I could write a book … sigh.  Every day the Manila papers are full of news about some hotel chain or another investing in the Philippines.  But just try to find a hotel, as noted, on-line .. or one that doesn’t double their rates.  Even when living here in the Philippines it’s a tremendous hassle to find out anything about hotels where you might want to travel for sightseeing or family business.  You have to be much more reliant on “by guess and by gosh” arrangements for accommodations.

Try to get through the airport without a uniformed BID representative soliciting a bribe, even.  Sad.  (This assertion is based on personal experience, by the way, not hearsay or conjecture).  The BID (Bureau of Immigration and Deportation) has had significant problems and I see little being done to make it any better.  Last fall there was a day or so of chattering on TV and in the newspapers about a confrontation between the “First Daughter”, “Luli Arroyo and a BID officer at Manila’s airport.  The press first started reporting the incident as if the presidential daughter had tried to bypass processing and go to the head of the line because of her own VIP status.   But that wasn’t the case at all.  Ms. Arroyo had observed the officer berating and publicly abusing another traveler a few spaces ahead of her as she dutifully waited her turn, and when she stepped forward to intervene in the unseemly and unnecessary bullying of the hapless traveler the officer took refuge in the sanctuary of all cowardly and crooked law enforcement losers … he screamed at her to get back in line and to stop interfering with BID business.  In that particular incident an investigation proved the officer blatantly in the wrong and he was fired … but how many get away every day with abusing their authority when the president’s daughter isn’t around? 

It’s certainly not the officer’s supervisors who will uphold the law.  Just last week a news item regarding the NAIA BID stated that the government already knew of an organized, on-going scheme to illegally extract bribes from outbound workers leaving to go abroad for work (folks who have already burdened themselves with huge loans to pay air fare and other legal processing and visa fees).  The scheme revolved around workers being directed to specific immigration booths where certain officers, assigned everyday to the same booths would “take care of things” for a “special fee”.  So since the investigators seemed to know everything about the crooked scheme, right down to the individual officers participating you might think heads would roll, correct?  Nope, dice would roll instead.  The “corrective action”?  Assign the officers to booths every shift by a random lottery system so that those paying off the crooked ones wouldn’t know which line to fall into.  Now that impresses me as intelligent, forthright leadership …NOT!

Another issue frequently brushed aside by many Philippine apologists is safety.  I live here, full time, and intend to keep living here for many years to come.  But living here does resemble the “Wild, Wild West” a lot more than many want to admit.  More than 110 people were killed in the 30 days or so before the last election (may 2007), some of them innocent bystanders shot by police security forces assigned to opposing candidates having and having their own private wars.  Provincial buses are routinely robbed at gun point by armed bandits.  In the past few months from Zambales  down there in Mindanao I recall at least seven bombings of buses and/or bus terminals in the past few months.  A high-ranking police official assured reporters, “It’s not terrorism, it’s extortionists trying to get money from the bus companies.  Known gangs”  … words to that effect.  I’m sure the people blown up are comforted by the fact they didn’t fall victim to terrorists.  Being blown up by a common extortionist is a much better way to go.

Here in Luzon the mayor of a town in Zambales recently took office for his 7th “duly elected”  term.  Only problem?  The law limits him to 3 terms.  Oh, and 10 years ago he was convicted of 10 counts of official fraud in office and there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest.  Prominent police officials attended his inauguration, BTW.

Although it’s pretty hard to see the positive side of me reporting this, I feel there certainly is hope.  But I don’t see anything changing all that soon.  As long as police stand idly by and attend ceremonies, knowing the guest of honor has an outstanding criminal warrant, as long as anti-terrorism officials let “non-terrorist” bombers roam the countryside because it’s “not their job” I don’t expect a lot of action soon. 

The remedy?  It’s not really all that difficult.  Enforce the frickin’ law!

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