Ph "broken And Lawless"

[Tom in Texas]

... I think a more telling one is the case of the mayor near Angeles that was busted with the under age girl. That isn't looking too good. He's appears to be getting special treatment. His name is Rodriguez.. One aticle indicated that he should be in jail awaiting trail as it is a non bailable offense.I don't know if that was totally accurate. The charges were filed by mother and the girl. Scary to think anyone can file charges and then be held without bond?

Likely had no choice but to allow him out pending trial as a matter of national security.... ... I suspect the gears of the PH government would grind to a halt without the vital daily ministrations of this very important........ mayor.

[No name]

Whilst we all have differing viewpoints and formulations from living in different locations, we ALL seem to be able to agree that being a foreigner increases the chances of becoming a murder statistic. ). I think we can all agree on that.

There is nothing to support that. If a Filipino does the same stupid things, I suspect that his or her chances of being a victim are even greater than that of Foreigner. Stupidity increases your chance of crime any place. Most of the statistics are Filipino, not foreigner and there is no per capita numbers out there. It may be that it gets more press and it certainly is that crime on foreigners is shared more on forums. It stands out more, that doesn't mean its more common.

[Genius]

Alright, everyone agrees apart from you. I disagree strongly that a Filipino is at the same risk as a Foreigner, when they display the same risk behaviours. There is plenty to support the claim, as you say reading any forum, will give you ample evidence. If as you say there are no per capita numbers out there to support your claim, then there is nothing not to support it either. So that does not support your argument. But there is as you say ample evidence on forums and newspapers and television reports. Being a foreigner itself is a risk factor. Per capita crime on foreigners is more common than crimes on locals. Its not to say the Phillipines is a worse place, I am not saying that. I am saying foreigners are more vunerable because they are not what the locals are, i.e. physically they stand out and confining myself to that, as not having the same support networks, knowledge, experience as locals, as well as being much richer than the average. If we were to draw a continiuum of safety, it would indicate being a foereigner is a multiplier when other risk factors are present. Not just in the Philippines, but in many places in the world. This is not an extreme viewpoint, just observable fact. I m not sure why you determined to disagree with that fact.

Whilst we all have differing viewpoints and formulations from living in different locations, we ALL seem to be able to agree that being a foreigner increases the chances of becoming a murder statistic. ). I think we can all agree on that.

There is nothing to support that. If a Filipino does the same stupid things, I suspect that his or her chances of being a victim are even greater than that of Foreigner. Stupidity increases your chance of crime any place. Most of the statistics are Filipino, not foreigner and there is no per capita numbers out there. It may be that it gets more press and it certainly is that crime on foreigners is shared more on forums. It stands out more, that doesn't mean its more common.

Edited December 3, 2010 by Genius

[No name]

If you think reading expat forums is a good way to judge statistics then be my guest to be wrong.

[Genius]

If you think reading expat forums is a good way to judge statistics then be my guest to be wrong.

Fair point about forums, but Newspapers an television reports and Embassy missives also support my stance. But in the absence of reliable figures from unimpeached source, it is difficult to ever be absolute about these things one way or either. My beliefs spring from reasonable extrapolations from these sources, though I have to accept they are not definitive. I think we will have to agree to disagree as you are very far from agreeing with any of what I ve said to date.

[Tom in Texas]

... I think we will have to agree to disagree as you are very far from agreeing with any of what I ve said to date.

lol... Interesting exchange of posts... reminds me of conversations with my schizophrenic ex-wife. BTW - I'll give 6 to 4 that your statement above will indeed be disagreed with.... sic em, Flirltilizier. BTW #2 - isn't there one too many "L"s in that name?... or is this like the "Artist Formerly Known as...."

[Jake]

If you think reading expat forums is a good way to judge statistics then be my guest to be wrong.

Fair point about forums, but Newspapers an television reports and Embassy missives also support my stance. But in the absence of reliable figures from unimpeached source, it is difficult to ever be absolute about these things one way or either. My beliefs spring from reasonable extrapolations from these sources, though I have to accept they are not definitive. I think we will have to agree to disagree as you are very far from agreeing with any of what I ve said to date.

