Fraud and Corruption in the Philippines

Fraud and Corruption
in the Philippines

WARNING

   Fraud and Corruption in the Philippines WARNING. This site is to give everyone, getting involved with personal, be male or female, who live in the Philippines, or comes from the Philippines, be socially or for business, about just how corrupt and fraudulent the people are, and it starts from the bottom of the ladder and goes all the way to the very top. The following is "First Hand Information" and not hearsay.

   And the further up the ladder you go the worse it gets.

   The Philippines is rated as the "Third" most corrupt country in the world today.

   Now, it is possible to find some of the people who are not corrupt, but they are few and far between. They are to say at least, very rare.

   The government would have you believe that they are trying to clean it up, we’ll maybe they are, but they are trying to clean it up from the bottom, were it will never happen, and certainly never happen while the people at the bottom see just how blatantly corrupt government officials are, and just how much is going on at the top.

   This also involves, and especially the Government Departments, and Businesses.

   Lets look at the top end for example. President Marcos, as the world now knows, stashed away billions of dollars, and then when finally charged, hid behind the apron strings of America. Even after his death, the money has not been recovered, and his family are still living very well thank you very much.

   Ok President Aquino, now you are the new president, maybe you will get the money back for the people. I think not.

   You would have no doubt heard of President Estrada, the ex-world 3rd grade rated actor, who after only 2 ½ years was sacked as President and had over 70 charges laid against him, we’ll to date he has been found guilty of over 75% of the charges heard so far, and still is living in his mansion, as free as a bird, with a security guard and outargue that makes the security guard of the President of the United States look like a small boy scout troop.

   Odds are he will never go to jail. He will simple bribe his way out of everything.

   And of course, there is the past President, Gloria Arroyo, who up until she lost the last election had over 30 impeachment orders (another word for corruption) laid against her, and they still have not been heard, and most likely never will. Now she directly may be clean, but for example her husband is guilty way over his head.

   His involvement is like this. If you wanted to put a business into the Philippines, you got to see Gloria, who would give you a big smile and all the yes’s you wanted, but not help you directly, instead she would introduce you to her husband, and boy, would doors swung wide open, at the top, everywhere.

   Now, he is, or was not called "Mr 20%" for nothing. After talking to you and giving you his price of 20% of whatever an amount was being talked about, he got you introduced to all the right people at the very top that you need to talk to, and you were on your way.

   But wait, it did not stop there. Once you spoke with the people in question, before they did anything to help you, the first thing they will ask you is "what is in it for me".

   Now what this means is, "what will my position on the board be and how much will I get paid" or they will tell you they want "X" thousands of dollars or pesos, and as they know the value of the dollar compared to the Peso, it usually asked for in dollars.

   Now if you say there is nothing in it for them, the doors suddenly get slammed in your face, locked and the key is thrown away.

   Your chances of ever getting anything done in that department, ever again, is next to nil.

   If you have to deal with immigration for example, there is a process where if you pay a bit more to speed up the process for the information and papers you are after, and you may get it a day later rather than have to wait days or even weeks, however if you tell them you do not want a receipt, the money you paid goes straight into their pocket and you get your information within hours and sometimes within 10 to 15 minutes.

   Get caught paying them and not getting a receipt and you are gone, as they will say you bribed them to do it, and they will get away with it Scot free while you hang.   Customs is the same. You pay half a dozen personal in the system to even get your goods on time, or it will just sit there, even though it may have been cleared, for weeks and even months.

   If you are using and agent to get your goods through customs, they will tell you how much tax you have to pay before they release it. DON’T believe them, as they will at least double the real amount, with the second half going straight into their pocket, plus the fee they are going to charge you for their services. Go to customs and check it for yourself, and if necessary pay it there and then, and give your agent a copy of the clearance receipt showing you have paid all the necessary taxes. They will not like it, but then they will not argue with you either, and will go ahead and collect and deliver your goods.

   The Electricity Company, Meralco. Nothing changes here. They are the only electricity provider in the country, and they do what they like, and boy, some of the charges you get hit with are unbelievable.

