1st 30 day extension and some bribes

Nope, you were definitely taken for a ride and hope you enjoyed the trip. Never had that issue in Manila (Intramuros) nor the airport nor my local immi office for the last 12 years as a visitor.

OMO.

Cheers, Steve

Nope, doesn't sound right at all, and almost hard to believe. I have renewed my visitors visa DOZENS of times at the BI office at J Square Mall in Mandaue and never had something like that happen. Everyone there has always been helpful and forthright. Longest wait was maybe 2-3 hours, when the line was out the door.

That being said, I have always been given the expedited service, as are most foreigners I believe, and it is only an extra 500 or 1000p. It is all posted there on the wall, so no need to negotiate. I would never offer a bribe - please don't do that - this isn't "the good old days".

Your story differs from any experience I have ever had at any BI office.

Ditto pnw, never and you are correct that all the fees are displayed in office as well as online. I would never pay extra fees and have to say never been asked.

I am also lucky that my local immi office is mostly deserted and normally in and out in 5 to 10 minutes.

Cheers, Steve.

I will add that the other BI office I have used is the small one in Dumaguete. There is never much of a wait, but they hold your passport and you have to come back to get your new visa the next day.

My passport handed back with the receipt of payment, only the ACR card I pick up on my next renewal 2 months later, They have a box of some 2 to 3 hundred ACR cards sitting on their side of the counter in alphabetical order. Small office in San Fernando City La Union and a pleasure to deal with.

As a visitor in this country I am well treated and never asked for a bribe.

Cheers, Steve.

On the few times I have ever been to a  BI office, I have always been asked to be in on a bribe  just to get something processed.

I have turned it down every single time. You never know if just one instance might turn around and bite you in the ass with the authorities involved. I would never take that risk.

@kristopherryanwatson I retired here 6 years ago and prior to that, visited here every few years since 1988 with my Filipina wife. In all that time I as a foreigner was never asked for a bribe but my wife was approached (in Tagalog) a few times at Manila airport customs but never at cebu mactan airport. I have seen fixers at LTO which I do not consider to be direct bribes per se. At BI  the process there apparently includes an express lane fee to make it go faster; this is legit. Is that what you are referring to? It is hard for me to imagine govt emplyees regularly soliciting foreigners to pay bribes although in some parts it may be more common than I might think, such as in parts of Mindanao.

Grease . . . .

When you enter BI in Manila there is an big area full of chairs waiting to have your named called. Well I was waiting over an hour and my wife left for a few minutes and then my name was called. I went into a small room where they checked my application for errors and then directed me to window 14.

Unbeknown to me my wife applied a little grease to someone and that's why my name was called next. Near the elevator there is a sign saying it's illegal to use grease.

Well window 14 was empty.

Next was to schedule an interview with the lawyer at window 20? Walking away from window 20 with my appointment, my driver notice the date conflicted with his no drive date. So back to the window and they said we would have to go upstairs to have someone authorize a date change. The authorization process consisted of a letter of explanation. They granted it and then back downstairs to another window to pay a P1000 fee to have the date changed.

Side Note:

A cultural difference exists. I've learned that Filipinos will try to take advantage over other Filipinos unless they are close friends. In the states us Gringos would help another person not expecting anything in return.

I'm thinking this cultural difference is normal for some Filipinos and is why they try to take advantage, especially over westerners. Unfortunately for westerners on "Love Sites" they are unprepared to what awaits them.

Once about 4 years ago right after The SM Aura branch opened I went there to submit/process my Sons dual citizenship.

A Filipina manager approached us and explained that they don’t process that there and I need to go to main, she then says I can do it for you if you want, so I ask what do we need to do, she stated that I would need to pay 10K, I politely said no and left for main…

On a side note, about that same time at main it turned out that while there for my sons citizenship it was the yearly annual report, so I went to this large adjacent outdoor plaza area where they were processing all the foreigners. My wife was approached by a couple of Filipinas while I was at the table/computer being processed. After we left she told me that those two ladies were asking her how I treated her and that they could have me deported if she wanted to…Seems unbelievable to me that the Bi was paying them to stand around and approach foreigners Wives/Girlfriends canvassing them to see if they wanted there Husbands/Boyfriends deported…just fyi

It is hard for me to imagine govt emplyees regularly soliciting foreigners to pay bribes although in some parts it may be more common than I might think, such as in parts of Mindanao.
-@danfinn

Actually, Yes. This is a lot more rampant than one would think, and even in the Manila offices. Though, the mechanics of how this is carried out is a little less direct. Handlers come into play,and though it is made clear that this is stricly prohibited, it does happen. As mentioned, it happened to me at least once before, and i've heard of similar instances from others (foreigners) who had one purpose or another to visit a BI office...but I'd like to think things have really chanced in recent years.

@vehicross100

what a ludicrous story - not to say that it isn't true. I just can't believe people actually have that much time on their hands to solicit that sort of 'service' near or around a BI office....yet, i am not at all surprised.

@kristopherryanwatson It is difficult to find the motive for that except possibly for blackmail and fraud on the part of scammers. People should realize that there is due process here and you are entitled to a defense. True violations would result in imprisonment prior to deportation, I would assume. Legal defense would suck up the husband and wife's resources probably leaving a scam victim with little to live on . An accuser needs witnesses and perjury is a real crime. Deportations of Westerners garner publicity and cases can be found on the BI websites; I have never seen cases of deportations orginating at BI offices such as this. Sounds like another scam that I would pay no attention to.   

@danfinn

Totally agree with you. Not to stereotype, but Filipinas have a penchant to do that sort of thing against foreign men - especially where it benefits them with earning money. Those types seem to love to make a living off of that. No doubt there is some kind of deep-rooted syndicate running around like a well-oiled business  - and would not be surprising to me if (ex) BI employees might be involved somehow, 

@kristopherryanwatson I seem to remember ex prez DU30 threatening to cutting out the livers of  government employees caught in corruption and then dipping their liver in vinegar and eating it raw lol. But that no longer applies and we may be back to old times although we hope not. For sure, he did seem to end a lot of that nonsense when he was in power.

@danfinn

Absolutely. there was plenty he did right and helped to steer the country in a lot more progressive direction to compete with other noteworthy powerhouse countries in the region.  I appreciated him,  but I always found his foul-mouth strongman approach  off-putting. overcompensation for somewhere else haha.

And it was open season on suspected drug dealers.

If you guys think Baaksheesh as we used to call it, doesn't exist any more you're being naive. I used to be a merchant marine.  Panama canal, your ship waits on anchor until it's your turn. But prior to that 2-3 tugs come alongside and officials come on board.  All the fees are previously paid by the local ships agent. The formality of paperwork is next. And every single official expects his Baaksheesh.  In the form of American cigarettes,  preferably Marlboro red. Commonly the ship ends up passing out 80 to 100 CARTONS to the 12 to 15 "officials". No Baaksheesh,  wait longer, much longer. Same with the Suez Canal. And entering some ports as well. I was one of those required to handle these guys. I would have 2-4 cartons stashed all over the place, multiple off brands and say that's all we had because the delivery didn't come in the states. I usually only passed out 30-40 cartons of Baaksheesh.

@Larry Fisher

i dont know what that has to do with anything in context of what is being discussed about alleged scams / bribes happening  in or around the vicinity of BI in this thread, but ok. thanks for sharing.