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Supposedly this happened to someone in another group:

They extended their visa without the express option, and then missed the passport pickup date by more than 5 days because they were sick. Since the passport wasn't picked up, BI (Immigration) sent it to the embassy of the issuing country. BI told the original poster that 'repeat offenders' get blacklisted.

Is this true? Is this the normal procedure?

Single expats: if you want to stay single, why stay in the Philippines?

I'm genuinely curious. Most expats are here for the women. They want a second shot at a good marriage. I mean, to me, that's the only thing that makes the Philippines worth it.

Vietnam and Thailand have better infrastructure for less money.

And we all know that as long as you shower every day, you can find a partner here in the Philippines, so if you're single, it's by choice. I'm just curious: then why stay here?

A dependable eSIM for Coron

Hi all,

I'm posting because I'm having a hard time finding reliable info, so hopefully this is the right place.

I'm heading to the Philippines soon. Half the trip will be in Coron, the other half in and around Manila. I'm looking for an eSIM with decent coverage in both areas.

I don't need much beyond data for the length of the trip (10 days). I'm not worried about texts or calls since I'll mostly use WhatsApp. I mainly need it for translation and for banking access just in case (I'd rather not log into anything finance-related on hotel wifi). I'm not really expecting data while island hopping.

Any recommendations? So far I've looked at Saily, Airalo and Ubigi. Cost isn't a big concern, I'd rather go with something reputable than something niche.

Thanks!

- Also, unrelated to the title, but I'm happy to hear any other general recommendations!

Good morning, everyone. My Filipino wife wants me to open a repair shop for motorcycles, cars and trucks. What do you all think? I can't retire for another six years. I was also thinking about opening a bakery or a Brooklyn-style pizza shop

Bubble areas like BGC, IT Park and Megaworld in Iloilo are all PRIVATELY maintained

Keep this in mind when you look at these places or think of them as examples of the Philippines making progress. They're not. Anything the government 'maintains' in 99% of the Philippines looks like trash. Places like BGC and IT Park are just small bubbles privately maintained by Ayala Land and a few other big Philippine companies. So once you step out of these bubbles and back into areas the government maintains, things go downhill fast.

Bangkok, on the other hand, looks good in 95% of its areas. The government there maintains the roads and sidewalks. In other words, it does its job.

I'm bringing this up for the people who come to this sub looking for advice on maybe moving to the Philippines. A lot of them don't realize places like BGC only look nice because they're privately maintained. None of it comes from a functioning government. This matters because bad government can hurt your life in ways you don't understand until you actually live there.

When the pretty Pinay you've been talking to suddenly starts posting exotic overseas trip photos on Instagram

Hi everyone! I'm planning to stay in Siargao for about 5-6 months, so any recommendations or advice are welcome. 😊

Why is nobody talking about the Philippine peso's slide? It's now at a record low of ₱62.62 to the dollar.

The Philippine peso has lost 6% of its value against the dollar this year alone.

It's now ₱62.62 to $1, a record low, and it's at record lows against other major currencies like the pound too.

If you had $10,000 in the Philippines at the start of this year, you'd have lost $590 in purchasing power.

Why is this happening? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? And where do you see it going?

Dating Filipina single moms — a more balanced take

This is something I've been wanting to share after living in the Philippines for 4 years: dating Filipina single moms is much more nuanced than most comments and posts on the topic make it out to be. Let me explain.

I've dated a few single moms in Manila and Cebu. I think it can be really rewarding, but it can also turn into a 'never again' experience or one of those horror stories you read online.

To me, it's important to understand the context first. More than 14 million Filipinas (about 25% of Filipino women) are single moms. They didn't choose to be single moms. We're talking no divorce, no reliable child support, partners who just disappeared, and in many cases abuse. Many of these women didn't choose this — the system and their partners failed them. Of course that doesn't automatically make them great partners, but saying 'never date one' based on that alone misses a lot, and I think it's unfair.