   You will get charged, separately, for the power to move from one station to another, and taxed both times, before it gets to you, then you get charged for what you use. Triple whammy.

   On your bill you will find a "Missionary" charge. When you asked a branch Manager of what the "missionary charge" is for, he will, very red faced, explain to you that it is so the Government can send people up into the highland and hills, where no-one lives, to see if there is anyone living there that wants electricity connected to them. Oh yeah, fact.

   Then there is a "Loss of Power" charge. Ask a Manager from another branch about this one and he will explain to you that it is to pay for the loss of power to the company, for the power that all the bottom end and poor people are using because they have illegally connected themselves to the power lines and are using for nothing.

   Oh yes, it is happening as you read this.

   Now the government will tell you they have a programme going where the electricity company goes along a street and disconnects them, and as you watch them doing this, and they go around the corner, you can see the power being re-connected. That quick. And when you see just what the people have to do, and that is to stand on a small stepladder to reach the lines, your head will spin in amazement. Power re-connected thank you for the trouble.

   If the government were really genuine in this case they would raise the lines out of reach of the people. But this is not going to happen either. The genuine can go on and pay for the loss.

   And oh, they now have all this abundance of water in the Angat Dam, so Meralco is going to increase the cost of power for a month by 44 centavos per kilowatt-hour for a month because they are going to re-activate of the hydroelectricity plant there. (The Philippine Star August 7, 2010, front-page top left hand corner).

   Oh yeah, way to go Meralco, slug the honest people even more. You should have been lowering the cost and not raising it.

   And there are more such charges, just get hold of a power bill and see for yourself.

   And if you are after a meter connection, you can wait from weeks to a months, but sling the local Manager 500 – 1,000 pesos, and this goes straight into his pocket and the meter gets connected within a few days.

   And now we come to the phone company, PLDT. They are the only landline provider, We’ll nothing changes here either. Sling the manager money and things happen within days instead of weeks and even months.

   Although the Government has been saying for years now that another provider will be bought into the industry, that is all it is, talk, and still nothing will change, just new people up the ladder getting their share of the backhanders, and BIR (Bureau Internal Revenue) knows nothing about this. Come on.

   While we are with BIR, let's look at them. Now BIR is the tax collectors for the country. So let's use their legal system here.

   You go into a store anywhere in the country and there are signs telling you to ask for a receipt, so they get the taxes required.

   You make an appointment to see an Attorney, and they tell you that they charge Php (Philippine Peso) 3,000 for a consultant fee.

   So you arrange to meet them in McDonald's, Jollibee, a restaurant, clubhouse or somewhere else, but certainly not in their office, and discuss your case with them, and when you are finished you hand over the money and ask them for a receipt. Ops, sorry no receipt. They then explain to you that they only give you a receipt when you meet them in their office.

   Php 3,000 straight into their pocket.

   Hay BIR, this is your legal people bleeding you dry, and you have the nerve and gall to charge the little people for corruption. Give me a break.

   Clean up your legal profession, government representatives and government-employed people first and the higher end of the ladder before you start with the little people who cannot afford to fight back. I think not.

   When the people at the bottom see this going on, just how do you blame them with trying it on.

   Again, in The Philippine Star dated August 7th 2010, on page 12, it contains two full columns under the heading "INBOX WORLD" and contains nothing but replies to corruption within the Bureau of Customs, and suggesting ways to curd it. We’ll you can make all the tables drawless and put in all the CCTV’s you like, and all that will happen is the customer will be moved to an area within the building or even outside, and the transaction will still take place.

   To stop a snake from biting you, you chop off its head, and the snake dies. Stop the corruption at Government Representatives level, then work down the chain through all the Government departments, and then move on to the public sector.

   If you read all their glossary advertisement be on paper or different departments wed sites about living in the country and investing, and you can own your own property, FORGET IT, even if you are going to invest millions of pesos. You cannot, unless you hand over US $50,000 and become a full citizen. Your 12 – 15 million Pesos are gone and lost forever as far as you are concerned.

