Basic Filipino Foods

Philippines are part of the rice culture countries therefore the staple food here is rice. There are a few bakeries that sell sweet soft bread, buns and few other sweety-spongie things. Healthy breads, such a rye or multi-grain is rarely found. White rice is served 3 times daily hot of cold with a few fried fish or beans. The diet of the average person is very basic due to poverty. For the richer Filipinos, supermarkets offer numerous products common in first world countries. Although there are many customs that are the same as other countries in Asia, there are a few radical differences.

Eating Dog

As a traveler hungry for experience, I try to be open on new things and habits wherever I go. I don’t look down on people just because their customs are different, rather, I try to be part of the group and see the world through their eye.

When I came to the Philippines, I didn’t know that killing an chicken, duck, dog or cat for dinner is a common event. It is common to see someone carrying a live chicken to be slaughtered and cooked at home.
Dog eating which is hideous to most westerners is an accepted part of the Filipino culture. Many Filipinos don’t own up to it but with a little digging, I discovered that plenty of them have eaten a dog. It’s perceived as last resort meal for the poor, and frowned upon by wealthier Filipinos.

My first introduction to eating a dog was during Easter Sunday when the leader of a Filipino group that I was with suggested killing a dog in order to celebrate rebirth of Jesus Christ. The dog was  purchased from the neighbors, brought in a sack and slaughtered by the barbecue. The village dwellers, burned off the animal’s fur, (photo above) chopped it into pieces and started preparing meals from it. It was a drinking event with 80 proof Gin being offered freely that sells for about $1 for a 26 oz bottle. I tried a bit of the meat, and found it hard and disgusting.  The locals laughed at my expressions.  A few hours later, I was told to try it again as it was properly cooked.  It tasted like or rabbit.

Cat as a meal

I love cats and always considered them as great friends. We, in the western world cannot even imagine our furry companions as food. Yet to another culture a cat is the same as a chicken.

Eating a cat in the Philippines is not so widespreaded as eating a dog, many of locals refuse to do it because of strange beliefs that eating cat meat makes you behave like a cat and instead of fighting off a attacker you will try to scratch them to death. Traveling the remote province of Masbate “cat meat” was part of the dinner. It tasted no different than pork.

Frogs and Filipino Barbecue

Amphibians Filipinos gather frogs after rain in the meadows and ricefields.  You can easily avail them in the markets of rainy areas such us Baguio or other mountainous regions.

BBQ Other interesting thing that you will find in the Philippines are local barbecue businesses. Yet it is another example of Great Filipino Adaptivity. Genesis of these bbqs are when U.S. military bases were selling scraps of meat to locals and they learnt how to prepare them in the delicious way. What you can find in these barbies are pig’s skin, ears, intestines, chunks of blood, heads and claws of chickens, fish and others. After painting with sauce, grilled it is served hot on the side of the road.

Balot and One Day Old Chicks

Eat one day old fertilized chicken eggs is a popular Filipino snack. It is called “Balot”.  What looks like a normal chicken egg is a partially developed chicken’s embryo still encased in the shell.  Locals describe it to foreigners as an “abortion egg”. Balot vendors wander through urban areas carrying a basket full of balot covered with towels in order to keep them hot, and shouting: Baaaloooot, Baaaalooot. It’s served with either salt or a bit of vinegar.

To eat it, you first break the shell, drink the liquid from inside and then after removing top part of the shell, slowly start to eat the inside of the egg. The egg doesn’t have it’s usual yellow yolk inside. Instead, a chicken embryo.  There will be some egg white although much less of it. Filipinos believe that it is good for potency and call it a “Filipino Viagra”. I personally love this snack and find it tasty. Although, considered as a national snack the Balot has it’s genesis in 13th centuries Chinese emigrants that brought it here with them.

Fried Chicks. The snack consists of two or three fresh hatched chicks without any feathers which are fried and eaten with a wooden stick. They taste good with some vinegar on them. It can really disgust Western tourists, but for those few able to break from Western cultural conditioning, you will experience the tastiest chicken ever eaten.

Right or Wrong?

