The dangers of Relying on Philippine Law
Last activity 01 July 2019 by Bhavna
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Over the years I have witnessed some horrific situations where innocent people were punished by the Philippine system and in many cases all their wealth taken from them.
Innocent Foreigner, 3 cases against him, 2 dismissed the final one according to his Attorney would also be dismissed. Attorney told him he did not need to attend. (Convicted in Absentia). Months later his attorney arranged a meeting with him and the NBI turned up to arrest him to serve his one year sentence in Jail. There was no way to appeal this. WHAT A SET UP - the attorney knew and did this deliberately.
A foreigner having just ended a 10 year relationship with his Thai Girlfriend, went to the Philippines with his mate who invited him, Puerto Galera. met a girl, After a couple of weeks she asked him to take her to his country and he agreed. He left that month October, then she applied for a visa for herself and her mother, travelled to his country in December, they married in january, then in February returned to the Philippines to apply for her permanent visa.
On arrival after clearing immigration he asked his wife to wait for him in the luggage area near Immigration while he went to the ATM to get money to pay for the extension on his visa.
When he returned his wife was being interrogated and he was told to wait. After 10 minutes he was arrested for people trafficking, detained, spent 3 years in detention and cost him $900,000 USD in bribes and costs. His wife was detained by DSWD for this time and testified that he was kind to her and she was in love with him and travelled voluntarily. It still took the court 3 years to finally allow him out on bail, all because the prosecutor had not been paid and his wife had told them how much money he had in his bank.
When I first went to the Philippines in 1986 I was warned about this by my travel agent who was married to a Filipina.
He told me not to do business in the Philippines and to be very careful what you do, where you go and who you are with.
I was also warned about many different scams;
Over the years, I witnessed or observed or was told about or met people that had these experiences.
WARNINGS I WILL GIVE
Philippine law is virtually word for word taken from the American law. However they Philippines has put their own twist on it:
Philippine law states that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty BUT This is not the case. You are always guilty until you prove you are not. Then you still have to pay to be released.
Evidence is anything they like. It does not have to be real. Affidavits can be fake but ok. Delivery of a subpoena can be to any address so long as they state "last known address" so they can proceed with a case without you ever knowing it existed. There is no responsibility for the Prosecutor to deliver the subpoena to you.
If you do not attend the court you will be convicted in Absentia even if you are innocent;
Attorneys will make the case go on for as long as possible to make as much money from you to maximise their earnings.
Court staff will demand a payment from you to release your bond and usually expect to be paid 20% of you bond to them.
When you are finally found to be innocent and the case is either dismissed or you are acquitted this is temporary for 2 years. After that it becomes permanent. HOWEVER, at any time during the temporary period the case can be reopened.
SO IF SOMEONE has made a false case against you, if you make a case against them they can reactivate the case against you and you can be rearrested and detained again.
IF you do not pay the people who make the case against you, they will not withdraw the case regardless of whether it was false in the first place.
If a charge is made against you and you are innocent there is no way to punish the Filipino making the case. IF you challenge them they are protected by the law and you end up back in Jail.
THIS information is for those travelling to the Philippines to give an understanding of how the Philippine legal system works (or doesn't work)
1. Do not think the police will give you any protection or help you in times of need. If you are the victim of a crime there will be little you can do about it (don't call the police)
2. If you are charged with a crime of any sort, regardless if you are innocent or not, expect to spend a lot of time in Detention
3. Before you will be allowed out of Detention you will need to pay your attorney ridiculous amounts for doing little or nothing, then pay the prosecutor and judge to grant the bail (That is if the crime allows for bail)
4. Do not ever be caught alone anywhere with a child under 18. Doesn't matter if it is your girlfriend's child or not - this is a serious crime with a penalty of life imprisonment and no bail on the charges
5. Do not lend money to a Filipino. You will never get it back. Once you give it the thinking is " he/she lent me the money knowing I could not pay it back so it is their problem not mine and I don't have to pay it."
6. Never trust any document you are given in the Philippines.
7. The legals system knows all about everyone and they act when it suits them to gain financially from it.
8. There are no good Judges or Attorneys in the Philippines.
9. Most policemen cannot be trusted to do their job.
10. any incident has to be resolved in the courts and if it is you, the Filipino will not be detained but you will
11. If ever you are detained you will lose all communication rights. Your phone, laptop will be taken from you and you will have to rely on someone knowing you are in Jail to visit and to help you.
12. Hearings are always reset and it takes months to get to a hearing.
13. If they do not like you or just want to keep you there, your hearings will be reset all the time or no hearing will be set unless you get your embassy involved.