   Now, especially the girls know all about this. They will marry you, either in their country or yours, and talk you into buying a home there, and put it in both of your names, as you will find on a lot of the government sites asking you to live there and to invest in the country, and when you buy the house and see the deeds and it has your wife’s name on it, and then continues to read, "married to etc…" and has your name and your country, and your wife tells you it is in both name, don’t believe her. THIS IS TOTALLY RUBBISH AND FALSE. It is merely stating a fact that she is married to you and where you come from and nothing else, and the house is in her name fully.

   Now the trick she pulls is varied, but all boils down to the same thing. You are either kicked out of the house or removed by the Police and told not to go back in or you will be arrested and charged. 

   And you will be.

   It goes like this. She screams at you so the neighbours hear her and the Police are called and she tells them they you have assaulted her. The Police will not believe a word you say, no matter how much evidence you may have, and nor will anyone else, although it is very likely you have none, and then remove you from the house.

   You have just lost it and all your valuables that are still inside, because you will not be let back in to get them.

   Another way is they will attack you with a knife and force you out of the house in your own defence, and once again when you try to get back in she will call the Police and again you are told not to go back in.

   There are 2 reasons why the Police will back her story. Firstly, because she is a Filipino and you are not. End of story there, your just another foreigner sucker to their country, and Secondly, there is every likely hood, that while she is talking to the Police, away from you, she has made an arrangement for them to come back for "their cut" and backhander.

   Now I realise that here I have not used examples of men, but I am sure this works with them just as well.

   Now the Police are as corrupt as any of the government officials. So don’t think they are not. And with you being the foreigner, you have no chance against them.

   Here are just two examples with the Police, being both National and Province (Local). You go out to dinner with a disabled driver and he tries to pull into a parking area that has disable parking, and the local police stop you and tells you that you cannot enter through there (there is no signage saying you cannot enter) and you have to go across the road through an opening in the barriers and go back and turn further down the road and enter through there. So he crosses the road as instructed and bamm, the local police standing over the other side of the road stop you and tell you, you have just made an illegal turn and out comes the book and they are demanding your licence.

   You explain to them that the police on the other side of the road just told you to do it, and they are not interested, but for Php 500 to share amongst them you can go. Not likely, so you call for the national police and explain everything to them, and although they are sympathetic, but for only Php 250 to them, they will fix it. So you pay up and you’re on your way.

   Now if you're in business, and say dealing with the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) and a doctor there with the rank of Chief Inspector (Crown on his shoulder) will tell you he will bring a lot of business to you through their cadets, but he wants "X" amount per month to do so. Oh yes.

   Now, the national police are very friendly to your face, just as the people in general are, but watch out when you turn and walk away. They are very friendly in giving you advice, and then not always correct, but stepping in to help you, forget it.

   The more senior they are the less they want to get involved with you. They are only too well aware of just how easy it is for someone to put a bullet in their heads, and reading at least once a week where a senior police officer has been shoot and killed, you can understand why.

   When you know of a high court judge who is assassinated for only Php 250,000, (approx US $6,000) then you know as to why the Police will not get involved. Life there is very cheap.

   Like I have said, there are some very genuine Philippine people, but they are like hens teeth to find, but if you do find one or more, it is a real pleasure to be able to call them friends. But still be warned, they are still very wary about really coming forward to help you out. 

   Even a good friend who calls you “Brother” or “Brod, being Phili for brother”, when it comes to getting their help, after they have promised faithfully to help you, and you have it in writing, will turn their back on you without so much a even a lousy excuse, and if you turn up at their office, everyone there will tell you they are not in, especially if they are a General in the Army. The bottom line is do not trust any of them. Play their game and make out you do.

   THE WARNING HERE IS TO BE VERY CAREFUL, AND THINK TWICE ABOUT MOVING TOO THE PHILIPPINES TO LIVE AND OR TO INVEST. YOU WILL GET BURNT AND BIG TIME.

   You will find that the people are usually good with speaking English, but again be warned, understanding the words you are using is another story. Yes they speak English, but they do not understand the full meaning of the words.

   To check for yourself, ask them to get you something, or do something for you, and watch what happens.

