Every time I go to a government office in the Philippines, I'm amazed and disgusted by the pointless amount of paperwork and cost. I just signed up for PhilHealth, and because the payment period ran into next year, the cashier made me go back to the counter and ask for two separate invoices! We're processing a permit to build a retaining wall around our property, and they want five copies of the application, each one notarized, which adds more cost because the lawyer charges per document. Buying land with my Filipina wife was a nightmare with tons of paperwork and requirements. After nine months of back and forth, we're now waiting on a government approval to convert rice field to residential. We're told it could take a year or more unless we hire a “fixer” (a broker). The crazy thing is we've been told we can start renovating now. Does anyone know if that's true? Getting married here is another insanely costly paperwork ordeal. I had to pay $300 in the US to get my documents apostilled because, without knowing it, I had the wrong documents the first time.
This is one major reason the Philippines is a third-world country. Getting anything done is a huge ordeal! Some of you may criticize me for complaining and say I need to accept the situation because this isn't my home country. You'd be absolutely right, and I have accepted it and work with it, but that doesn't make it right...
I've figured out the Philippine system now: government and private business both go smoothly if you have money and the right people to handle things for you for a fee. Tell me it's wrong, but that's how it works, from the bottom to the top.
And most government employees here lack common sense. I think their brains stopped developing because their jobs are so easy and repetitive.
That's why I hate my country even though I'm a native Filipina! Even finding a husband is pretty hard🤣
My favorite experience was at the LTO getting my Philippine driver's license. It took two trips, and they were confused because my license only had my middle initial while my passport had my full middle name. That wasn't hard to fix, but then came the funny part... it brought back memories of The Andy Griffith Show. I went to one window to get fingerprinted. The guy says, okay, next window... and there's another fingerprint machine. He rolled his chair over to that window. I guess I looked confused. He says, “We have to check that you are who you say you are.” I just had to laugh.
Sadly, this country seems to have a knack for making things as complicated as possible. To borrow one of my father's sayings, “Jobs for the boys.” (He was a UK civil servant.) That's not how you build a successful nation.
Unfortunately, red tape and cash create plenty of openings for corruption, but in over 20 years in the Philippines I've never paid a fixer for anything and never paid or even suggested a bribe. I still get everything I need done. My Ilocana wife says it'll be just as fast (or slow) whether you pay extra under the table or not. She forbids any shady dealings, and I respect her judgment. There's also a big risk that if you hand things to fixers or go under the table, what you asked for won't be done properly or at all, let alone recorded anywhere in the official systems, setting you up for big trouble later. Be patient, always polite but persistent. Keep and insist on official receipts for everything, and don't encourage graft. Honest people do exist.
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