What I Think The Philippine Govt Needs To Learn.

[Mr Lee]

What I think the Philippine govt needs to learn, in order to grow to be independent and not need OFW is, how to entice, reward and appreciate expats. I am not saying that they should do everything that Panama does to attract expats, but IMO they sure could learn how to entice and show that they appreciate expats a little more by learning a thing or two from Panama. I think they could easily entice more expats to move to the Philippines by giving them some of the same benefits listed below that Panama gives, and since most expats would be with a partner who is not a pensioner, they would get full pop on the partner and whoever else was along for the ride. As a qualified pensioner in Panama, you would be entitled to: 1) 50% off entertainment anywhere in the country (movies, theaters, concerts, sporting events, etc.)2) 30% off bus, boat, and train fares3) 25% off airline tickets4) 50% off hotel stays Monday through Thursday, 30% off Friday through Sunday5) 25% off restaurant meals6) 15% off at fast-food restaurants7) 15% off hospital bills (if no insurance applies)8) 10% off prescription medicines9) 20% off doctors' consultations10) 15% off dental and eye exams11) 20% off professional and technical services12) 50% off closing costs for home loans and moreRead more about it, click the link belowhttp://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Retir...orRetirees.aspx

[retired]

What I think the Philippine govt needs to learn, in order to grow to be independent and not need OFW is, how to entice, reward and appreciate expats. I am not saying that they should do everything that Panama does to attract expats, but IMO they sure could learn how to entice and show that they appreciate expats a little more by learning a thing or two from Panama. I think they could easily entice more expats to move to the Philippines by giving them some of the same benefits listed below that Panama gives, and since most expats would be with a partner who is not a pensioner, they would get full pop on the partner and whoever else was along for the ride. As a qualified pensioner in Panama, you would be entitled to: 1) 50% off entertainment anywhere in the country (movies, theaters, concerts, sporting events, etc.)2) 30% off bus, boat, and train fares3) 25% off airline tickets4) 50% off hotel stays Monday through Thursday, 30% off Friday through Sunday5) 25% off restaurant meals6) 15% off at fast-food restaurants7) 15% off hospital bills (if no insurance applies)8) 10% off prescription medicines9) 20% off doctors' consultations10) 15% off dental and eye exams11) 20% off professional and technical services12) 50% off closing costs for home loans and moreRead more about it, click the link belowhttp://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Retir...orRetirees.aspx

How much is a ticket from the Philippines to Panama . :any-help:

[Mike S]

Well I ain't gonna be popular here by why should the citizen of any country pay for the pleasures of foreigners ....... I mean I can afford to pay for all those things if I really need them but most of the average citizens living in these countries can't ....... so why should they pay for me ...... who is actually paying for all these perks ........ the people ....... I mean if I owned a restaurant and had to give a 25% discount to some 50,000 foreigners that might visit my place you can bet your sweet bippy I'm gonna pass on the cost to ALL my customers ...... so who wins ...... no one ..... if they implemented those kind of discounts it would be complete chaos here in the Phils ...... you would have every Tom (no offence ... haha) Dick and Harry living here ...... the Islands would be so heavy they would sink from the weight of all the free-loaders ...... Now there is one thing I would like to see them change and that is the land ownership ...... providing you are married to a Filipino citizen and it is ONLY for a permanent single family residence ....... maybe a ban on the size so no one builds palaces and invites the barangay to stay there ....... Fire arms is another thing I would like to see changed .... but I know some will disagree with that ..... so just don't get one ..... simple enough .... I'm sure there are other stuff .... but right now I'm hungry and my lunch is ready ...... and no ...... Julie will not give me a 25% discount ....... hahahaha ..... sorry couldn't resist ......

[Mr Lee]

I think Mike is missing my point here.... I am not asking for anything for nothing, I am trying to impart some knowledge which I hope might get back to the Philippine govt (yes, they read these forums) to try to improve the country and people I love..... I honestly think that bringing in more expats is much better than separating Filipinos from their families to go to work in other countries to send money home.... Why break up families and have Filipinos go to work outside the country when the govt could make a few changes like Panama did and people will bring the money to them....If they build it, they will come. Mike hit on two ideas that I totally agree with, home ownership and responsible citizens being able to own firearms for sport or protection. Now before any of you gun haters go off on a tangent, I am not saying everyone should own guns, I am saying that responsible trained people who want to own guns, should be allowed to own and carry... Licensed people in the states rarely commit crimes and the crimes they do commit are usually not criminal in nature against innocent others, but crimes related to stopping a property crime and stupidly using their firearm to save property and not knowing how to articulate properly to prevent being charged for doing so.... Now as far as too many people coming, the Philippines is a third world country and it will be many many years, if ever, before it becomes a first world country and it is also not likely many families would move to the Philippines to retire, but I do think more single retirees would come, if the govt gives them enough reasons to. Also, if enough people come, business will be so good that no one else will have to shoulder the discount given to retirees.