14. Never cause harm to any Filipino even in self defence. You will be the one charged.
15. If a Filipino steals from you it is ok for them. The system will not help you.
16. If a Filipino makes a charge against you, no matter what it is, you will be the one to suffer. The court
will see you as an ATM card to extract money from
The court will classify you as a "High Profile Case" meaning you are worth a lot of money to them.
Judges and prosecutors have weekly meetings to boast about how much money they have made
from the defendants. It is a pride situation and great status for the one who has the highest amount
17. All foreigners, no matter what your circumstances, will be thought to be rich by the Filipinos
18. The allowance for food in the Jails is 65 pesos a day to the warden who spends about 25-30 only.
So you have rice and one small fish and cheap vegetable (same every day)
19. Prosecutors (attorneys prosecuting the case) have more power than the judge and the Judge needs their permission to either withdraw the case or declare the defendant acquitted.
20. If you have a choice of holiday destination choose somewhere else other than the Philippines - the risks are way too high in the Philippines for foreigners.
21. A Filipino will never admit to being in the wrong.
22. Accommodation is always overpriced
23. Food is overpriced
24. Service is ordinary at best.
On the other side:
Filipinos are friendly people, there are many nice places to go and they speak English.
The Filipino women are mostly very good people and great partners.
Filipino males cannot be trusted in general although I do have a few I would trust with my life.
In other words, Dylan's Just Like Tom Thumb Blues says it best:
"If you're looking to get silly you better go back to from where you came
'Cause the cops don't need you, and man they expect the same."
100% true
Pour un bleu fraîchement débarqué aux Philippines ce post fait chaud au cœur !!!! 😏
Can I use yr post in a book I am intending to write on the philippines?
With due acknowledgment to the author of course !
cigna is not very good you have to pay in Dollars/euros no GPB sterling
its rip off
There has to be a better philippines medical health care...
my question is cigna want you to pay say 5oo euros month for 12 months my annoyance is what if you do not have no medical treament in the last 12 months that means we have just thrown away 6000 euros into the hands of cigna true ...
there must be a better option for all new philippines expats as my self
regards
Yes you can.
Sorry I did not see your post.
If you want more information email me at ***
I have many stories that might help you
Reason : do not post your personal contact details on the forum
More than a grain of truth but many exaggerations to how expats are treated by authorities. The truth is, native philipinos are treated much worse in the justice system here, and because they rarely can afford the time or money to pursue justice they ultimately are Sent to prison.
My wife's nephew spent 9 years in prison for being friends with a man who was caught with shabu shabu. The justice system here is just another equal opportunity disfunctional institution.
I agree with Zincity. Generally the foreigners are better off than Filipinos in terms of justice or unjustice. And many foreigners come to the Philippines to escape justice in their own country and when they are caught by Philippines authorities they shout about how unfair the justice system is for foreigners in the Philippines 😁
The law in the Philippines for locals is equally as bad. If you have more money it works for you. If not it works against you.
I have seen some horrific situations in the Philippines.
A 16 year old Canadian girl who grew up in China was arrested as part of a scam (under 18 should not be in jail according to Philippine law) but she was detained in NBI for almost 6 weeks where the guards raped her daily.
Another young boy, only 16, witnessed a mobile phone stolen from a Girl in Caloocan. There were 6 guys involved in the theft. The police came quickly. Interviewed the girls then asked him if he witnessed the crime. He told them he did. They then asked him if he knew the person. Again he said he did. Then the police asked if he knew where they lived. Again he said yes. They took him to show them where this guy lived, brought him out and asked if he was the one. Again he said yes. Then they arrested the guy and ARRESTED this innocent witness also.
He was underaged and should not have been in jail or detention. But he was. No one in his family was notified.
I can continue for weeks with specific cases where both Filipino and Foreigners are severely affected by the application of the law in the Philippines. Detrimentally to their well being and wrongfully charged.
One Filipino was waiting for 15 years or his hearing. Another one charged with murder was detained for 20 years without a court hearing.
My experience as an expat has only been positive as far as how I am treated by public officials here. As long as your respectful and not overly argumentative you will get along fine. But, I also know that if I am ever in a sticky situation where, at no fault of mine there are authorities evolved, the locals will gladly throw you under the bus to side with their own.
Unless your a Chinese national on Duterte VIP list of course.
Fred: how can one link to these crimes when the Philippine Government and legal system does not publish them. You can choose to believe me or not.
I can with 100% certainty guarantee these cases exist and existed.
I cannot confirm where the information came from because it will compromise people and could put their lives in danger.
If you know anything about the Philippines you would know that life is cheap there and the way cases go away is when the witnesses die.
