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Re: Human Trafficking In The Philppines

Joe_Expat — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:41:13 -0000

Rachman,

I have seen pressure put on a very attractive 15 year old, maybe 16 year old, her birthday changed every time I asked her, was put under by her parents. I don't think they ever said go be a hooker but they yelled when she failed to bring money home.

I worked as a Revenue Agent for several years and thus have some experience in reading and interpreting law and how it can be applied. Even one that's been through a divorce should have some idea of how laws are twisted in novel ways. It's what lawyers and accountants do. It is like a game, its fun, trying to set a precedent. Its how a young prosecutor makes a name for him or herself.

Anytime in the Philippines when there is a third person involved in anyway and money changes hands there is a risk of running afoul of the anti-trafficking laws. A dating site is certainly within the implications of that law, though I don't think that was the intent. I agree it could be pursued. ANYTIME money changes hands at all, there is a chance of anti-trafficking law coming into play. Going to a bar in Angeles is certainly one of those cases.

So far, those are not the places the government has gone after. They tend to limit it to underage girls. If you piss of the wrong government official and run one of these bars is another time you could be putting yourself and your patrons in jeopardy. You could fire a girl and have the charges alleged toward you. Finally, a girl or her family could decide to extort money from you, you don't even have to piss her off! It is dangerous waters to tread in as there are sharks out there. Might be mighty appealing waters but their are dangers.

Once again, its like the wildebeest crossing the Nile. They do it in large numbers and hope they are not the one that gets eaten. :)

I am not taking a position on this as to what is right or wrong. I only state would could be and hope it is of use to others.

If you're in a bar when it gets raided, you're going to spend the night in jail. And probably more than one night. If you're a Kano that's likely a strike against you right there.

How does profiling feel when your on the other side of it? That question directed at no specific person.

Re: Spy Plane Shot Down In Mindanao

Joe_Expat — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:17:39 -0000

Yeah, I read about the MILF pointing out there was an increased presence of US troops in Mindanao. One never knows where a SEAL team or other US Special OPs might be operating. I hope most are over in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since missles from no were seem to be falling out of the skies in Pakistan, seems like most of our special ops are likely in Pakistan. :) Might be a few more here and there though. I certainly don't know where they might be.

On one of the science channels or maybe even the Pentagon Channel the other day, they were stating we had Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVS?) that could be launched, from the US, guided by satellite and even refueled from the US. Or maybe I just thought they said US. if we don't admit to having them, I've very surprised if we don't have some that can do that. :)

I was pretty amazed that when we use B1's, I think B1's... Our stealthy bombers. That we often launch them from the US and have them return to the US.

Again, thanks for the info!

Re: Philippine Reporter Killed

Joe_Expat — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:03:38 -0000

I remember that mudslide. Very disturbing.

It is sad how the lands here have been damaged. When one is struggling to survive, being a fan off the environment comes second I suppose. Then again, I guess it could be the larger companies that are doing this strip harvesting. I don't know. Perhaps you do though.

I want a Cockatoo inn a big way and they are native to the PI but very endangered. They should be plentiful here and cheap, instead it seems impossible to obtain them. One Filipina told me you can but you have to have the proper paper work. Do you know anything about that? I'd really love to have one but not one take from the wild. One taken from the wild is revolting. Especially with the numbers in such a horrible state.

I recently saw a moratorium is in effect for coconut lumber. It is a prize possession? Good stuff? Seems like there is plenty of that around.

I noticed pretty quick that wildlife in the Philippines is not doing well. There is even very little road kill, might not be a pleasant way to observe it but I did. A song bird is very rare in Cebu. At least where I have been so far.

I didn't have time to fully write on this article. There is an organization in New York, I forget the name. It list the RP as one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist.

They claim that bribes to journalist are common and that one runs the risk of offending opposing "paymasters" and death is a common result.

Re: 33 People Kidnapped In Mindanao

Joe_Expat — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:38:07 -0000

The warnings from the US State Department seem to be pretty accurate regarding the Philippines but your point about new warnings also seems to accurate.

