a good way to keep a bullet out of my brain.

Governmentally, things are a bit different here in Subic Bay Freeport.  Freeports are created to attract investment, including foreign investment in local businesses.  The foreigners  or Filipinos who invest, own and run these businesses here are called locators.  I don't know why.  Many of these locators and/or their management are also residents here.

These locators are major employers of Filipinos and they have major investments here.  Thus they do have clout and are listened to by the Freeport government.  Many are invited to relevant meetings held by SBMA, the governing authority.  The chairwoman of SBMA does listen and invites anyone to message her directly about issues.  If warranted and doable, she follows up quickly.

A foreigner friend of mine is president of the Subic Bay Rotary Club and there are many foreigner members.  Some of my other foreigner neighbors are on the board of the Chamber of Commerce.

We have a loose, unofficial, no cost, Home Owner's Association now.  The leaders are mostly Filipinas married to foreigners and they are going through the long process to make it into a legal HOA recognized by the Philippine government.  That recognition comes with additional power to address issues to the government.  Through the loose HOA that exists now, many foreigners are involved in addressing issues here in the Freeport.

 

Edited September 22, 2020 by OnMyWay

[Joey G]

On 9/21/2020 at 11:11 AM, kuripot said:

If something is broken, no local knows to fix it and you know the fix but will not mention it -- you're part of the problem.

I am guilty... They keep putting ketchup on the spaghetti I make... even though I make a decent oregano based Italian sauce... I say nothing... but it drives me nuts!! 

[Snowy79]

Sometimes the frustration gets worse though when you do know how to fix something and they refuse to listen. I've learned that once I've offered advice I've done my bit. As long as it doesn't affect me good luck to them. 

Just yesterday I was walking along the beach after my run and there was a cafe on the beach, I noticed two guys struggling to get the locks on the doorsg to work fully with the keys. I'm a trained locksmith and recognised the locks and knew an easy fix. Would have taken me 30 secs. I asked my partner to mention I can help them as I know the solution. No charge either. They owner just looked at her, shook his head and continued banging away and spraying WD 40 which was going to do nothing. 

I had a good chuckle to myself looking back knowing they were going to break the locks which will be very hard to source. 

[RBM]

10 hours ago, Snowy79 said:

Sometimes the frustration gets worse though when you do know how to fix something and they refuse to listen. I've learned that once I've offered advice I've done my bit. As long as it doesn't affect me good luck to them. 

Just yesterday I was walking along the beach after my run and there was a cafe on the beach, I noticed two guys struggling to get the locks on the doorsg to work fully with the keys. I'm a trained locksmith and recognised the locks and knew an easy fix. Would have taken me 30 secs. I asked my partner to mention I can help them as I know the solution. No charge either. They owner just looked at her, shook his head and continued banging away and spraying WD 40 which was going to do nothing. 

I had a good chuckle to myself looking back knowing they were going to break the locks which will be very hard to source. 

Think we all have come into similar situations, now I do not even offer. Filipino pride always takes precedent.   

[scott h]

1 hour ago, RBM said:

Filipino pride always takes precedent.   

Napoleon complex:

 

"Napoleon Complex" is a theorized inferiority complex normally attributed to people of short stature. It is characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social behavior, such as lying about earnings, and carries the implication that such behavior is compensatory for the subject's physical or social shortcomings.

Napoleon complex - Wikipedia

[Heeb]

I pretty much just keep my mouth shut and don't allow an opening for conflict, I know if I'm involved in any traffic accident that i may not be able to avoid it so i try to be careful. Having spent 2 years on legal hold in the mid 80's and going through the Philippine court system your chances of winning a court case against a citizen are very slim, you can literally be stabbed by a local and defend yourself only to be charged with a crime because somehow you provoked it and your defense response is now frustrated homicide. Back in June I had a strange encounter here in the Freeport, I was riding my bicycle around the runway perimeter road and as I was coming down a hill I saw a large semi parked on the left side of the road with trailer but no load, when it came into my view the driver suddenly did a u turn in front of me and completely blocked the road, I was able to go around a road sign and just avoid going over the ledge which had a drop off to the rocks on the shoreline, I was pissed but kept going, shortly after i hear the truck right behind me and instead of passing me he keeps gets closer and then pulls ahead and moves over to block my progress again, this time i swing around to the left and proceed, he passes me and than i see him ahead get out and start talking to someone in a car park to the right, I pass by and soon after he's behind me again, I'm hauling so i can get to the turn off for the beach since i know he can't go that way but he passes me again and then when i approach a queue of trucks that are waiting to be loaded at the shipping dock he comes along side of me and try's to pinch me off next to the trucks in queue, I'm not sure how I squeezed through but i did and he tried to follow me again but i made my turn for the beach and that was the end of it. I still think about it and wonder if I somehow pissed him off by going around the sign to avoid being blocked or whether he was baiting me into a conflict or was simply just having a bad day and wanted to take it out on me, maybe his girl left him for a foreigner. Anyway the incident reminded me of an old 70's movie with Dennis Weaver, can't remember the title but he gets chased by a semi in his car though California or Arizona somewhere.

