PhilFAQS

The shortest and most accurate answer to this question is yes.

Now, of course, that begs a couple other questions.  Do you want to disappear in the Philippines?  Some people are hesitant even to visit the Philippines because they are afraid they’ll disappear without a trace.  This is pretty rare indeed for a foreigner, but it has happened.  Indeed, like the proverbial “perfect crime” it may well have happened more times than we know … if the person really did disappear without a trace.

I don’t worry much about this happening to me at all, because I live here in the full sense of the word.  I have family here, government records (both US and Philippine), rent and other bills to pay and a number of foreigner friends who know something about where I live and what activities I’m engaged in.

Now of course the other side of the coin is, what if I wanted to disappear … say to avoid legal actions pending against me?  I certainly don’t advocate this and I often counsel people in my layman’s view that any legal action is not like wine … it does not improve with age.  I recommend, and say, don’t do it.

That being said, I know personally there are many foreigners hiding from the law in one form or another here in the Philippines.  The chances of them being discovered is actually pretty slim.  If you don’t commit a crime here in the Philippines there are few, if any people who really care who you are or what you are doing.

The first time I came here, back in 1999, a lawyer friend offered me a way to defray some of my travel costs.  He offered to pay me for proof of a fellow American’s physical address in a town near here.  Ideally he wanted a photo of the gentleman entering or leaving his house which clearly showed the house in enough detail for a process server to take action.   At issue were thousands and thousands of dollars in unpaid child support.  This guy had left his ex-wife and children in the US and run off here to hide.

Much as I would have liked the money and as much as I hate the very thought of guys who run off on their kids, I opted not to pursue the issue any further.  I’m a stranger here, this guy was less of a stranger, and who knows what friends he might have made … or even bought here over the years.  There are thousands more like this fellow I have good reason to believe.  I even know of at least one American who is legally practicing as a licensed private investigator here.  Since we “kano” stick out like sore thumbs I am sure this guy doesn’t have to work too hard to track down a lot of subjects.

But it’s not for me … again … you never know who is connected to whom, and walking around watching my back all day and night is not relaxing for me.

There are many other Americans here virtually unknown.  One fellow I know hasn’t had a Philippine visa in well over 20 years.  He’ll likely die peacefully in his home someday, surrounded by literally dozens of foster children and grandchildren whom he has sent to college and otherwise helped along through life and nobody from the Philippine government is going to demand a visa in order to issue a death certificate.

Having lived in a number of counties as well as my own USA, it’s a cinch decision for me that is I did want to disappear, the Philippines would be the place to do it.

By the way, I saw an interesting article on the subject of Disappearing in the Philippines while researching … a blog I wasn’t familiar with before .. Untwisted Vortex.  A worthwhile read, I thought.

What in the world is a Ber month? Oh, that’s simple. It’s a shortcut term for what passes for winter here in the Philippine northland. It’s slang for any month with a "b e r" in it.

I’ve mentioned in the past that "night is the Philippine winter", based on the fact that the average swing from peak day to minimum night temperatures is typically wider than the swing from, say, peak June to peak December temps, but there is a winter of sorts.

You can find a lot of weather details for most cites on my dedicated time and temp page, or at Weather Underground.

It is cooler in the evenings when I take my daily walks to momma and daddy’s house, and the days are getting shorter … it’s now quite dark by 1\6 PM, instead of 6:20 or so when it starts getting pretty dark in the summer. That’s right, the length of the days here vary only slightly compared with North America or Europe .. or the populated parts of Australia for that matter.

photo credit: César Rincón The other way you can tell that the "ber" months are here is, it’s the Christmas season. Yep, I was at the mall yesterday and all the music had changed to Christmas carols. The Christmas season here is a serious thing, you need to keep it in mind for planning. traffic, especially around malls will build slowly but surely … by December it’s near impossible. Likewise, lines in the bank … get there early, for sure.

This is also a great time to visit and now that school is ‘in’ in the US, air fares are good … just don’t plan on flying anywhere from 15 December until 15 January or so … that is the highest of any high season demand.

But it’s much drier now .. tree leavers often start to fade and change color, even though the temperature never gets anywhere near freezing … it’s the plant’s reaction to the change of day length. The air is much drier, there are more breezes and soon the mall ladies will start wearing their silly little Santa hats … mandatory, lang.

They say there are really no "seasons" here in the Philippines, but "they" are wrong. Welcome to winter

The Philippine National Anthem is something I never expected to see a lot of interest in on this blog.  After all, I’m an American and a guest here and also, in common with Japan and a number of other foreign countries I have lived in, the Lupang Hinirang (Philippine National Anthem) is seldom heard here.  In fact I can clearly remember the last time I heard it played on the TV … in Las Vegas, Nevada upon the occasion of Manny (Pac Man) Pacquiao’s last fight against Erik Morales, where the Mexican, Filipino and US nation anthems were played during the opening ceremonies. However, this is one of the most searched for items on the blog, so here it is, for all those who wanted to know, in Pilpino and in English.  The English version is always good for an argument or two, because there are words in Tagalog/Pilipino which don’t always translate directly … one of the reasons that English is still one of the Philippine official languages. 

By the way, I do not believe the common rumor among foreigners that to become a naturalized Filipino you have to be able to sing the anthem … I believe that is just an urban legend.  But, then, again, I haven’t applied for naturalization, yet. 

LUPANG HINIRANG

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