The list of cases I can give is almost endless. My wife's best friend was a fiscal in the ombudsman's office and another friend an attorney in the Chief Justices office
That is all I am prepared to give
Bigjackaranda wrote:Can I use yr post in a book I am intending to write on the philippines?
With due acknowledgment to the author of course !
Yes you are most welcome to: if you want more information just post here and I will do my best to give it.
My experience in the Philippines spans 30+ years
Paul O AUS wrote:A 16 year old Canadian girl who grew up in China was arrested as part of a scam (under 18 should not be in jail according to Philippine law) but she was detained in NBI for almost 6 weeks where the guards raped her daily.
A young foreign national being gang raped by prison guards must have hit the press so perhaps you could link to the reports, perhaps from Canadian news sites.
Of course there are many innocent people who are in jail in the Philippines. But it is also true in the US jails. The problem in the Philippines and US is that money talks in the justice system... if you are rich you can negotiate with the other party. If you are black you have more chance to go to jail etc.
geolefrench wrote:Of course there are many innocent people who are in jail in the Philippines. But it is also true in the US jails. The problem in the Philippines and US is that money talks in the justice system... if you are rich you can negotiate with the other party. If you are black you have more chance to go to jail etc.
Not totally true about the US system. We have two classes of legal suits, Criminal and Civil. Criminal suits are brought by the authorities and you can not negotiate out of them though you can make plea deals for lesser sentences. Civil suits are legal cases filed from one entity against another. These can, and frequently are, settled out of court. Many insurance companies will settle lawsuits out of court to save them the expense of legal fees and the big uncertainty of what a judgement will cost them if they lose.
Now in France, you have more of a chance of going to jail if you are a foreigner (21% of prison population is foreign).
[Post under review]
I see a lot of non specific, wild allegations that might be true but equally might be total rubbish (apocryphal) but they all share one thing - They don't especially defame anyone so it can be seen as a bit odd but hopefully harmless.
Naming someone and accusing them of a specific, and very serious crime is not harmless so posts of that nature have to go.
Fred wrote:Paul O AUS wrote:A 16 year old Canadian girl who grew up in China was arrested as part of a scam (under 18 should not be in jail according to Philippine law) but she was detained in NBI for almost 6 weeks where the guards raped her daily.
A young foreign national being gang raped by prison guards must have hit the press so perhaps you could link to the reports, perhaps from Canadian news sites.
This information came directly from the attorney who arranged her release from the NBI Detention in Taft Avenue. No names will be given here due to the risks those people would encounter.
Reporting of crimes like this where the guards have committed the crime is not done in the Philippines. Asking for newspaper reports and not accepting the information without them is crazy. Implies a serious lack of understanding of the operation of Philippine law and the court and detention facilities.
I don't think you quite understand the system in the Philippines. If anyone in detention makes a claim against the guards or warden, the guards/warden are stood down while it is being investigated. Then the person making the claim is put under extreme pressure to remove the claim and until they do they are treated very harshly in detention. New charges can be made against them that keep them there for a very long time.
If you are successful in making one of these claims and the guard loses his job (that is the worst thing that would happen to him - most likely he would be transferred to another detention center)
Ignorance of the realities in detention and jail are common for people from other countries where the systems are fair and have degrees of moral and social responsibility. This is not the case in the Philippines.
I am just warning people to keep away from any activity or groups of people who can make such charges against you.
Foreigners in the Philippines can also be bad when it comes to making false charges against competitors or others.
Hi Fred
You can find info with this link, nothing secret
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/ … se-settled
That explains why it never hit the Canadian papers ..... or maybe not.
"Apocryphal" is a lovely word to have in your vocabulary.
However, bar room stories with no names or means to identify anyone are not so much of a problem but, as I said before, posts with names have to go. I do wonder long the lawyer you mentioned had spent at the bar (Pun intended).
Must run, there's been a sighting of the Loch Ness monster.
Fred wrote:That explains why it never hit the Canadian papers ..... or maybe not.
"Apocryphal" is a lovely word to have in your vocabulary.
However, bar room stories with no names or means to identify anyone are not so much of a problem but, as I said before, posts with names have to go. I do wonder long the lawyer you mentioned had spent at the bar (Pun intended).
Must run, there's been a sighting of the Loch Ness monster.
The lawyer was a nephew of the Fiscal who worked in the Ombudsman's office. The fiscal's husband was and is a prosecutor in a major city in Manila.
Source is 100%
Another one of my contacts was a chief negotiator for the CIA in the Philippines and so many more.
My stories are not street stories or pub talk. I don't go to the pub and bars.
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