Post: #26

(10-20-2016 02:20 PM)Enigma Wrote:  Somehow America has caused the economic problems in the Philippines -- yet South Korea's economy exploded following the Korean War (a war fought against who else but China and the Soviet Union). Weird.

Yes, it's completely absurd to say that America has been the cause of all of the Philippine's troubles.

It couldn't possibly be the Filipino corruption by the people themselves at every single level of government for the past 70+ years.

Duterte even downplayed the benefit of the US help with education and learning English, saying it was inadequate and they could've done just fine without it. That's absurd.

Duterte likes power. Who doesn't? I do too!

His methods of achieving it in the past have been through casting a certain group of people as 'evil' and then systematically executing them along with anyone else that's a threat. Then everyone/everygroup fears him because they don't want to be the next targeted. This is his method of achieving power. He did it in Davao and now he's using the same methods on a national scale.

This isn't some new method, many leaders from the dawn of history have taken that route.

First the Drug users/dealers are the evil. Now America is the 'evil' and source of all the problems with the country. See where this is going?

China and Russia will back him and provide him with the heavy weaponry he needs to solidify his power for himself and his family. He's increased the Police and Military's salaries dramatically since coming into office, which is important if you want their allegiance.

The US has never wanted to arm the Philippines too much. The US prefers to have the Philippines beholden to them for world security. Makes sense from a US self-interested point of view.

Duterte is self-interested too and I understand why he's doing what he's doing. Are his actions being done for the betterment of the Filipino people? I don't think that's his priority. His priority is power.

Post: #27

^In other words, for better or worse, it's the Return Of a King.

Post: #28

Next question: what's the maximum range an ICBM could reach when launched from the Phillippines?

God save us from people who mean well. -storm

Post: #29

Duerte is worried about the USA staging a coup to prevent him from finishing his drug purge.

The man just hates drugs and will do what he must.


It is a deal with the devil, but only China (or Russia?) can protect him from a CIA coup pushed by a pro-human rights agenda.

He knows what he is getting himself into. He is hoping that he will be able to jump-start the PH economy and bring sense and decency to the people before China merges him into the fold.

Either that, or the US diplomats had been pressuring him to stop his drug purge as a requirement for support for land claims. If that's the case then they have made a colossal mistake.

On the bright side, mediocre people will be less likely to visit and it should remain a pussy paradise for a bit longer.

Post: #30

(10-20-2016 05:02 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  Sorry gotta agree with Samseau. America used to influence other countries with our culture by getting into them economically and selling our products (as well as encouraging consumerism).

Guys, come on.

You know I love both you and Samseau, but my track record on this forum regarding Duterte speaks for itself. I've been writing at length about him for over a year, long before most people here even knew who he was. I also follow Phil. politics on an almost daily basis.

At some point you have to give me a little bit of credit for knowing what I'm talking about.

Trump would've told this guy to fuck off long before Obama did.

Speaking of, he also called Trump a bigot and said he would rather support Hillary. Yes, someone who blames American foreign policy for all of their country's problems, hates Obama, and likens themselves to Putin also supports hawkish Hillary for president. See what a contradiction that is?

It's even more ironic when you consider Gaddafi's ties to the MNLF and that Hillary was the one who had him overthrown.

Obama is a complete failure -- no one is denying that. But it would've been hard for any president to salvage this situation. And as I pointed out, this move goes against most of the Philippines' allies in the region, not just the US.

(10-20-2016 05:13 PM)nomadbrah Wrote:  You basically describe him as Hugo Chavez?

I don't deny, he does seem very much like him superficially in rethoric and anti-colonial mindset. If he is a communist then that is not good.

On the other hand, the Phils are a complete mess of oligarchs owning the entire country and doing nothing to improve conditions.

I suppose he might actually be a Hugo Chavez character.

Yes, Sp5 said the same thing recently, and I pointed to Duterte's non-communist economic polices in response. But I have to concede that Sp5 seemed to be right in some regard.

I don't know that he's a full-on communist, but his rhetoric very much sounds like one.