   Either they get or do the wrong thing, or stair at you with a blank glaze. If you find yourself explaining in finer detail, you know they do not understand what you are saying in English. Maybe best to ask them to get someone else to help them, but that is not necessary guarantee to work either. And this includes the well-educated, not just the poor and average person.

   If you are going to marry a Filipino, do so in your country and stay there and perhaps have a by far more an enjoyable life. Divorce in the Philippines in a lot of cases is illegal, and where it is legal, you will pay big time to get it. For example, if you cannot find your ex, the only way to get the papers served, and this is by court order at the courts choice, is to place the FULL case paperwork, and this can amount to up to 20 pages, into a newspaper for 3 consecutive weeks. That’s right, every dam page, and this can cost you, yes you, from Php 60,000 to Php 120,000 per week. Now this comes to over Php 300,000. Note above about the high court judge being assonated for only Php 250,000.

   Now work this out for yourself. A doctor working from 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am to 4.00pm Saturday, after tax only earns around Php 4,500 a week or Php 18,000 a month or Php 216,000 per year.

   Death is by far cheaper than divorce. And the government officials wonder why there are so many bodies found lying dead in the gutters every morning, either having gun shoot or stab wounds.

   There is no such thing as just placing a notice in the papers saying that the case will be heard on such and such a date, and the necessary information may be obtained from the particular court by her/ him or their legal representative, and if she/ him is not present the case will proceed without her/ him.

   Boy the newspapers must love it when a "Raffle" is announced by the court to take place. Yes, a raffle. All the newspapers put in a bid and the court chooses, which one is to get it, and then you pay for it.

   Now you can understand why murder is a cheaper option for the poor, who simple cannot afford to pay the fees attorneys charge, let alone the courts and newspapers.

   Do not be taken in by their so-called sincerity in religion. Yes and again some of them may be religious, but a lot of them go to church just to confess their sins for the past week, so they can have a clean slate for the coming week. Its seams that this is a good excuse for them to carry on with crime. Then when they get caught they cross themselves, especially if there is a camera there, kiss crosses, get down on their hand and knees and beg for forgiveness, and not blink an eye in it all.

   Be very careful about excepting a “College or University Certificate” of any kind. Forged certificates are more common than green grass.

   Before excepting it as a genuine one, phone the College or University first. When you ask them if the person did attend the College or University, they will answer you with “Yes” if they come up on their screen.

   Don’t just except this, as of this stage they have answered your question truthfully, but there is more. Ask them how long was the course for, for example 3, 4, 5 years or more, and if they say 4 years, then ask them how many of these years did they attend the course, and 90% of the time they will tell you a year, or a year and a half or 2 years.

   Then ask them, “so they did not finish the course” and they will tell you NO.

   Unless you ask these questions, they will not volunteer any further information other than what you ask for.

   So if you are going to employ someone, they will tell you that they attended a certain course, and hand you, and usually a “copy” of their certificate as proof, knowing that you will think that they have attend and passed the entire course, and are fully qualified, when actually they are barely qualified in the basics or just the minimum theory.

   And believe me, some of these copies can pass as an original without much trouble. Every third person has one, and some of them will claim to be a professional person. (Read about Jessica Ravenscroft above and right hand side).


  Come on Philippine Government, is this the way you say thank you to foreigners who you invite to your country to live and to invest, by allowing action like being told you even half own your house when we don’t, and for this to take place without any responsibility. Your Government is a dam total disgrace to the rest of the world.

   If you want this site remove, then it is going to cost you a lot of money, and the longer this site remains active the bigger it will grow and so will your costs. But then you can always pursue those named on this site to recover your money.


Update: No.1.

         

     Ambassador Belen F. Anota

Previous Ambassador to Australia

   Now if you decide to go to the Embassy in your country and tell them the problem, then don't expect to see much action from them.

   When I went to speak with the their Ambassador, I was told when I arrive that she could not see me because she was sick in bed with the flue. We'll madam Ambassador, if you are going be sick in bed then don't get caught walking around in the Embassy. Stay at home at least.