Some say it is immoral to eat dog, cats and chicken embryos, but to me, culture is what we are used to. Most Westerners that consider eating cat of dog very offensive, line up for hamburgers and chicken wings with a clear conscious.  In India the cow is sacred and are harried by a McDonalds hamburger. Traveling is invigorating as it breaks is free of cultural conditioning and challenges us to see the world anew.

Much of the Philippines is modern and similar to western society in look and value, yet the people of the outlying regions live as their ancestors without electricity, refrigerators, stoves, TV’s or radio living of the land or sea.  In this region, of the Philippines, there were incidences of  cannibalism up to the year 1991 when the volcano Mt. Pinatubo erupted and wiped them out.  Traveling the back woods of the Philippines is like going back in time a journey not for the weak at heart, yet for the braver of heart and the more open minded an incredible experience.

Jozef Gorka

Philippines and Thailand, both are tempting locations in South East Asia for tourists and retirement living.  Philippines and Thailand have many benefits. Let’s have a closer look at both of them.
Airports and Transportation
BANGKOK When you land on Thailand’s latest and biggest Bangkok International Suvarnabhumi Airport it surely will be one of the biggest and most technologically advanced buildings you ever been to. It’s so huge that Thais use little cars and Segways to commute inside the airport’s building. When you finally get trough all the emigration and acres of the airport and decide to go to downtown Bangkok, nothing easier. Just go with one of the taxis companies by the airports exit and go on the smooth and new freeway, with multi leveled intersections. Big and modern metropoly will start to unveil before your eyes with high skyscrapers and some traditional buildings. Then when you decide to travel in the city it’s infrastructure will amaze you how modern and advanced it is. One option you have is to hop on on one of the Skytrains that is hanged above the city and admire cities tall apartment buildings of different shapes and amazing locations. Bangkok’s subway system runs smooth and quiet. You can use your mobile phone on the trains and on every station they have barriers protecting the passengers from the live tracks and they are closed until the train stops completely. The transportation in Bangkok is simply state of the art. On the roads of the city you don’t really see cars older than 20 years. Most of them are brand new or in the good condition. Taxis are not older than six, seven years and very colorful. Other means of transportation in the city are Tuk-Tuks (kind of a motorcycle tricycle) which are of the same price as taxis. You also can hail one of the motorbike taxis. They are just simply motorbikes with a rider that can get you from one place to another for again price not different than a regular cab, although quicker.

MANILA: The Filipino airport is far less advanced. Upon arrival to the Manila’s airport NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) you will be struck that the main Filipino airport looks like they were still the seventies. During rather quick walk through emigration, arrivals and customs you can notice that the electronics (displays, fans, etc.) don’t really work as they should. When you make your way out of the building you can take  dilapidated taxi or simply walk out to the street and take a jeepney.  Jeepneys are one of the most popular means of mass transportation in the Philippines, on the front they resemble old U.S. military vehicles. During your journey towards the centre of the Manila you will experience heavy traffic with plenty of ancient vehicles pumping tons of pollution in to the air, people and street vendors walking between the cars. Roads are often uneven and high volume of cars occurs most part of the day. You can find buses in the capitol all of them at least fifteen years old, sometimes thirty. All of them ram packed. In the downtown and on it’s outskirts they are three lines of elevated railways. First two form LRT (Light Railway System) and the third line bit more roomy is called MRT (Manila Metro Railway Transit System). Above systems had intentions of decongesting the city although when you travel on them you are often bond for heavy human congestion inside the wagon. From the trains you can have a glimpse on the dirty metropoly, full of dirty buildings, poor people trying to make ends meet and skyscrapers in the vicinity of slums. If you want to just commute on a short distance in the local area you can use a tricycle. This invention one can only find in the Philippines. It’s basically a motorbike with a side car welded to it. Great and fast for maneuvering between the traffic.

Climates: Thailand vs Philippines

THAILAND CLIMATE: Thailand lies in the tropical weather sphere. In the north of the country they are mountains, rest of it is rather flat with few bigger mountains in the middle and hills and valleys here and there. In the mountains there are nice places to hide from civilization and there are interesting religious sites. Chung mai is one of the bigger cities in the north and has much to offer. In the south there are numerous beach resort cities with large ex pats communities such as Pataya or Phuket. In the country you can find cool spots for rock climbing or nice tropical forest hideouts.