(10-20-2016 06:51 PM)El Chinito loco Wrote:  Calling Duterte an outright communist and explaining his sympathies with China along those political lines is a bit far fetched though since China itself isn't even Communist at all anymore.

I didn't say he was an outright communist, nor did I say his political ties with China were the only reason I described him as a communist sympathizer.

The founder of the current Communist Party and rebels in the Phils. was Joma Sison, one of Duterte's former college professors. Duterte also invited the communist party into his cabinet, while claiming he was a "socialist" and the first left-leaning Phil. president.

Just listen to the way he talks. The US has kept the Phils. in "shackles", "subjugated", the country is our "little brown brother", etc.

Who else uses that kind of rhetoric?

Again, I've been singing Duterte's praises on this forum for over a year. You think my opinion of him flipped because of something superficial?

There has always been talk that he was anti-American, pro-communist, and pro-Islam. There just wasn't enough information out there for me to finish the puzzle before he started governing and getting media coverage on a national and international level.

Post: #31

(10-20-2016 11:02 PM)Onto Wrote:  Yes, it's completely absurd to say that America has been the cause of all of the Philippine's troubles.

It couldn't possibly be the Filipino corruption by the people themselves at every single level of government for the past 70+ years.

Duterte even downplayed the benefit of the US help with education and learning English, saying it was inadequate and they could've done just fine without it. That's absurd.

He recently claimed that the US caused all of the storms in the Philippines through global warming

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/17/16/du...les-us-aid

Post: #32

Kerry has been too busy threatening Assange to care about the dissolution of US power. They are a joke internationally now.

Post: #33

Shit, it's probably going to be a good time in the Philipines once the American companies employing filipinos in call centers and in tech services pull out and they're left wageless.

I'm booking my flight as we speak.

Good job, Duertes.

Post: #34

(10-20-2016 07:04 PM)getdownonit Wrote:  Obama ruined Pussy Paradise

Would be funny if that was his intent this whole time.

Also worth pointing out that Duterte's approach seems to be the flip-side of the nationalist trend, for better or worse.

Post: #35

Obama is such a joke. This is what happens when you let women vote. Your country gets cucked while you get fucked up the ass by your allies.

Post: #36

(10-20-2016 02:20 PM)Enigma Wrote:  I've said a lot of positive things about Duterte on this forum and even defended previous comments about Obama/the US, but his foreign policy has exposed him as a total idiot. I had a disagreement with Sp5 about this issue a couple months back, but the more time goes on the more his inadequacy in that arena becomes apparent.

He's not backing China because it's the right move, he's backing them because he's a communist [sympathizer], pro-Islam, anti-American hypocrite. He claims he has similarities with Putin, but he's not nearly the cunning geopolitical mind Vlad is.

By his own admission, China is the main one pumping drugs into the Philippines, meanwhile they're strong arming PH out of their own territories. Not to mention the Chinese's business practices in the country.

But he publicly blames basically every problem the country has on the US.

Somehow America has caused the economic problems in the Philippines -- yet South Korea's economy exploded following the Korean War (a war fought against who else but China and the Soviet Union). Weird.

Which country's has China benefited economically? There are 300+ million Chinese living in extreme poverty, for god's sake. They exploit their own citizens, yet suddenly they're some kind of beneficent merchant nation spreading wealth around the world.

America also supposedly caused the Muslim Insurgency -- yet Jolo/Sulu was one of the biggest pirate and slaving ports in the region for hundreds of years before the US even step foot there. The Moros took and sold tens of thousands of Filipinos as slaves during that period (most Filipinos don't know this, by the way, even though it's well-recorded).

Who ended Muslim slavery in the Philippines? The US.

The guy is a walking contradiction at this point. He claims he doesn't want to be a "beggar", yet he's giving China territory (of military and economic significance) just for some loans.

I agree, he's an idiot. The shitty part is he said nothing of this USA break in his campaign. This is not a mandate of the people.