The US Embassy here issued a warning about Typhoon Frank after it had already blown through three provinces that I know of, including mine. I would think they also have to be aware of Philippine sentiment regarding any warning they put out.

NPA not a big problem any more, for westerners? That's good to hear. How safe is it for me to venture into the mountains in Cebu or Luzon? I would think it would be insane for me to do so in Mindanao.

Again, thanks for the wonderful information.

Re: 33 People Kidnapped In Mindanao

Joe_Expat — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:30:20 -0000

I understand the media comments, seems The Freeman tries somewhat but as I understand it, speaking your mind can get you dead.

As usual, very informative post.

We have a "country club" just a bit north of here, one year membership is P15K, mighty high price for average Filipino. I plan to join it and working on learning the language. I see most expats stick with expat friends only. I have much different plans. My goals are to know more locals than I know expats. :)

Not long ago, I noticed PI regulars here in Bogo City and the streets were quite, no one was out about the same time. I say no one but there were not as many people out as night. We don't usually have any Military here in Bogo, now I'm talking only one or two soldiers that I saw. But that's a 200% increase. Based on what you're saying, those were observations that were probably more than my normal state of hypervigilance.

Not long after I came here, there was a stash of guns found on one of the pump boats, that was back around May, could be related. The PI military I saw where in the same area.

That's a bit scary. I go there all the time.

I have a ya ya that is a local and has good grape vine connections, though they are often inflated as any grape vine can be, basics of the story tends to be accurate.

I'm going to send you an email. You know we need a private messaging system on this site. I'll have to look into that.

Re: Human Trafficking In The Philppines

Joe_Expat — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:34 -0000

There will always be hookers. It has been around for a long time. Bar fines, whatever. Hey I like girls as much as anyone, perhaps more than most. Filipina are wonderful it is so hard to pick just one.... I almost went with the old lays potato chip commercial there but, I didn't. LOL

It wasn't what you said about trafficking it was the part about telling government officials what you thought they should do.

That's the kind of thing that can get you deported. Probably not that but it COULD so now I just stay away from that kind of thing. I'll probably even remove the entire Philippine Politics area of the forum. There is a provision that states that foreigners cannot complain or try to influence the political process here. Doing so can get you blacklisted and deported. I personally don't want a free trip back to the states. :)

You are not a tourist or foreigner in the Philippines, you can say what you like. When I left the US I left my freedom of speech behind. You will be doing the same.

I will still talk about what goes on here and the political process, I just can't state my opinion. The Philippines has a on going war, if the US had the same issue, I can't imagine we'd appreciate a bunch of foreigners coming into the US or any other homeland and fanning the flames.

Protesters have been deported. One article I wrote at www.cebuexperience.com has me concerned. It has been greatly neutered now.

I wrote an article about your freedom of speach getting checked in at the entry into the PI on this site and at www.rustyferguson.com.

Its a hard pill to swallow for Americans. :) But swallow it we must.

Re: Human Trafficking In The Philppines

Joe_Expat — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:55:54 -0000

PS I think I know which restaurant that your talking about in Cebu. I think it was actually in Lapu Lapu? They had private rooms there where you could take the waitresses of that establishment. I've heard expats defend the place saying nothing was going on there. Not one of those people could possibly know what was going on in those private rooms.

I was looking forward to visiting that place. I forgot the name of it. It went down shortly after I came here.

Re: Human Trafficking In The Philppines

Joe_Expat — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:53:09 -0000

Possibly some of the mail order bride are mistreated? Men were coming here in droves getting under age girls and taking them to the US. Not long ago it was legal.

A lot of what you said is a place an expat cannot go, so I'll just say that the opinion of the writers on this blog are not necessarily the opinions of the management.

Once you're living here Tom, you need to park the rebellious American side of you. Talk like the above can get you deported. Foreigners are not allowed to be critical of the government. It can get on blacklisted and deported! I just hope I haven't already blown it!