PHILIPPINES CLIMATE The Philippines are located more to the south than Thailand, the climate there depends on the location but is generally hot and humid. The country is located on more than 7.000 islands and on them you can often find mountain retreats that can help you have a rest from constant heat during the hot season. The Philippines’ fauna and flora are one of the richest in the world and the vistas are breathtaking. In the Philippines you can find high mountains, volcanos, forests, jungles, beautiful beaches and tremendous diving spots. Manila, the capital lays in the biggest north island, Luzon. In the middle there’s Cebu, second biggest city known for having great diving spots in it’s vicinity. Far up north there’s Baguio city which is nicknamed the Summer Capital of The Philippines thanks to it’s colder mountainous climate that gives Filipinos a place to rest from continuous heat. Boracay and Puerto Galera are one of the many beach resort areas that have many foreigners settled in them.

Thailand’s and Philippine’s history

THAI HISTORYThailand is the only South East Asia country that never has been colonized by western powers. In the past it has strong hand rulers that were able to exploit tensions between the colonial powers. During the II world war Thailand was Japanese ally and straight after war they arose as American supporter. It’s a kingdom ruled by monarchy to this day with a fresh constitution written just in 2007.

FILIPINO HISTORY The Philippines were early discovered by Magellan in 1521 and added to Spanish Crown Territory in 1565. Spanish have changed the life o tribes living on the islands unifying them into one nation: The Philippines. At the beginning of 20th century the Philippines gained independence although U.S. were in charge of the foreign affairs. During the WWII Japanese invaded the islands which were claimed back by U.S. forces in 1945. After war until now the Philippines stayed more less a democracy. Although the corruption here is classified as 8th in the world.

Culture and Religion in both countries

THAILAND The countries culture has many influences from India, China and bordering Cambodia. Thailand’s main religion is Theravada Buddhism with other minor theologies like Islam, Christianity and other kinds of Buddhism. Thailand’s visual arts and music is rich and sophisticated. Traditional Thai wear and architecture is beautiful with many small details. They catch and eye being so rich in gold and colors.

PHILIPPINES The Spanish brought to country Christianity, it’s religion for over 90% of Filipinos, second is Islam with only 5%. You also find here Taoism, Buddhism and other religions. Culture of The Philippines as cooking has been diversified by many influences, mainly Spanish, American and also Mexican. Although there are tangible left overs of Austronesian culture, names, expressions and numbers are Spanish. There’s plenty of building erected in the Spanish style. Biggest American legacy is use of English that is official language of the Islands, and therefore the Philippines are the 3rd biggest English speaking country in the world with the population of over 90 millions. Plus the culture differs from region to region as The Philippines are unified tribes under the flag of the Philippines.

Cuisine and goods: Thailand vs Philippines

THAILAND The Thai cuisine is thought to be one of the best and richest in the world. Is a bit similar to the Chinese cooking although has much more character to it because of it’s spiciness, hotness, often also sweet, sour, salty and bitter, many times all above tastes are mixed together. The Thailand’s basic staple food is rice, often noodles too. Meats of all sort are used in the meals, fish and seafood. The best thing about countries kitchen are the spices and sauces, they are delicious and there’s wide variety of them. Vegetarians can have a hard time in Thailand as most of the meals consist either meat or seafood. But there is never problem with finding fresh fruits as there’s abundance of them there. Western meals can get pricey although generally there’s no problem with finding them. Also one can easily avail plenty of western food products and goods.