    Now you get to speak with a couple of the staff's senior members, or so they say they are, but then they all do feel that they are very important, and tell them the story, and show them proof and let them photo copy it, they will assure you that the Ambassador will be informed and action will be taken.

   So you are polite and agree with them, however 3 months later you email them and ask for an update on the situation, and they reply that they will contact Manila again and get back to me. It won't happen.

   Manila has no intentions of doing anything about it.

   So a few months later you email them again, and get the same answer. Over the next 18 months you email them half a dozen times and still get the "No answer from Manila" again.

   So the next email to them is to request that the Ambassador herself contact Manila this time and then for her to reply to me, in person.

   Now Ambassador, if your staff did inform you about this site, and that I promise to put your photo on here if nothing happened, well you now know that I meant it.

   Yours will also now stay here until I get a satisfactory result.

   If you fail to achieve anything, then my next email will go directly to your Minister, and a couple of your Manila newspapers, and his photo will also appear on here, which should tell him that I mean what I say.

   So now Ambassador, is up to you. Get Jessica charged with "Fraud and Theft", and get my money back to me and your photo will be removed, along with the Ministers, if his is also on here.

   Stay tuned. Still more to follow, I'm sure.


Update No:2.

   Secretary Albert Del-Rosario 

(Previous Secretary for Philippine Foreign Affairs)

   Hello Mr Secretary for Philippine Foreign Affairs,

   By now you would have read my letter to you seeking your help regarding the total lack of action from your Ambassador to Australia.

   As you can see, I have added your photo to this site also, and if you feel that you are also going to disregard the matter like your Ambassador, then your photo will also remain on here, and I will take the matter onto the next level, that is, your President.

   Of course, a successful outcome of the problem will see not only your photo removed, but also this web site, otherwise it will stay on here for the entire world to see, along with any further updates on any action or information taken.

   It seems that we have a problem with your Ambassador here in Australia,

   Having now read my letter to you, and now this site, that I have had made by a friend of mine living in the Philippines, and along with other Philippine friends are all totally disgusted in the way I have been treated by your Government, considering I was begged by your Embassy staff here in Australia, to move to the Philippines to live and to set up a business,

   As even after making an appointment with the Ambassador to speak personally about my situation, on arrival it turned out that she had a cold and could not see me. No I did not believe it for one single moment, and knew I was being fobbed-off.

   I spoke to two of her aids, one being Grace Garcia-Bulos, and asked them to be sure the Ambassador read the site and that I was not bluffing when I said I would add her photo to the site if she chose to do nothing, and now as you can see, as she has failed to endeavour to get a satisfactory solution to the problem, and in doing so, has confirmed everything on the Web Site, and in particular about her government going out of their way to protect their citizens regardless of how guilty they are, and now she knows that I meant every word I said.

   I feel that with your intervention, that we can come to a satisfactory solution, and that the Web Site can be closed down, as it is not what your government wants the world to be reading.

   The world is now watching for your action and any response.

   So stay tuned for update number 4.
      

Update: No.3.

   We’ll Belen F. Anota, Ex Australian Ambassador, it seems that through your action, or more to the point the lack of them, both you and your ex Secretary of Foreign Affairs both totally agree with the fraud situation in the Philippines, and proving that all the information about just how much you protect your own people, no matter of how guilty they are, is so very true, merely by the fact that both of you have left your position doing absolutely nothing about it.

   So your photo and his, both stay here for ever and a day or until your government decides to solve this situation. 

   I wonder what your kids and grandkids would say if they get to read this and see just how inefficient you both really are, and not what they believe you to be of good character and standing for your country.


   So now we give your replacement and the new Foreign Affairs secretary, six months and see what their attitudes are and if they will do anything about it


Update No. 3.

  We’ll hello ex foreign affairs secretary. It seems that through your action, or more to the point the lack of them, both you and your ex Australian Ambassador both agree with the fraud situation in the Philippines, and proving that all the information about just how much you protect your own people, no matter of how guilty they are, is so very true, merely by the fact that both of you have left your position doing absolutely nothing about it.