See guys, I told you this was a hot topic. Even if we use the same exact reference, there will always be different interpretationsdue to perceived bias already formulated in our brain. As case in point is the Bible. I believe you guys have stated your case mosteffectively and we all appreciate a good healthy argument. Now is the time to kiss and make up but allow me to be in the middle so I could receive kisses from both sides.Respectfully -- Jake

[No name]

There is a VERY obvious problem in using forums, especially expat forums, to gage crime on foreigners in the Philippines.How often do you see reports of murder toward Filipino in forums. The answer is almost never. Sure there are exceptions, the pretty Filipina that died in Cebu over her cell phone got some mentions in the forums, mostly passing mentions like "They will kill you for your cell phone here." Even that gets distorted, yeah, sometimes but rarely.Even in the press, if a pinoy is killed, it usually gets a small article buried in the paper, unless it a rich Filipino. Or if there is a sudden increase in the numbers. A couple of months ago, Cebu City seemed to have a burst of business men getting killed by hired killers. But not even the tanod that was killed in Bogo this year only got a little press and no mention in the forums. I only learned of it from a Filipino forum, most of which is in Visayan. I wrote about it but I doubt you'd find it in any other expat blog.How many of you know that a construction worker, a poor Filipino was killed in Bogo City last week? I'm going to guess no one. (unless you read my blog on living in Bogo which is doubtful because its very new and has only four articles or so). (That's the two murders we've had in the last two years in Bogo City.)It doesn't get press. But had that same man been a foreigner it would be a major story on all the blogs and probably front page in the Cebu based papers.A foreigner gets killed in Angeles and it is international news. Not huge news but it gets a lot of coverage.It seems like foreigners are more at risk but there is nothing to back that up. A lot of things seem to be true but when one actually finds out the truth, we find it isn't that way at all.I don't trust statistics from any government. The official rate of unemployment in the Philippines is around 10%. You'd have to be brain dead to believe that. The numbers are like those in the USA. The stop counting people that have given up and most people in the Philippines give up before they even try. The numbers are not accurate.There may very well be increased risk to foreigners. I'd love to see the numbers. I'm very sure that the risk is not nearly what causal observers think it is. As bad as corruption is in the Philippines, its not as common as i once thought it was. Oh there seems to be plenty, far more common here than in the USA. Things get distorted.And geesh there are a lot of people saying things in forums about the Philippines that are just completely wrong. You have to pick the right people. Lee is a good source, best source on real estate that I know of. The bigger forums are the ones that are most full of incorrect information because there are so many people posting that have never been here. Man, was my perception of the Philippines wrong before I spent some time here getting to know the people. I still have a lot to learn. It took me forever to begin to figure out my favorite subject, the Filipina. That is one complicated little beast. :o lol Especially for such a "simple girl."

[Dave Hounddriver]

There is a VERY obvious problem in using forums, especially expat forums, to gage crime on foreigners in the Philippines.

Dead, as in murdered, people don't post in forums so that is one obvious problem. Then there are the other victims who don't say anything about it for 3 reasons that I have noticed . . Did not want the wife to find out . . Useless to report it because the cops do nothing anyway . . Did not want to look like an idiot after doing something they had told other newbies not to do.

[FlyAway]

Definitely a captive minority audience when it comes to crime statistics on internet forums. We can read and judge based on what others say on a forum but how do you truly know what is going on in a place you do not live? If I mention my neighborhood here in the US to some people they call it "The Ghetto". Yet the part of the city they live in has more reported crimes on the nice "Crime Mapping" programs. A few weeks ago my younger brother in law was chased out of a KTV bar in central Mindanao. Two guys beat and kicked the crap out of him enough to have him hospitalized a few days. Now admittedly I do not have all the facts, however, the younger brother is a little on the developmentally challenged side. The two that beat him were cousins in their late 20's! There was talk of filing charges but apparently this incident will now be handled "In-House" as I like to refer to it. The story about the girl being killed over a cell phone? Well, that cell phone probably had more monetary value than what the fools have killed people here in California over. A few here that come to mind are a persons jacket and shoes. At one time you did not want to wear Air Jordan shoes at the light rail stops even during the daytime.I do not quite see Philippines as "Broken and Lawless". They just go by a set of rules us Kano are not familiar with. Cultural differences we do not fully understand.