PHILIPPINES The Filipino cuisine is quite diversified. It’s a mixture of influences of the Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Indian and sadly American kitchens. Many tourists don’t even try it being misled by guidebooks saying bad things about it. The local cantinas sometimes look shabby although most of them sell delicious, fresh food free from GM products. Staple food is of course rice but inn the Philippines you can also find noodles, potatoes and bakery. The later is rather not very good with plenty of sweet soft breads. From Chinese Filipinos have their national snack, balot and many other more sophisticated meals. From Spanish they inherited a bit of European cooking, and Americans commercialized the market bringing fastfoods and barbecued greasy scraps of meat (like: heads, ears, noses, skins) that U.S. used to sell to locals who managed to make delicious! The selection of western goods is poorer than in Thailand although plenty of them have much cheaper equivalents. Prices of fruit and veggies differ from region to region, but there’s no problem with finding them cheap in western standards.

Most important now!!!

Societies in Thailand and the Philippines

Thailand Thailand’s society is a hierarchical one and it depends on the social position and the age of the person. Generally the oldest members of the society plus buddhist monks receive most respect. It’s an undemocratic society with believe in authority and favoritism. Thais rather avoid confrontation and try to keep calm, I don’t touch you and you don’t do anything to me. People of Thailand have in their tradition building a social net of relations. Although the foreigners are kept outside this net of contacts and don’t be surprised when they sometimes ignore you or look on you with a disgrace. Only one type of relation you surely can experience by dealing with Thai people: the relation with a material background. Mostly on the street from the locals you’ll hear short and most of the time same dialogue: What’s your name? Where you from? Do you want to buy my T-shirt, bracelet or a ring. After so many years of western influence locals still refuse to learn English so sometimes you can have a hard time trying to ask for a way or a product. Thailand is advertised by it’s government as a land of smile, although foreigners can have an impression of coldness from the locals. The smile in Thai tradition has a bit fake meaning and it helps them to avoid conflicts with others. Perhaps the Thai’s monarchs were smiling this way to their enemies in the past.

The Philippines Filipinos’ society is based on a supportive barkada. Barkada is a group of friends, very often family that support each other. In this relationship everyone supports everyone by doing there bit for survival of the whole group. It has very long tradition and is making the Philippines happy and special place. Filipinos are very friendly and open on new people with disregard on their beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, social position or color of the skin. They are very hospitable and always willing to help. One of the most popular expressions on the islands is: ‘KAININ TAYO!’ which means: ‘Let’s eat together’. Filipinos always invite you to eat with them, always. The people of the Philippines are open minded lot with big hearts and able to generate happiness in the hardest moments. In the latest rankings for the happiest people in the world they have taken very high place to their own amazement. Also there is no tendency of these people to moan about their dead relatives. BAHLA NA! Is another expression that means: ‘go with the flow and don’t worry!’. Materialism is not so widespreaded like in western countries although it’s existing and growing mainly due to Yankees’ influence. Over all The Filipinos are one of the most pleasant people on planet earth to deal with and around 90% of them speak English. They love foreigners to come to their country and this love is not based on materialism. It’s a human to human love that the rest of the world should learn from them.

Security in the countries

Plenty of people think that there are guns on the streets of the Philippines after seeing one of security guards with a shotgun. There are guns in the Philippines, it’s true. But on the other hand country is very well secured by those heavy armed security guards where Thailand is the 3rd country in the world for murders with use of firearms. I have walked through doggiest areas of Metro Manila at night such as Paranaque or Las Pinas and never felt in danger.

So reassuming, two countries are both beautiful with rich natures and interesting cultures. Yet they differ a lot. One has supporters the other has opponents. You really would have to visit both countries yourself to make the decision which is better. Although the Philippines have much more welcoming character and it’s easy to communicate with locals since most of them speak English, even children and elderly in little villages. Thailand lost it’s oriental character because of it’s industrialization and westernization. It’s nothing like in 1971′s movie: “Bruce Lee Karate A Muerte En Bangkok”. Bangkok has lost it’s character due to to many expensive apartments and people getting cold in chase of money. If you want to learn what the life is really about come to the Philippines and see yourself!

