MGCQ versus GCQ - my experience

[shabbynomad70]

7 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

The system automatically moves you to the next group. Everyone's posts must be approved for the first few posts.  Pretty much the same as most forums to prevent spam and those who abuse the system by trying to post several nice posts to then spam us or cause issues.

From memory when you joined up it says that you will be moderated. We do not tell members how many posts you need for obvious reasons but far less post than many forums.

its ok for me.   so i really do not need to do anything and it will happen in due time.  i understand the need to prove i am not a robot or pervert  (i can prove i am not a robot).   so willing to wait.  i think i do see my posts being commented on so i am functional, just under increased surveillance like an old guy caught coughing on the bus.  i can do this.  thanks mr g!

[shabbynomad70]

On 8/16/2020 at 2:13 AM, Jollygoodfellow said:

Not sure if a fixer can operate these days. You have to be accredited to process visas for clients. 

well i have been here almost seven years now and for me there would be a blurred line between fixers and agents and helpers et cet.   i think i said elsewhere i will investigate further this "satillite office" for immigration two doors down.  they have to be operating with the knowledge and help of the official office.  i can say in the last year,  without identifying specifics, that i have variously given johnny walker (times four),  jose cuervo, case of san mig (times two) 300 pesos (times about five),  donuts (ten plus)  other bakery products (more times than donuts), and various other tips and recognitons to get things done in an expeditious fashon or even at all.

i to not consider myself a criminal but i am a realist.  one of the characters in the Godfather can be quoted, "this is the life we chose" (living in the phils)   it is one of the most corrupt nations ont he planet according to every survey i have seen.

some of my investments have just been so someone will do the legwork, or paperwork, so i do not have to stand in line.  for me, that is not a crime.  it might be a crime if i am getting something i am not qualified for but i would think in most cases i am the victim by paying for something that should be free or more easy than it is.

anyway, not trying to start a fight.  also not trying to be a problem for moderators.  but i am a realist and integrity compells me to "tell it like it is" so we can deal the what really is and not what we think it should be.

[Shady]

1 hour ago, shabbynomad70 said:

 one of the characters in the Godfather can be quoted, "this is the life we chose" (living in the phils)   it is one of the most corrupt nations ont he planet

To paraphrase another movie quote "The first rule of Fixers is: You do not talk about Fixers."

[hk blues]

Maybe It's location specific, but I've been here 5+ years and done all of the stuff that entails yet never needed to enlist a fixer - and was never approached by one either.  

[shabbynomad70]

1 hour ago, Shady said:

To paraphrase another movie quote "The first rule of Fixers is: You do not talk about Fixers."

hi shady,  well i did not see that movie but hope i understand the sentiment!

for me this is really a big topic.  for starters, i am a guest in the phils.  as such i feel it is my responsibility to learn how to live within the system and not try to force the system to operate to my expectations.   secondly, all the "research" i have done says the phils corruption index is well above average for world countries, and corrupt on the order of middle african nations and middle east nations.  which is to say,  very corrupt.

next, i will ask "what is your definition of fixer"   if it is someone who is devious or who works on the dark side,  then i agree that might be bad.  if it is someone who does your leg work so you do not have to stand in line for four hours, is that a bad thing?  i personally would not think so.

my first experience was a guy who worked out of the doctors office where i went for my physical to get my drivers license.  this guy escorted me to the proper office,  to the proper tellers and got me in and out with the necessary paperwork to get my license.  nothing illicit, just facilltating my situation and smoothing over my ignorance.  is that a problem?  not for me.

i have waited over a year for metal plates for my car,  required last year before i could get a smoke test, "required by the govt, only available through the govt".  keep your receipt!  i still had to pay, i do not ever expect the see the plates.  i had to wait a year for my drivers license and only got it because i claimed an emergency.  i waited more that 8 months for my arc card  (keep your receipt).  my passport is full of stapled sheet and is impossible to get into a pocket now because they ran out of visa stickers almost a year ago.

if i pay a guy to walk me through the drivers license senario, or to walk my papers through to get my annual smoke test certification, there is nothing illegal about that.  i see people waiting in line at immigration to get an early number as proxy for a foreigner who shows up later..

in no case am i getting, or witnessing, an illegal or immoral act, in my opinion.   i see people being paid to do the leg work, and to explain their system here.  one of the posters here asked,  is a travel agent a fixer?   i do have a question here about who is responsible for tying up all of the appointments at passport renewal for filipinos, but i do know almost every travel agent can "fix" that problem for you.   if they are the ones filling the slots and then selling them, then yeah they are fixers in a negative sense of the word.  

anyway, if anyone has read this far, thanks.   its just that this country is so corrupt to me it makes sense to have a standin do stuff for you.   

you hear the expression "nosebleed"?   thats what filipinos say when you talk to much!

guilty!!!!