I love the Philippines and I especially love bebots. :)

Re: Dollars Breaks the P50 Barrier

Joe_Expat — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:48:16 -0000

Inflation has been running at 12.5% but went down last month. I want the Peso to do well. I do not want to live well at the expense of the Philippines.

I just want the dollar to do even better. :)

The Philippines is a developing nation, that is growth is strong. Growth usually brings the risk of increased inflation.

The peso doing poorly is not inflationary. Inflation will cause the peso to do poorly. :)

Re: Dollar to Philippine Peso Trends

Joe_Expat — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:22:38 -0000

Hello Kara,

I will do all I can but I think you would know more about it than I do.

As i do research on this, I often think about the money traders here and try to understand their business.

What part of the Philippines are you in? I am in Bogo City.

I hope to hear from you often!

Re: Philippine Resort Occupied By Armed Thugs

Joe_Expat — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:30:12 -0000

Or they are going to run it themselves.

I have heard nothing regarding this since the first few days, I'l do so research if I can. Right now I have 11 Firefox browser tabs open, researching this and that. LOL

Re: Human Trafficking In The Philppines

Joe_Expat — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:32:57 -0000

Good to have you posting. Lots of readers now, not nearly enough but lots...:) Not enough posters.

Re: Human Trafficking In The Philppines

Joe_Expat — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:31:51 -0000

You wouldn't see these girls that are misled in the bars, they are not bar girls. They are kept in rooms and homes outside of the bars and the men are taken there. They don't split the money 1000 to the girl and 800 to the bar owner. This is a different thing completely. This does happen.

Bar girls will never end, in one form or other they will always be around. However, ny time the PI wishes to use the human trafficking laws to bust what is going on in a bar they can. The way the law is written the girls don't have to be forced they are ALWAYS victims in the eyes of the law.

If you exercise significant influence over the girl then you can be a part of human trafficking the way the law is written. The PI has the power to shut those places down if they decide to do it. I doubt it is in the RP's interest. The only time I've seen these laws used is when the girls are under aged.

The feel I get is that the Philippines law enforcement tends to keep its nose out of peoples lives as long as people are old enough to consent.

I doubt the law would stand up under US law it is far to vague but this isn't the US. Money is always influence. Age can be influence especially if the girl is under age.

Re: Australia Banana Growers Slam Philippines

Joe_Expat — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:11:28 -0000

PS I think the US gets most of its bananas from south America.

Re: Australia Banana Growers Slam Philippines

Joe_Expat — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:10:48 -0000

Banana breading? LOL The banana's are growing around here just fine, even wild.

I wrote about the story because of the degree of insults leveled against the PI.

I'll admit I'm biased, I'm very pro Philippines.

Re: Dollars Breaks the P50 Barrier

Joe_Expat — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:04:15 -0000

Hi Tom,

I saw your PM's I'll get to them soon. I'm swamped and today was one of my bad days but over all I've been feeling good. I'm writing a lot. Trying to have a new article every day on three blogs. I look forward to the day when the forum is doing well but that's going slow. Email me! I'll get to those PM's soon.

I do a LOT of research every day on finance and economics, its kind of a hobby for me but I have let it drift away over the years. This new economic crises has peaked my interest, I find it kind of exciting. I must have a sick mind. LOL

If you had been here a year ago Tom you wouldn't see this as a slow climb. LOL Last Feb it was near 38Php to 1USD

Rachmammim, the dollar is in demand right now and as long as deflation in present in the economy that is likely to continue. with investing you can't rest on any thing being consistent. The dollar is rising against all currencies that I've looked at. It's climbing pretty fast against the EURO at about 1.4xxx and it was $1.7 for one EURO not long ago. The pound is stronger but it too is falling on the dollar.

I don't really buy into this idea that the US economy caused the recession, polliticions wish to put the blame on anyone other than themselves but I'm not sure. Housing was over priced here and that hurt the lending. Deflation is caused but a couple of things and one of them is a decrease in the supply of money.

One of the ways to create money is with loans and since banks will not loan right now, the dollar is hard to come by.