You guys saying this is Obama's fault should reread Enigma's posts. Even if Obama's team didn't chastise him this whole thing feels planned. I'm no Obama fan but it's hard to pin this on him.

I do think it's premature to say that USA/Phil relations have sustained any real concrete changes however. Nothing is in writing at this point. Life on the ground is the same for expats, unless you're into coke and shabu.

This is a country with a near 90% US approval rating, gets about 10 billion in annual remittances from the US (that makes up 35% of the total and by far the biggest segment), has more than 1 million people working for US companies providing billions in wages and taxes in just Manila alone, and on and on. The US is also a top 3 trading partner. The ties are so great between the two nations I think it's going to take much more than a kiss ass trip to China to really rattle things.

We still have not seen anything signed, treaties scraped, FDI restrictions on USA companies, etc. Even these Chinese loans are 'promised' at this point.

He will need a majority in congress to back him and I'm not sure he has it, as far as these anti-American plans are concerned. Also some generals have openly disagreed with him.

Don't book your tickets yet, even today the papers are full of government officials backtracking on his statements: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters...s-U-S.html

Senators openly disagreeing with him (and De Lima clowning him haha): http://globalnation.inquirer.net/147399/...h-us-split

He continues to have high approval ratings because the poor love him. These Hugo Chavez types in developing countries can ride on the backs of the poor while destroying the future prospect of the country. I know and hang out with upper class Filipinos and nearly all think the guys gone mad. He might win with the poor masses but he will lose those capable of building a country worth living in.

It's still too early to tell how this will shake out.

Post: #37

Been living here in davao the past year and watched this all slowly unfold, from the elixir the philippines needed to the recent apparent communist ties.

All in all I think this comes as a shock to most people locally. On one hand the apparent angst against China with the spartly island disputes and now in the other this newfound friendship.

The thing is is that this country is heavily crippled by corruption as anyone who's been here knows. A radical solution is needed to cure it, no more corrupt PC moderates can do the trick, and that's why Duterte was the best solution.

Whether he steers the country to leftism or not I dont think can be worse than another crooked politician being president. He was literally the best option during the election, but perhaps has a bit of naivety now and thinks its still the cold war.

But with Obama the president of the US, and now most likely Clinton as his successor, who can honestly blame him? The man is doing what needs to be done to cure the country of the crippling drug epidemic from the highest levels. He had no qualms naming and shaming top Police and Military generals, Mayors and Senators that were involved in the drug trade. I cant think of any contemporary politician with such non-PC balls as that. And the US/UN response? "The extrajudicial killings of drug lords are against human rights and must stop". Keep in mind due process is not currently possible here due to the corrupt justice system.

As any right leaning person must know, we care more about the rights of the innocent victims than the criminals. But with leftist Obama and now Hillary at the helm of the uS for the foreseeable future, its pretty obvious Duterte has nothing to look forward to in the current alliance other than more criminal-protecting rhetoric that insists more innocents must die here to protect the drug epidemic and rampant corruption. Somewhere in the whole "better ten guilty people walk free than one innocent man be punished" mentality it was lost that ten innocent people aren't worth less than the life of one criminal. That logic is currently lost with US/UN foreign-policy it seems.

I think the man has turned slightly radical, but honestly, what other option does he have concerning US head-in-the-sand PC leadership? What would you do if Clinton was your ally and telling you to stop making needed changes to your country because your methods didnt abide by ideological solutions? My 2c as a foreigner living here.

Post: #38

(10-21-2016 04:21 AM)Fortis Wrote:  Shit, it's probably going to be a good time in the Philipines once the American companies employing filipinos in call centers and in tech services pull out and they're left wageless.

PLEEEEASEEE do this! When I'm trying to pay a student loan or troubleshoot my laptop, the last thing I need is to have the person repeating themselves eighty times because their accent is too thick.

Post: #39

(10-21-2016 07:36 AM)zero1 Wrote:  "The extrajudicial killings of drug lords are against human rights and must stop". Keep in mind due process is not currently possible here due to the corrupt justice system.