Jozef Gorka

Choosing A Car

Many ex pats make a choice of buying a brand new small japanese sedan car like TOYOTA VIOS or HONDA CITY which you can avail from around 650 000 Philippine peso (around $15 000). You can go much higher above that or go for a second hand car, it all depends on your budget. It’s good value for many since used cars are more expensive in the Philippines than in the western countries. Although the repairs are cheap. For example for used Toyota Corolla year 1990 you probably gonna spend around 100 000 Philippines peso (around $2300). Repairs will cost you from P250 for simple repair in the authorized garage to P2000-P5000 per day for some serious repair. In the Philippines you can find plenty of mechanics, if you befriend one then they can work for you for cheaper with better effect plus you always sure of the repair since the mechanic is your friend.
If you fancy a vintage car there are plenty of VW bugs here going cheap. Like for a perfect condition, fully refurbished will cost you around P150 – 200 000(around $3500 – 4600). Also you can find here some nice vintage japanese cars from 70s and really nice ones american cars from 50′s 60′s and 70′s. You can also go Filipino style buying a brand new small jeep made of scrap aluminum. It’s new, parts are new, it’s reliable in the hard terrain and easy to repair by anyone. Downside of the project is security since the jeep doesn’t have either doors or windows. Protection from the rain gives you sheet of tarpaulin on the back. and the windscreen with a bit of roof on the to

Sorting Out Papers

After purchase of a car you take the papers to the local LTO (Land Transportation Office), pay a tax equivalent to the VAT (about 10% ) and get your papers. Like everything else in the Philippines that has to do with the government offices, The process can take all day or a few minutes. All depending on how much “snack money” you are willing to use to grease the wheels. You can easily find “fixers” outside the LTO who will charge you whatever they think you will pay but P500 is more than enough. Often they will be retired government workers, policemen, etc. or their wives. When I was buying my car I was lucky enough that the person who was selling me the car had their connections in the LTO.

Ownership

It’s not always a wise idea to put a car in your own name. Accident settlements here are generally low. For example you can’t find a motorcycle liability policy for more than P50 000 but this can change if a “rich” foreigner is involved. No matter who is driving, the owner is ultimately responsible. This is what I have done. My car is registered on somebody’s else name. I am not scared that he will ever claim my car as his because the courts in the Philippines are more interested in equity and if you can show that you provided the money for the purchase of the car and that it has never been paid back than in what is written on the papers. It’s very unlikely the court would award the car to the other person plus it takes months and a lot of money which most Filipinos are usually not willing or having to provide.

Driving vehicle in the Phills

Then comes the most important thing, driving a car in the Philippines! Well, driving here is a bit chaotic. There’s a lot of vehicles on the road, plenty of tricycles, bicycles, jeepneys and old fuming cars. (For the latter reason is wise for you to get a car with good Air Conditioning.) Drivers don’t save on the horns, there’s loads of tooting but the drivers don’t argue! They simply either letting you know that they coming and you should stay where you are instead of joining the traffic, or over taking you. Also there’s whole galactic of another purposes like tooting on a friend, on a too slow going jeepney, on a dog or sexy lady.It gets noisy. After a while you notice that the chaos is only an impression and most of Filipinos drives very cautiously to avoid damaging there ‘expensive’ vehicles.
Parking in the bigger cities may be a problem although in smaller cities you can park literally everywhere. Traffic lights are quite rare here in the Philippines, instead you often see a Policeman coordinating the traffic.

Don’t always expect drivers to use lights at night because they just might be broken, same goes for brake lights and indicators. Also badly tinted windows adding to the danger at the night time when a young driver cannot see enough because of his ‘cool’ car tints. I’ve heard about few accidents caused by negligence in brake servicing as well.
If you have experience in driving in a big city like New York or London with high volume of traffic, then you should be fine. If not you may have a problem with getting used to new ‘road environment’. This problem can be solved by hiring a chauffeur (prices start from P2500/£60 per month) for your vehicle and trying to get a feeling of the Filipino road conduct.

Driving License Laws

So called “international” drivers licenses are not recognized here. You can legally drive on your foreign license for a period of 90 days along with your passport. Then you have to get a RP license. Again, it’s just a visit to the LTO. In theory you take a written test and a driving test but again P500 of “snack money” gets you your “temporary” license immediately. No matter where you are, all permanent licenses come from Manila and will take 6 to 8 months because of the overload there. Although, your “temporary” license is good until you actually get the permanent one.
Plenty of people will tell you how they drove on their US/UK/whatever licenses for years and just played ignorant when caught. That happened to me few times here and Police/Traffic enforcement never asked any questions when saw my british driving license. Sometimes you will be warned to get an RP license immediately. There are also cases when a policeman will use such an opportunity to extort money so it’s up to you what you gonna do.