I also see a lot of posts and comments complaining that her kids come first. Isn't that natural for every parent in the world? The men I know who made it work just accepted it and worked with it. In my experience, the moment you show her you accept her kids, she makes you feel like the most important man in the world. I don't see it as a fight over 'who comes first,' because in Filipino culture you become part of the family almost instantly.

What really mattered to me was seeing what her values are, what she actually wants, and whether her actions match her words. There's one thing I always try to keep in mind: a single mom who's been working double shifts for two years to feed her kids and asking for nothing is a completely different person from someone whose first question is about your income (like a lot of women you meet on dating apps).

Lots of bad experiences are real too — that's for sure. But I think it's always worth looking at what kind of woman she actually is, beyond being a single mom. Plenty of guys have built really happy relationships with single moms and their kids. I hope this post brings some balance to the topic of Filipina single moms.

We're in the final stretch before leaving for the Philippines, and I have a few last-minute questions. The plan is to fly into Cebu and stay in Lapu-Lapu to settle in, then head off to explore Mindanao (CDO, Davao, Butuan City, etc.).

We found an Airbnb we really like, and it's about $1,000 USD a month. To save money, we offered to pay a lump sum for 6 or 12 months. My first thought was that the ceiling is about 85% of that, to account for the Airbnb fee. It's a house, and wifi, electricity and drinking water are included. I'm thinking 10-20% off is fair depending on the lease length, but honestly I have no idea.

1) If the landlord kicks us out and keeps our money, do we have any protection at all? I'm not sure what clauses can go into the contract.

2) For short trips to other Southeast Asian countries, I'm looking for an airline-friendly bag that fits about a week of clothes, toiletries and a laptop. Any recommendations?

3) We'll definitely check out CDO, Davao City and Camiguin Island. Maybe Malaybalay and Butuan City too. The goal is to find scenic places, mountains and beaches. Any must-visit spots in Mindanao you'd recommend?

4) We're planning a two-week trip in late December. Option 1 is Cebu and Bantayan Island, option 2 is Baguio/Bolinao/Clark. It's a tough call because we want to go to all of them lol

We're thinking a week in each place, but we haven't found much near Cebu besides Lambug Beach.

Are these Filipinas just projecting their own guilt?

I'd really like to hear what people think about this one, because it's interesting and something we've only run into recently.

My wife and I have been together for almost 25 years. We have kids, and we're fairly close in age. We met and married in a third country through a mutual friend. Her family wasn't poor, but not rich either — middle class, good people. When we visited recently, her family drove us around in their cars and we chipped in for gas. When we ate out, it was anyone's guess who'd end up paying.

For years we didn't live anywhere with a lot of Filipinos, and that was fine. My wife likes going to the Asian store here in the US now and then, but she doesn't need to be around other Filipinos. It's nice when we are. There's one family we met years ago who are like family to us, but they now live several states away.

In the last year or two we've gotten to know some Filipinos from wealthier families who are here in the US. And we've started noticing that the ones from wealthier families look down on my wife because she married an American. They seem to carry the bias that any woman who married an American must have been after the money.

But as you all know, that's a pretty common perception, and it's easy to brush off as ignorance. What baffles me is that Filipino women who are married to Americans and living here in the US do it too. It's like they think they're the only educated, non-bargirl Filipina who ever married an American. :)

Could it be that they're projecting their own guilt onto others? And why does this seem to be happening more lately?

This gave me the creeps

I went to the Philippines for the first time around August last year, and something really strange happened that I still think about sometimes.

While I was in Manila, I matched with a girl on an app called PinaLove. She was totally my type, but she lived in Bacolod. As it happened, Bacolod was on the later part of my itinerary.

From then on we messaged a ton and video called too. She seemed really excited to meet me once I got to Bacolod, and back then everything seemed normal.

The problem was that I was also seeing another girl in Manila.

Weirdly, every time I was with the Manila girl, the Bacolod girl would suddenly message me on WhatsApp asking if I was seeing someone else. I kept saying no.