If we can agree that due process is a good thing every society should strive for, how does killing drug dealers and drug users accomplish that?

You will still have the corrupt justice system in place. Seems to me the logical solution would be to kill the corrupt police, judges, and politicians first and replace them with non-corrupt ones. If the new ones know they will get killed for corruption, then that will be an excellent motivator.

After you do that, then you don't have a corrupt legal system anymore, but you also won't have a scapegoat to use for discriminate killing.

By the way, I'm not advocating the killing of anyone. Judges or Drug users.

Post: #40

(10-21-2016 12:53 AM)Enigma Wrote:  

(10-20-2016 05:02 PM)TravelerKai Wrote:  Sorry gotta agree with Samseau. America used to influence other countries with our culture by getting into them economically and selling our products (as well as encouraging consumerism).

Guys, come on.

You know I love both you and Samseau, but my track record on this forum regarding Duterte speaks for itself. I've been writing at length about him for over a year, long before most people here even knew who he was. I also follow Phil. politics on an almost daily basis.

At some point you have to give me a little bit of credit for knowing what I'm talking about.

Trump would've told this guy to fuck off long before Obama did.

Speaking of, he also called Trump a bigot and said he would rather support Hillary. Yes, someone who blames American foreign policy for all of their country's problems, hates Obama, and likens themselves to Putin also supports hawkish Hillary for president. See what a contradiction that is?

It's even more ironic when you consider Gaddafi's ties to the MNLF and that Hillary was the one who had him overthrown.

Obama is a complete failure -- no one is denying that. But it would've been hard for any president to salvage this situation. And as I pointed out, this move goes against most of the Philippines' allies in the region, not just the US.

You might know Duterte alot better than Samseau and I, but he and I both understand US Foreign Policy alot better than you do, especially me considering my background in it.

I think you are focusing too much on Duterte, what he is doing, and his issues. The 30,000 ft. view, actually has very little to do with him to begin with. Like Chinito said, this guy could have played both sides better than this, and in the grand scheme of things, he doesn't have as much to lose as we stand to lose on the issue.

Don't forget who started this drama.

Obama.

Listen to the hook on this song if it will help you. Don't start no shit, won't be no shit.




If you look at North Korea, why in the fuck are they still acting the way they were when he became president? Your president likes to put the apple cart before the horse. Only China trades with them and takes the long strategy of lightly trading with them to change them. Little by little, they copy China's government everyday. When you have the US and they are constantly getting the UN to put more sanctions on them, they just get angrier, and lash out more and more.

The reason is they do not want that country with a high population to join the rest of the world market. North Korea is not going to respond to leftwing human rights demands, feminism, democracy, etc. That shit is too soon for them. They have to start slow just because of how far behind they are. Obama does not have to be Nixon and go visit them, but he could have done better than this.

The problem is that US Foreign Policy in Asia has always been stubborn. They think Asians are Cubans. We can just fucking ignore them until they fucking act right and stop being so damn misogynist or violent. You can patronize a Westerner and go back and forth on business and money. You cannot do that with Asians. Face, respect, then we talk business.

I used to have these back in forth debates with foreign policy experts, some of whom are arguably in the top 10 minds in the world (I won't name them), but they used to actually suggest that we pull back economic trade summits (like G20) and deals with China because of their human rights records.

Some even thought China would copy the US, Japan, and Germany and start invading their neighbors militarily. (This was back in 2006-07). Ten years later I am still right and they are still wrong. They don't factor in Asian culture, let alone history. China does not need to make wars if it can read a history book and learn how to use soft power and economic benefits.

You are doing the same with Duterte and Obama. Obama is the reason why our Asia Foreign Policy is a mess. The Bushes and the Neocons basically started it, but Obama and Co. took it to 11. He want's them to grow up and change their ways immediately before we work with them. Dummy has no idea, that we are nowhere near as powerful as a hegemon like we were in the 50s, to make outrageous demands like that. On what leverage does he think we have? No wonder Steve Jobs looked at him like a retard when he asked why can't the iPhone be manufactured in America.