 

 

[hk blues]

20 minutes ago, shabbynomad70 said:

hi shady,  well i did not see that movie but hope i understand the sentiment!

for me this is really a big topic.  for starters, i am a guest in the phils.  as such i feel it is my responsibility to learn how to live within the system and not try to force the system to operate to my expectations.   secondly, all the "research" i have done says the phils corruption index is well above average for world countries, and corrupt on the order of middle african nations and middle east nations.  which is to say,  very corrupt.

next, i will ask "what is your definition of fixer"   if it is someone who is devious or who works on the dark side,  then i agree that might be bad.  if it is someone who does your leg work so you do not have to stand in line for four hours, is that a bad thing?  i personally would not think so.

my first experience was a guy who worked out of the doctors office where i went for my physical to get my drivers license.  this guy escorted me to the proper office,  to the proper tellers and got me in and out with the necessary paperwork to get my license.  nothing illicit, just facilltating my situation and smoothing over my ignorance.  is that a problem?  not for me.

i have waited over a year for metal plates for my car,  required last year before i could get a smoke test, "required by the govt, only available through the govt".  keep your receipt!  i still had to pay, i do not ever expect the see the plates.  i had to wait a year for my drivers license and only got it because i claimed an emergency.  i waited more that 8 months for my arc card  (keep your receipt).  my passport is full of stapled sheet and is impossible to get into a pocket now because they ran out of visa stickers almost a year ago.

if i pay a guy to walk me through the drivers license senario, or to walk my papers through to get my annual smoke test certification, there is nothing illegal about that.  i see people waiting in line at immigration to get an early number as proxy for a foreigner who shows up later..

in no case am i getting, or witnessing, an illegal or immoral act, in my opinion.   i see people being paid to do the leg work, and to explain their system here.  one of the posters here asked,  is a travel agent a fixer?   i do have a question here about who is responsible for tying up all of the appointments at passport renewal for filipinos, but i do know almost every travel agent can "fix" that problem for you.   if they are the ones filling the slots and then selling them, then yeah they are fixers in a negative sense of the word.  

anyway, if anyone has read this far, thanks.   its just that this country is so corrupt to me it makes sense to have a standin do stuff for you.   

you hear the expression "nosebleed"?   thats what filipinos say when you talk to much!

guilty!!!!

 

 

Just a couple of observations from me -

Don't you think that by actively using the "system" you are perpetuating it for those who come later?

And,

Don't you think that one of the reasons us foreigners are perhaps disliked is because of the way many of us utilise our wealth to cut in line?

I'm not being judgemental b.t.w.- will just say again though that I have never had the need or seen the need to make use of the services of "fixers" but I understand that some may. 

[Jollygoodfellow]

5 hours ago, shabbynomad70 said:

well i have been here almost seven years now and for me there would be a blurred line between fixers and agents and helpers et cet.

I dont believe an agent who is accredited with the BI as a fixer. They have to apply to be able to process visas on your behalf so they are legitimate business such as travel agents and others that have a proper business. As i said years ago someone would be hanging around the front of the BI to take care of things for you for a fee but they are not allowed to do so these days and as far as I know are not.

I pay an accredited person to renew my visa which this person's business has been doing it for many years so you cant call these people fixers as a fixer is someone that is doing things illegally or through the back door.

A travel agent can take care of your flights if you dont want to book direct through the airline so they are an agent, not fixer. Just not sure if I am making my point but we really have drifted off topic once again. 

[shabbynomad70]

On 7/29/2020 at 6:31 AM, peterfe said:

We drove from near Carmen (Cebu Province) (MGCQ) to Lapu-Lapu (GCQ) yesterday to extend my visa. Not much to say about the BI in Mactan, it's already been mentioned that it's quick and easy to get a six-month extension. I did see a notice that seemed to say they had stopped issuing stickers for good, which could be good news if you don't want to fill up your passport pages too soon.

Anyway, we both have general passes issued by the barangay saying we can go out for essential goods and services. But to travel to a GCQ area, we needed a specific one-day pass from Carmen Municipality which states the car number and reason for travel. So we got one, and expected to have to show it at one or two checkpoints. There were a number of these on the way, but none of them stopped us or any other cars or motorbikes, as far as I could see. (NB: just because it was plain sailing for us, that doesn't mean you don't need a pass! Who knows what might happen another time). But what was interesting (though perhaps hardly surprising!) was that the GCQ area (Lapu-Lapu) was more laid-back than our MGCQ area. All the shops were open, all the restaurants I saw were dine-in as well as take-out, and we didn't find any restrictions for seniors in the two malls and one supermarket we went to. Whereas here, under the supposedly more liberal MGCQ, S can only go to the one supermarket in Carmen once a week and I can never go, being a senior. In Danao, the nearest big town, we can shop three days a week, but seniors aren't allowed in to one of the two large malls and a number of shops and restaurants are still closed.   

may i ask please,  if they have eliminated the stickers in your passport, have they reverted to the rubber stamps?  its the full size pages they have been stapling in my passport that will make using it in another country almost impossible!

[GeoffH]

1 hour ago, shabbynomad70 said:

may i ask please,  if they have eliminated the stickers in your passport, have they reverted to the rubber stamps?  its the full size pages they have been stapling in my passport that will make using it in another country almost impossible!

I've been stuck in Aussie for a while but when I came through Aussie customs the customs officer was very unhappy with me for the 'non stamp/non sticker' paper in there.   To be fair Australia do now use electronic passport scanning machines and having sheets of paper receipts in a passport means the scanning machines can't be used and the passport has to be processed manually.

 

[frosty (chris)]

47 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

I've been stuck in Aussie for a while but when I came through Aussie customs the customs officer was very unhappy with me for the 'non stamp/non sticker' paper in there.   To be fair Australia do now use electronic passport scanning machines and having sheets of paper receipts in a passport means the scanning machines can't be used and the passport has to be processed manually.

 

I went back to Oz last December, at the airport Mactan the Immigration Officer just removed the visa sheets from the back of my passport. I notice now they tape the sheets on, before was stapled, not a good idea.