[hk blues]

5 hours ago, Heeb said:

I pretty much just keep my mouth shut and don't allow an opening for conflict, I know if I'm involved in any traffic accident that i may not be able to avoid it so i try to be careful. Having spent 2 years on legal hold in the mid 80's and going through the Philippine court system your chances of winning a court case against a citizen are very slim, you can literally be stabbed by a local and defend yourself only to be charged with a crime because somehow you provoked it and your defense response is now frustrated homicide. Back in June I had a strange encounter here in the Freeport, I was riding my bicycle around the runway perimeter road and as I was coming down a hill I saw a large semi parked on the left side of the road with trailer but no load, when it came into my view the driver suddenly did a u turn in front of me and completely blocked the road, I was able to go around a road sign and just avoid going over the ledge which had a drop off to the rocks on the shoreline, I was pissed but kept going, shortly after i hear the truck right behind me and instead of passing me he keeps gets closer and then pulls ahead and moves over to block my progress again, this time i swing around to the left and proceed, he passes me and than i see him ahead get out and start talking to someone in a car park to the right, I pass by and soon after he's behind me again, I'm hauling so i can get to the turn off for the beach since i know he can't go that way but he passes me again and then when i approach a queue of trucks that are waiting to be loaded at the shipping dock he comes along side of me and try's to pinch me off next to the trucks in queue, I'm not sure how I squeezed through but i did and he tried to follow me again but i made my turn for the beach and that was the end of it. I still think about it and wonder if I somehow pissed him off by going around the sign to avoid being blocked or whether he was baiting me into a conflict or was simply just having a bad day and wanted to take it out on me, maybe his girl left him for a foreigner. Anyway the incident reminded me of an old 70's movie with Dennis Weaver, can't remember the title but he gets chased by a semi in his car though California or Arizona somewhere.

My guess is you did nothing wrong - simply being a foreigner was enough to put you in the firing line. I've had numerous minor incidents that I can only put done to me being a foreigner - one incident was a time we bought some floor tiles and took a taxi.  The driver was strange from the beginning but hey ho...one we arrived at our place he stopped, I unloaded the tiles and he toom the grout and placed it in the middle of the road!  Ok..I took the money out and moved towards the car to pay him, he moved forward a few feet, I repeated my attempt to pay and same again!  At this point, I help out my hands with the money and waited for him to make the next move - he simply drove off never to be seem again!  Saved me 300php but made me and my wife/son feel uncomfortable.  

[RobH]

6 hours ago, Heeb said:

I pretty much just keep my mouth shut and don't allow an opening for conflict, I know if I'm involved in any traffic accident that i may not be able to avoid it so i try to be careful. Having spent 2 years on legal hold in the mid 80's and going through the Philippine court system your chances of winning a court case against a citizen are very slim, you can literally be stabbed by a local and defend yourself only to be charged with a crime because somehow you provoked it and your defense response is now frustrated homicide. Back in June I had a strange encounter here in the Freeport, I was riding my bicycle around the runway perimeter road and as I was coming down a hill I saw a large semi parked on the left side of the road with trailer but no load, when it came into my view the driver suddenly did a u turn in front of me and completely blocked the road, I was able to go around a road sign and just avoid going over the ledge which had a drop off to the rocks on the shoreline, I was pissed but kept going, shortly after i hear the truck right behind me and instead of passing me he keeps gets closer and then pulls ahead and moves over to block my progress again, this time i swing around to the left and proceed, he passes me and than i see him ahead get out and start talking to someone in a car park to the right, I pass by and soon after he's behind me again, I'm hauling so i can get to the turn off for the beach since i know he can't go that way but he passes me again and then when i approach a queue of trucks that are waiting to be loaded at the shipping dock he comes along side of me and try's to pinch me off next to the trucks in queue, I'm not sure how I squeezed through but i did and he tried to follow me again but i made my turn for the beach and that was the end of it. I still think about it and wonder if I somehow pissed him off by going around the sign to avoid being blocked or whether he was baiting me into a conflict or was simply just having a bad day and wanted to take it out on me, maybe his girl left him for a foreigner. Anyway the incident reminded me of an old 70's movie with Dennis Weaver, can't remember the title but he gets chased by a semi in his car though California or Arizona somewhere.

The film was Deliverance. a good film.

[hk blues]

6 minutes ago, RobH said:

The film was Deliverance. a good film.

Wasn't it "The Duel"? 

[RobH]

1 minute ago, hk blues said:

Wasn't it "The Duel"? 

Yes you are right, it was Dual. but in my cock up deliverance was a good film as well