The read I get from Donald Trump is that he is a legit business man and is old school. He talks numbers more than morals. He may not change course from North Korea, but who can after how sour that relationship is.

If you are going to tear up deals you already have over a big mouth (Obama here), at least get something out of it. Duterte is going to tear up more agreements soon, and we will get fucking nothing out of it except maybe save some money on battleship fuel and aid money for the next cyclone that will hit them.

If Obama is so righteous, why won't he call out the Saudis or criticize their way of life. Oh yeah. That's right. They own him, Hillary, and the Bushes.

Post: #41

I was chatting with the taxi driver on the way home tonight. When I asked him where he was from he said Tacloban and that he is a survivor of the Typhoon Yolanda. His wife wasn't and you could see the truth in his eyes.

He said that even though he's a Filipino he doesn't like his government. The Philippines failed the people of Tacloban and that the Govt never came.

He then said, "But you know who did come to save us? The Americans! Thank God for them!"

I felt such a sense of pride being an American at that moment, and it occurred to me that even if Duterte has his own agenda, any Filipino who has been helped by an American in some way doesn't forget that.

Here is a partial list of countries that donated aid (monetarily and through action) Look at China's contribution compared the United States/Canada/UK/Australia. And it's not that China didn't have the money.

   
   

Post: #42

(10-21-2016 08:37 AM)Onto Wrote:  (...)

You will still have the corrupt justice system in place. Seems to me the logical solution would be to kill the corrupt police, judges, and politicians first and replace them with non-corrupt ones. If the new ones know they will get killed for corruption, then that will be an excellent motivator.
(...)

Seems to me the logical solution would be to kill the corrupt police, judges, and politicians:

Kill the corrupt judges??


...It might actually work!


Thank you Onto!

Post: #43

(10-21-2016 08:52 AM)TravelerKai Wrote:  You might know Duterte alot better than Samseau and I, but he and I both understand US Foreign Policy alot better than you do, especially me considering my background in it.

I think you are focusing too much on Duterte, what he is doing, and his issues. The 30,000 ft. view, actually has very little to do with him to begin with. Like Chinito said, this guy could have played both sides better than this, and in the grand scheme of things, he doesn't have as much to lose as we stand to lose on the issue.

Don't forget who started this drama.

Obama.

Duterte was openly talking about his "personal hatred" of Americans long before he even announced his candidacy for president, based on an incident (Davao hotel bombing) in 2002. I can source direct quotes if you'd like.

There's another incident (Battle of Bud Dajo) that he's referenced multiple times against Obama, including during the ASEAN conference, that happened over a hundred years ago.

Today, Duterte reopened the investigation to the Mamasapano Clash, which occurred almost a year before his joined the presidential race -- and he also blames American involvement for.

Claiming that this "started" with Obama's comments about extrajudicial killings is not even close to correct. Even Operation Enduring Freedom started years before he took office.

Duterte does not like Americans, just like the Moro tribes he is descended from, and just like the communist leaders who taught him in college.

His foreign policy statements over the past couple months are totally erratic and contradictory. He blames the US for everything, including the Moro insurgency, the economy, typhoons, education, and any other ill he can think of. Meanwhile he discredits any and every form of US assistance.

As YardDog pointed out, they're already walking back this "separation" statement -- partly because he didn't even have the authority to make it. And this has been the story of the last couple months. He makes one statement, then his adviser says he was misinterpreted, and on and on, over and over again, every single week.

Just a month ago he was telling China there would be a "reckoning" and "bloody war" if they continued to challenge the Phil's sovereignty.

When someone thinks you owe them billions of dollars in aid for typhoons you "caused" with factories, then flip flops on every public statement they make, this is not someone that you are going to have fruitful negotiations with. Again, Trump would have told him to fuck off weeks ago.

Post: #44

I've been browsing the Phillipines reddit and the mood is overwhelmingly depressed and infuriated. Lots of people saying they have canceled future trips or will go elsewhere. If this represents a major trend, the PH as a poosy paradise just got stronger, less competition.