   So your photo and her, both stay here for ever and a day or until your government decides to solve this situation. 

    I wonder what your kids and grandkids would say if they get to read this and see just how inefficient you both really are, and not what they believe you to be of good character and standing for your country.

   So now we give your replacement and the new Ambassador, six months and see what their attitudes are and if they will do anything about it
                                                

Update No. 3.

 H.E. MINDA CALAGUIAN-CRUZ 

Current Ambassador to Australia

Hello Ambassador Calaguian-Cruz,

   It seems that your predecessor has left the country and left you holding the baby without warning you about what action she has taken, not that it was much on her part.

  So having now read everything above, I will leave it in your capable hands to carry out the required action to get things sorted out and rectified to a satisfactory conclusion.

   As you can see, your photo and your new Sectary for Foreign Affairs, has now also been added to the story, and like your predecessor’s they will also remain on here, if necessary for ever and a day.

   Not a story that you would like your children or grandchildren to read about how you agree with your countries way of running thing, I’m sure.

  So the world is now watching to see what steps you are going to take, along with your Secretary for Foreign Affairs.


Update No. 3.

(Current)

Hello Mr Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs,

   It seems that your predecessor has left the position and left you holding the baby without warning you about what action he has taken, not that it was much on his part.

   So having now read everything above, I will leave it in your capable hands to carry out the required action to get things sorted out and rectified to a satisfactory conclusion.

   As you can see, your photo and your new Ambassador to Australia, H.E. MINDA CALAGUIAN-CRUZ   has now also been added to the story, and like your predecessor’s they will also remain on here, if necessary for ever and a day.

   Not a story that you would like your children or grandchildren to read about how you agree with your countries way of fraud and corruption, I’m sure.

   So the world is now watching to see what steps you are going to take, along with your Ambassador.



Update No. 4.

   So Mr. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, it seems that neither of you are any more interested than your previous predessors, so we move on further and make it a real political issue.

Update: 

Update No. 5. 

We’ll Julie, when they say that a day is a long time in politics, they are not wrong.

There you were, a very senior Minister yesterday, a possible Prime Minister today, and just a lonely backbench Minister tomorrow, without a job and hiding way back in the background.  One week later put on the female sexist list, which did not surprise anyone.

   Boy what a shafting job your fellow members did on you. Now you know what everyone else already know, and that is your were not as popular as you thought you were, and your sexist attitude shows as to why you failed to help me, after all the drug addicts an 3^rd rate would be actor females you helped but NO males.

   One could be led to believe that your staff also had a big hand in this situation, after all their so-called promises to follow up my action from talking to them on the phone, went no-where.

   Maybe the days ahead spending more time looking after your grandkids is looking a lot more promising.

Update No. 4.

   Hello Mr. Hogan,

   So, as my Federal member for Parliament, now its your turn to intervene.

   As the Foreign Affairs Minister has the spare time on her hands to visit Rebel Wilson during her break at court, then maybe now she can intervene here and help to get things sorted out as well.

   Then your photo can be removed from here.  I'll await your contact.


Update No. 5.

   We’ll Keven, you were vote into parliament by us a member of a specific party, to support that party to your fullest on our behalf, and when thinks got hot, you defected and went as an individual member, thus costing everyone their wanted representation.

   It would seem that you were only interested in yourself, (however you were not the only one as you had good company with Julie getting the big heave hoe), and not the members of the community who voted for you, hence as to why you would not take the responsibility of representing me.

   I hope you have enjoyed your time, as you will not be getting the support you initially got. I hope you still have connections with your civil job.

  
  If you have been burnt and have been involved in an incident like any of the above, and lost your money cold, then you can also tell the Philippine Government about it and the rest of the world at the same time, and perhaps stop it from happening to someone else.  

  You can put your complete story on here including photos, un-edited, and FREE OF CHARGE, and it will remain here until such time as you ask for it to be removed, or the Philippine Government chose to compensate you for their actions, or as they are proving the lack of them, and your loss.

   Don’t hold your breath on this one.

        Click on here  for further information from the webmaster as to how you can put your story on here..


Stay tuned, more to follow.