One night the Manila girl came over to my Airbnb. We spent the night together, and while we were getting ready to sleep, she suddenly said she felt something was off about the place. She said it felt like someone else was there, and that she can see ghosts.

Honestly, I didn't know what to think. I didn't take it seriously, but it definitely left me uneasy.

We eventually fell asleep and she left early the next morning.

Later that day, the Bacolod girl messaged me again asking if I was seeing someone else. I said no again, and she told me she was really looking forward to meeting me when I came to Bacolod.

That night I was completely alone in my Airbnb. It was around 11 PM and I was tired, so I went to sleep.

Then around 3 AM I suddenly woke up.

I checked my phone, and almost immediately — literally about a minute after waking up — I got a WhatsApp message from the Bacolod girl asking what I was doing.

That really freaked me out.

I know there could be a perfectly ordinary explanation. Maybe she just happened to be awake. Maybe she was already on her phone. Maybe it was just an incredible coincidence.

But that timing, on top of what the Manila girl had said the night before, really got stuck in my head.

So at that point I came clean to the Bacolod girl and told her I was actually seeing someone else. Then I blocked her.

I also moved out of the Airbnb and cancelled Bacolod from my trip.

Afterward I looked up Negros Occidental, Bacolod, and the local stories about ghosts, spirits and superstitions online, which probably didn't help, because I found loads of strange stories.

Looking back a year later, I still don't know what to make of it.

Kidnapping risk in the Philippines, from someone whose family was held hostage in Baguio

Hi everyone, I saw someone else's post about the risk of getting kidnapped in the Philippines.

I think sometimes when we see something on the news, we immediately assume the risk is bigger than it really is. Even something happening to you personally doesn't make it statistically more likely.

Actually, my daughter and her mother were taken hostage in Baguio within the last four years. It was a fairly random incident involving someone who seemed to be having a mental breakdown. Something like that could have happened almost anywhere, though maybe the outcome would have been different somewhere else.

Still, it hasn't changed how I live here. I go wherever I want.

Every time I see a story about someone getting killed in the Philippines, I find myself asking: what are the statistics for the same thing happening back home? A terrible individual event makes the news because it's rare and dramatic. That doesn't tell you much about your own statistical risk of it happening to you.

For me, it's about staying aware of your surroundings and using common sense, without letting a few isolated incidents dictate how you live your life.

What's the best way to change money in Makati?

Hi,

I need around 50k pesos. I have euros.

Is it better to just withdraw from an ATM?

Or should I change money at an exchange shop? Or use Remitly?

Please advise.

Thanks.

AmbitiousYouTuber, AmericaninSEA, 그리고 Tallwhitedude123

What are the odds of getting kidnapped?

Hey everyone,

I have a girlfriend from Zamboanga, but we've never met in person. I pushed many times for our first meeting to be somewhere else, but she insists we meet in Zamboanga first. I've asked why hundreds of times. She just says no and won't give me any reason. I asked to see her room, but she's never shown it to me. I've also heard kids talking during our video calls, and she won't explain that either.

What are the odds of getting kidnapped if I meet her in Zamboanga?

Thank you

Any free VPNs you'd recommend, if there are any?

I just want to talk to my friends, I really don't want to pay for a VPN on top of that😭😭

Philippines 🇵🇭 fun fact

Manila sits at (basically) the same latitude as:

BKK
Khartoum
Dakar
Guatemala City

Would you say Pacific Cross is good life/medical insurance if I'm mostly traveling around Palawan and Boracay? I've always thought it would give me peace of mind to have 24/7 phone support for any medical issue (apparently they have an accredited hospital in Puerto Princesa too).

Thank you

Is Mindanao generally safe?

A woman I'm talking to lives in Gingoog City, near Cagayan de Oro. Locals in Manila told me Mindanao's nickname is 'murder island' and that they'd never go there. Admittedly, I haven't traveled much in the Philippines yet. I'd appreciate any perspective. I understand some parts of the island have travel advisories