Edited January 23, 2009 by Mr. Lee

[TheMason]

I think Mike is missing my point here.... I am not asking for anything for nothing, I am trying to impart some knowledge which I hope might get back to the Philippine govt (yes, they read these forums) to try to improve the country and people I love..... I honestly think that bringing in more expats is much better than separating Filipinos from their families to go to work in other countries to send money home.... Why break up families and have Filipinos go to work outside the country when the govt could make a few changes like Panama did and people will bring the money to them....If they build it, they will come. Mike hit on two ideas that I totally agree with, home ownership and responsible citizens being able to own firearms for sport or protection. Now before any of you gun haters go off on a tangent, I am not saying everyone should own guns, I am saying that responsible trained people who want to own guns, should be allowed to own and carry... Licensed people in the states rarely commit crimes and the crimes they do commit are usually not criminal in nature against innocent others, but crimes related to stopping a property crime and stupidly using their firearm to save property and not knowing how to articulate properly to prevent being charged for doing so.... Now as far as too many people coming, the Philippines is a third world country and it will be many many years, if ever, before it becomes a first world country and it is also not likely many families would move to the Philippines to retire, but I do think more single retirees would come, if the govt gives them enough reasons to. Also, if enough people come, business will be so good that no one else will have to shoulder the discount given to retirees.

Part of the reason Filipinos don't want more foreigners here is because foreigners have a tendency to tell the locals how they should run their country. Which I'm now going to do as well..... :D I would love to see the visa regulations revised. I think the retiree visa system and the spousal visa system do a good job of attracting people that want to invest in the Philippines and build a life here. The tourist visa regulations on the other hand encourage sexpats and sex tourists to visit. I don't see how more people who's primary reason for coming here is cheap beer and women is beneficial to the country. I don't care how much money they spend, they don't help build a better future for the Philippines. I'd like to see the 21-day visa waiver remain, but if you want to stay longer than 21 days you would have to arrange that from your home country ahead of time. I see no need for a tourist visa longer than 45 days in duration. If you want to stay longer than that, you're not a tourist. I'd also be in favor of capping the number of 21 day waivers granted to one per person, per year. Once you weed out the people that aren't willing to invest in their new country, the regulations regarding employment, land use, and business investment need to be more foreigner friendly. I don't think opening the real estate market to foreign ownership is a good idea, but they could at least establish zones where foreign ownership is permitted. Within these zones they could limit the size and number of lots each foreigner could own. Outside these zones, foreigners could sign long-term leases that can be passed on to their heirs, but not actually own the land. I believe this is the system Mexico uses, and they've got a LOT of American retirees living there.

[Mr Lee]

Part of the reason Filipinos don't want more foreigners here is because foreigners have a tendency to tell the locals how they should run their country. Which I'm now going to do as well..... :D I would love to see the visa regulations revised. I think the retiree visa system and the spousal visa system do a good job of attracting people that want to invest in the Philippines and build a life here. The tourist visa regulations on the other hand encourage sexpats and sex tourists to visit. I don't see how more people who's primary reason for coming here is cheap beer and women is beneficial to the country. I don't care how much money they spend, they don't help build a better future for the Philippines. I'd like to see the 21-day visa waiver remain, but if you want to stay longer than 21 days you would have to arrange that from your home country ahead of time. I see no need for a tourist visa longer than 45 days in duration. If you want to stay longer than that, you're not a tourist. I'd also be in favor of capping the number of 21 day waivers granted to one per person, per year. Once you weed out the people that aren't willing to invest in their new country, the regulations regarding employment, land use, and business investment need to be more foreigner friendly. I don't think opening the real estate market to foreign ownership is a good idea, but they could at least establish zones where foreign ownership is permitted. Within these zones they could limit the size and number of lots each foreigner could own. Outside these zones, foreigners could sign long-term leases that can be passed on to their heirs, but not actually own the land. I believe this is the system Mexico uses, and they've got a LOT of American retirees living there.