See you on the road!

Jozef Gorka.

Foreigners Buying Property in the Philippines have the property in another persons name.

I visited the Philippines for the first time in 1997. Upon arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I instantly realized that I had come to a country with an ill deserved reputation as over-Americanized and not Asian enough. The warm weather was a relief after coming out of a New York winter. There was a band playing Filipino folk music in the airport, wearing straw hats and the traditional barong tagalong shirts. I was overwhelmed by the sounds and colors that swirled through the streets as I made my way to the domestic airport for a flight to Cebu. I stayed in Cebu for one month and on my return to the U.S., I knew that I wanted a place of my own there to go back to.

In 1998 I made a second visit. This time along with Cebu I took excursions to the islands of Bohol and Palawan, thereby giving myself a look at a few of the over 7,000 islands the Philippines has to offer. Cebu appealed to me because it is a city but with a relaxed air and without the congestion of Manila. I also figured that real estate would be somewhat cheaper, so I decided to concentrate on Cebu.

Philippines Property Categories

There are many categories of properties in the Philippines. The most expensive real estate is the subdivisions. Subdivisions are geared towards foreigners and middle to upper-middle class Filipinos, including those who work abroad. They vary but generally subdivisions have there own infrastructure and security. Developers often set up booths in local malls to display their models. You can buy a house and lot with the developer building the house, or sometimes just the lot and build the house yourself. Subdivisions are good because they usually have flexible payment schemes. If you don’t have money to pay for the house in full you can opt for term payments. Make sure they give you an interest rate you can live with. All of the subdivisions I’ve seen offer a maximum of 5 years to pay. So, for a house that costs $USD20.000 you’re talking about $USD500/month for five years and it’s yours. There are simple subdivisions without pools and clubhouses that offer a house and lot for just over $USD10.000 so shop according to your budget.

Another category of property is the house or house lot outside of a subdivision. This type of property will generally be cheaper, especially if it is outside of a major city like Cebu. One concern is that you have to rely on public services when it comes to water and waste removal, as well as the maintenance of your electrical grid. In other words, you’re in the “real world”. If you fancy the countryside you can find extremely cheap lots and local carpenters to build your nest. Lot listings such as these are easily found on the internet. There are a variety of Filipino realtors online from reputable companies. My advice is to make contact and then get on a plane and take a look.

Another option is the condominium. New and used condominiums are everywhere and like subdivisions, offer payment plans. Newer condos can be overpriced so be picky.

Where to Buy Property in The Philippines

Deciding which island to buy on is a complicated affair. I would suggest thinking about the kind of environment you like. Every major island in the Philippines has an area with ample countryside but not every island has a major city. Cebu is the middle road. There is a good size city and a geographically diverse countryside. Bohol is an almost entirely agricultural island with a quaint seaside town. Palawan, often called the Philippines “Last Frontier”, is vast and breathtaking. If the beach is your thing, you will find it in Palawan. Land in Palawan is much cheaper than other areas of the Philippines. I’ve seen subdivisions with lots advertised as low as $USD1.800. Domestic travel is inexpensive so find out what island speaks to you.

How to Buy Buy Property in The Philippines

The procedure for buying real estate in the Philippines takes some getting used to. Foreigners (non-Filipinos not including former Filipinos) can not buy property outright. The easiest way for a non-Filipino to buy property is to have a Filipino spouse purchase the land. Former Filipinos can buy land up to a certain amount. The foreigner can own the building but not the land, unless the foreigner has a Philippine Special Retirement/Investment Visa. To qualify for this visa you must be at least 35 years old and meet the bank deposit requirement which can be withdrawn at a later date for your investments. There is a processing fee and the amount of the deposit/investment needed depends on whether or not you are married to a Filipino or former Filipino. This allows you almost all of the investment privileges of a Filipino citizen. For specifics on the program, check out the Philippine investors visa website. Foreigners are allowed to own condominium units outright but are only allowed to own 40% of a building or complex. You can also form a corporation where you and a Filipino or former Filipino partner, divide the ownership. This partner could be your spouse or child. For corporations, the Philippine government recognizes the right of succession in the case of foreigners.