One potential problem for the US is that China holds a lot of dollars. However, if they dump them all at once that would hurt them as well as us.

It is a time to stay on your toes, cause the times are a changing... :)

Re: Dollars Breaks the P50 Barrier

Joe_Expat — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:18:14 -0000

LOL No threats from GI Joe or Joe Camel. I changed it for marketing reasons though. :)

Re: Dollars Breaks the P50 Barrier

Joe_Expat — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:15:30 -0000

It has been to 55 before. I don't pretend to know but I hope it hits 60 and I think chances are good that it will and even go higher.

The demand for the dollar is high. The situation in the US is worse than people yet realize.

I've been doing research on advertising cost on the net. I'm amazed at what happened to the cost per click in mid October. A huge drop in what advertisers are willing to pay. That's a new way to measure economic trends and unreliable. Yesterday, signs of deflation like that during the great depression started to emerge.

Re: Spy Plane Shot Down In Mindanao

Joe_Expat — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:09:57 -0000

This is a second incident. One drone did crash.

I suspect that's when the MILF became aware of the use of these devices. It would be prestigious for them if they could shoot down a drone. I don't believe they have it at all. I would be highly concerned if I was being spied on from above. I feel it is likely that moral is at a bit of a low in the MILF's ranks about now.

I don't think it would be of great value to anyone if they did. I doubt it has anything in it other countries can use to develop their own systems. Most of the system is some where in the USA, probably buried under a mountain. It probably has nice electronics in it but that could be obtained off the net. Its the mainframes back in the US that control them. Otherwise, the US would just blow them up remotely if they were concerned about them falling into enemy hands.

Shooting one down could be a real moral booster, thus the claim is being made, I suspect for that reason.

Re: Dollars Breaks the P50 Barrier

Joe_Expat — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:23:04 -0000

Awww, it dipped just below $50 to close at 49.9442

Re: Trouble In Mindanao

Joe_Expat — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:03:01 -0000

I would love to hear more about the 8 Islamic groups.

Re: 33 People Kidnapped In Mindanao

Joe_Expat — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:01:17 -0000

I fear the situation is worse than we know and you seem to be confirming that.

You feel the embassy warnings are useless? In a way I agree as nobody pays attention to them. What the embassy sends out is pretty much useless, I agree there. The travel warnings from the state department also be understated?

Re: Dollar to Philippine Peso Trends and Expectations

Joe_Expat — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:57:22 -0000

I see, so remittance go up when the dollar is doing well. As dollars are converted into Peso that makes the dollar more plentiful to some extent and has a downward pressure on the dollars value.

Re: Trouble In Mindanao

Joe_Expat — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:53:46 -0000

Hey there Rachamim, it is a real pleasure to have you here with all you detailed knowledge.

When I said the Philippine army struck first, I mean after the agreement was struck down by the court.

I TRY to speak of only what I have learned and not comment TRY to stay away from saying what is right and what is wrong or more importantly do not ask for government changes. I use to do that but since learning I could get thrown out of the country for it, I have changed some post and tried as best I can to keep my opinion to myself. It is hard for someone like myself to do so.

There is also the chance that I might offed the MILF or the NPA and I certainly do not wish to do that.

As I understand it, NPA are communist and usually Christian. Am I correct on this? We recently had an attack by suspected NPA on a Jail not far from where I live.

I hear a lot of expats talking of how it is safe to go any place in the country. I cannot agree with them. I would be leery of going south of Dipolog or CDO myself. There are some really beautiful places near Zamboanga. I would like to take the boat from Zamboanga to Malaysia as well. My reading indicates that would be extremely dangerous. Id really like to have your thoughts on this.

I feel you could be invaluable to providing insights on these topics. I hope you return often!

Re: Dollar to Philippine Peso Trends and Expectations

Joe_Expat — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:57:40 -0000

As an update. The PHP to Dollar rate is now flirting with 50 to 1. Yesteday's close was 49.13 today's close was 49.7x. I think we'll see a short drop in the dollar when the Feds cut rates again.