Some good points and while I do not disagree with you on the sexpats, prostitution is said to be the oldest profession in the world and while I would never participate with a pros and I have been fortunate enough to never have used one of their services, I do not think we have a right to tell them what they should or should not do....... I personally think prostitution should be legal and I think it would stop a lot of rapes and crimes against the average women in any country it was legal in, but that is just my opinion and I have no real data to back it.Now as to telling the Philippines how to run their country, I do not wish to do that and I only wish to make suggestions on how to improve their country and that is why I started this thread, to hear others ideas on the same thing.I disagree with you on most of the visa issue and I agree that it should be easier to stay in the country if you are married to a citizen of the country and that is why they have the balikbayan visa privileges, but I do think it is unfair to have to leave the country and come back to get that privilege reinstated......... A simple visit to the immigration office should suffice, and we should not have to enter from another country to get that BB stamp in the first place IMO.I also disagree on a zone or area to own homes by expats, that would in my opinion make us subject to more burglaries and more crimes and we should be allowed to live where we want and own a home where we want to........ I also feel if we were limited to one area, that would make the prices very, very high in that area....... I feel that owning a large sum of land might be unfair to the Filipinos, so I would limit it to a homestead of a reasonable size. I guess there may not be any perfect solutions, but it would be nice if they opened an office to take expats suggestions and then reviewed those suggestions and considered how some might help their economy and improve their country. IMO the only way for the Philippines to become a first world country would be to act as one, and to not only allow foreigners to live there but to make it easier for foreigners to visit and to live there. Edited January 23, 2009 by Mr. Lee

[Jollygoodfellow]

Part of the reason Filipinos don't want more foreigners here is because foreigners have a tendency to tell the locals how they should run their country. Which I'm now going to do as well..... :11_12_14[1]: I would love to see the visa regulations revised. I think the retiree visa system and the spousal visa system do a good job of attracting people that want to invest in the Philippines and build a life here. The tourist visa regulations on the other hand encourage sexpats and sex tourists to visit. I don't see how more people who's primary reason for coming here is cheap beer and women is beneficial to the country. I don't care how much money they spend, they don't help build a better future for the Philippines. I'd like to see the 21-day visa waiver remain, but if you want to stay longer than 21 days you would have to arrange that from your home country ahead of time. I see no need for a tourist visa longer than 45 days in duration. If you want to stay longer than that, you're not a tourist. I'd also be in favor of capping the number of 21 day waivers granted to one per person, per year. Once you weed out the people that aren't willing to invest in their new country, the regulations regarding employment, land use, and business investment need to be more foreigner friendly. I don't think opening the real estate market to foreign ownership is a good idea, but they could at least establish zones where foreign ownership is permitted. Within these zones they could limit the size and number of lots each foreigner could own. Outside these zones, foreigners could sign long-term leases that can be passed on to their heirs, but not actually own the land. I believe this is the system Mexico uses, and they've got a LOT of American retirees living there.

Some good points and while I do not disagree with you on the sexpats, prostitution is said to be the oldest profession in the world and while I would never participate with a pros and I have been fortunate enough to never have used one of their services, I do not think we have a right to tell them what they should or should not do....... I personally think prostitution should be legal and I think it would stop a lot of rapes and crimes against the average women in any country it was legal in, but that is just my opinion and I have no real data to back it.Now as to telling the Philippines how to run their country, I do not wish to do that and I only wish to make suggestions on how to improve their country and that is why I started this thread, to hear others ideas on the same thing.I disagree with you on most of the visa issue and I agree that it should be easier to stay in the country if you are married to a citizen of the country and that is why they have the balikbayan visa privileges, but I do think it is unfair to have to leave the country and come back to get that privilege reinstated......... A simple visit to the immigration office should suffice, and we should not have to enter from another country to get that BB stamp in the first place IMO.I also disagree on a zone or area to own homes by expats, that would in my opinion make us subject to more burglaries and more crimes and we should be allowed to live where we want and own a home where we want to........ I also feel if we were limited to one area, that would make the prices very, very high in that area....... I feel that owning a large sum of land might be unfair to the Filipinos, so I would limit it to a homestead of a reasonable size. I guess there may not be any perfect solutions, but it would be nice if they opened an office to take expats suggestions and then reviewed those suggestions and considered how some might help their economy and improve their country. IMO the only way for the Philippines to become a first world country would be to act as one, and to not only allow foreigners to live there but to make it easier for foreigners to visit and to live there.

Why should they want to be a first world country,it works fine as it is for the wealthy.I dont know of any country that has a suggestion box for foreigners and doubt if the Philippines will ever have one either,I guess they have their independence in todays world and dont want to be ruled by outsiders. :D

[Sampaguita]

From my point of view as a Filipina, my country has a lot to learn from how things are done in other countries. The US is very organized and clean. I am sure more expats moving to the Philippines can only help the economy and it is such a shame that we feel the need to have to send money home to make life livable for our families.