The big question and I'm sure no one has the answer, is how long will it take for this shit to get so volatile that westerns should completely avoid due to legitimate danger. The recent story of the aussie getting drugs planted on him, the video of the van running over protesters and police attacking jeepneys, these things are scary.

I'm booking a trip somewhere for January - February, the original plan was to go to the Phils but at this point I'm considering alternatives. I don't want to get stuck with a ticket to a country under Marshall law or potentially something worse.

Post: #45

Duterte also claimed at Beijing conference that Americans should have to get a special PH visa -- all because he was denied a tourist visa to the US in college. Also claims it was "American idiotic arrogance" to question him during another trip when he lost his travel details.

Note: Americans have visa-free travel to 174 countries.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/21/16/wh...-americans

Quote:For President Rodrigo Duterte, perhaps "it’s about time" Americans too apply for visa when visiting the Philippines, like Filipinos do when they go to the United States.

Speaking in front of the Filipino community in Beijing on Wednesday, Duterte said he was once denied a visa to visit his girlfriend in the US back when he was in college.

He recalled, a consul asked him during application: "What if you decide to marry and stay there?"

"Mr. Consul, even if you offer me free missiles for a lifetime and even if you offer me $10,000, I’ll still return to my country and be a Filipino,” he replied.

Mayor Agustin Perdices of Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, also experienced "humiliation" after being denied a visa despite an invitation for a month-long study under the auspices of the USAID, added Duterte.

“Pero sila anytime, they enter the Philippines visa-free. Well, there will always be a time for reckoning. Bakit hindi natin tablahin?," he said, earning applause from the crowd.

(But they can enter the Philippines anytime, visa-free. Well, there will always be a time for reckoning. Why don't we do the same?)

In a speech at a business forum on Thursday, Duterte reiterated his point, citing an experience during his last visit to the United States, which he said showed "American idiotic arrogance."

He said that during a stopover at the Los Angeles airport after a visit with other Philippine congressmen to Brazil, he was questioned by an African-American officer after his letter of authority to travel turned up missing.

Duterte, who was using a diplomatic passport, said the letter was addressed to the port of entry in Brazil and was probably not reinserted in his passport after he left.

"You know this guy brought me to a room to interrogate me...I said, if you detain me any further and if there’s a plane available going back to the Philippines now, I’d be happy to ride."

"That was the last time I went to America," he stated.

He added: "Maybe sometime soon the Americans come to my country for business and all, including pedophilia. And they come to my country sans a visa, they do not need it, they go there as if they own the place."

Filipinos who go to America and who have the money, said Duterte, "are not just only berated in the visa control, in the consular office; they are humiliated."

Asking if there was any American in the crowd, Duterte said, " If you are planning to go to my country, you get a visa from where you come from. Maybe... It’s about time."

Is this Obama's fault too? If only he'd give all 100 million Filipinos visa-free travel to the US, we could have docked our ships in the Philippines. And we're not allowed to question Filipino travelers either. Seems reasonable.

Post: #46

I'm planning to go to the Philippines in November for 12 days.

Been hearing rumors that all US citizens will need a visa and to put up $10,000 as a good faith collateral that they won't overstay the visa. I don't think this is true, and was probably a misinterpretation of what Duterte said about entering the US decades ago.

Can anyone on the ground share/confirm what's going on with the visa situation?

Post: #47

(10-21-2016 08:37 AM)Onto Wrote:  

(10-21-2016 07:36 AM)zero1 Wrote:  "The extrajudicial killings of drug lords are against human rights and must stop". Keep in mind due process is not currently possible here due to the corrupt justice system.

If we can agree that due process is a good thing every society should strive for, how does killing drug dealers and drug users accomplish that?

You will still have the corrupt justice system in place. Seems to me the logical solution would be to kill the corrupt police, judges, and politicians first and replace them with non-corrupt ones. If the new ones know they will get killed for corruption, then that will be an excellent motivator.

After you do that, then you don't have a corrupt legal system anymore, but you also won't have a scapegoat to use for discriminate killing.