The Philippines offers a unique environment for your get-away or permanent home. There are so many islands to choose from and a well developed industry accustomed to accommodating foreigners.

Original Post

However, there are various means by which noncitizens can hold property in the Philippines.

The most common way is a corporate structure. Corporations can own land, so long as Filipino citizens own 60 percent of the company; the rest can be owned by a foreign partner or partners. The arrangement makes it particularly easy for foreigners to buy condominiums, as long as they don’t compose more than 40 percent of a building’s ownership.

As a result, Walters owns two of his properties in his own name. He has put the other two in his wife’s name, a common practice but one that can cause problems in the event of a divorce.

Foreigners cannot claim citizenship in the Philippines without renouncing their original nationalities. Hardly any do.

But people of Filipino descent may be able to claim dual citizenship and, with it, the right to buy land. And even natural born Filipinos who have lost or given up their citizenship can own as much as 5,000 square meters, or about 54,000 square feet, in an urban development or three hectares, or 7.4 acres, in the countryside.

As a result, it is increasingly popular for overseas Filipinos to invest back home.

The expatriate Filipino population is global and extensive, but centered in the United States. Big developers like Ayala Land, Megaworld and Rockwell Land have started advertising their developments in major U.S. cities, trying to attract investment from the Balikbayans, the Filipino word for nationals who live abroad permanently.

Foreigners without local blood ties who want to make purchases other than condos must get more creative. Sometimes they fall back on a variation of the corporate structure: The foreign partner makes an off-the-books arrangement with local “owners.”

“Basically you can set up a Philippines corporation, have your lawyers or Filipino friends as 1 percent owners, but in reality the entire money is foreign,” said Monique Pronove, managing director for Pronove Tai & Associates property consultants. However, there are laws explicitly aimed at preventing such dummy partnerships.

“The reality is, yes, you can do it,” Pronove said. “But I would rather, if you are my client, that you be safe and do it legally and own condominium properties. And anyway, it is easier as well.”

Some foreigners have managed to secure beachfront property legally, through the use of 25-year leases, often with automatic renewals. This is particularly common on the popular resort island of Boracay, where Germans pioneered the resort trade and there are many properties in foreign hands. The lease holders then are free to build homes, although eventually the ground can be sold out from under them.

For the most part, though, foreign interest is centered on high-end condo developments in Manila’s best neighborhoods. There are some condo projects in Cebu, the country’s second city, but almost none elsewhere.

John Riad, chief executive of the online real-estate brokerage HousingInteractive.com, said he specialized in condos in the Makati, Rockwell and Fort Bonifacio neighborhoods, the most exclusive parts of Manila.

Original Post http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/19/news/rebuyphil.php

Philippine Retirement Visa Benefits

Low Cost

$1400 one time payment. Unlimited stay in the Philippines.

Once you are an SRRV Visa holder, it opens the door to vast opportunities and benefits. These include:

1. Option to Retire Permanently

• You may live, work and study in the Philippines

2. Multiple Entry Privileges

• You may travel outside the Philippines and re-enter anytime

3. Exemptions from:

• Income tax over your pension and annuities;
• Exit and re-entry permits of the Bureau of Immigration;
• Annual registration requirement of the Bureau of Immigration;
• Customs Duties and Taxes with regard to the importation of household goods and personal effects up to US$7,000.00;
• Travel tax, if you stay in the Philippines is less than one year from the last entry date; and
• I-Card

As an SRR Visa holder, the PRA can assist you in obtaining basic documents from other government agencies. These include, but are not limited to:

• Alien Employment Permit
• Driver’s License
• Tax Exemption/Extension Certificate
• Tax Identification Number
• National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance

Cost $1400

Email us for more information and to determine eligibility.