By the way, I'm not advocating the killing of anyone. Judges or Drug users.

Of course that's the ideal solution, but the current incumbents wouldn't allow that so easily and it would probably lead to government destabilization if implemented too quickly. I think however that's the plan he will implement over the next 6 years, beginning with the re-introduction of the death penalty to make things legitimate.

All I can say from my time here is that Davao is indeed the safest city so far compared to Manila or Cebu, even some provincial ones. Even in baguio a couple female friends reported getting mugged and harassed along session road at night, yet I havent heard a single report of anything like that from the girls here. They feel generally safe at all hours, and there's a real community vibe to the town. I think most of this is attributable to Duterte's extrajudicial-killing of criminals. It's not a perfect or even necessarily good solution depending how you view it, but from what I've seen its a solution that works better than any other in the country so far.

Could you copy/paste such a policy to a western country? Absolutely not. Due process and right to a fair trial is of course ideal. But I think a lot in the west are failing to grasp that the one-size-fits-all approach of Western ideology is just not applicable to all non-western countries for numerous reasons. And even if it eventually is, there's many hurdles to get through first. Until then, something like Duterte's stance has been sorely needed to bring some protection to the innocent people here. I think a politically correct destabalized state that "played by the ideological rules" but that didn't protect its citizens would be far worse.

Post: #48

(10-21-2016 11:19 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  I'm planning to go to the Philippines in November for 12 days.

Been hearing rumors that all US citizens will need a visa and to put up $10,000 as a good faith collateral that they won't overstay the visa. I don't think this is true, and was probably a misinterpretation of what Duterte said about entering the US decades ago.

Can anyone on the ground share/confirm what's going on with the visa situation?

http://www.mb.com.ph/duterte-mulls-ph-vi...americans/

The "10.000 usd" thing comes from the reply Mr. Duterte told an American border agent decades ago, nothing related to a good faith collateral...

He might change the visa rules, but certainly it won't be implemented by the end of November... something like that takes time to be written into law and customs...

Post: #49

Let's see how this situation has evolved over the past day

Not only did Duterte walk back his remarks, but a US destroyer challenged China's claim against the Paracel Islands (Vietnam), and Japan is left totally confused by the Philippines' stance.

Isn't this exactly what I said would happen?

(10-20-2016 03:54 PM)Enigma Wrote:  Speaking of which, this move doesn't just signify the Philippines turning its back on the US, but Japan and most of ASEAN as well. Countries like Japan and Indonesia were just promising PH their support not even a month ago.

Duterte basically sold out all of his allies in the region just to side with their mutual enemy and spite the US.

Ironically that guarantees this won't be much of a blow to the US, since I'm sure one of the other ASEAN nations would be happy to establish closer military relations with us.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/149968-phi...m=referral

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southc...SKCN12L1O9

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/21/16/ja...cy-embassy

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/10...ation-u-s/

Post: #50

(10-21-2016 08:53 AM)Onto Wrote:  I was chatting with the taxi driver on the way home tonight. When I asked him where he was from he said Tacloban and that he is a survivor of the Typhoon Yolanda. His wife wasn't and you could see the truth in his eyes.

He said that even though he's a Filipino he doesn't like his government. The Philippines failed the people of Tacloban and that the Govt never came.

He then said, "But you know who did come to save us? The Americans! Thank God for them!"

That's right, please note all those who talk about how the USA is a total mess and needs a total revolution.
Wait, wasn't Obama commander-in-chief at that time? Well, then this can't be true because everything Obama does is wrong, right? Maybe he was asleep and they just went and helped the Philippines without his OK right?

Also remittances ( much I guess from the USA) are the largest source of income in the whole economy in non-disaster times. I personally knew Filipino nurses making 80k+ in the USA ( plus defined benefit pension. Don't whine about visas because if you went to nursing school you could have , and could still now, walked right in to to one of those jobs.

I knew two girls in Phils who are having their full college expenses paid for by USA expats.

Talk is cheap, and it's easy to criticize.