On Tue, Jan 04, 2005 at 04:17:09PM +0800, Dexter Ang wrote: > On Tue, 4 Jan 2005 15:30:24 +0800, Anuerin Diaz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > or as a desperate move, publish your story somewhere. hehehehe... > > > > ciao! > > Yeah right. And have someone's goons go after me. Who knows who that > customs person works for. =P
I'm saying this as a non-Filipino. You folks have got to get this shit under control. Paying this guy will only perpetuate the problem. Your economy will suffer until the rampant corruption stops. I'm not going to detail all my experiences, but I will detail this one. Last time my wife and I came there the customs official at the airport told her that she wanted a $5 bribe. This wasn't in hushed language or anything, just normal talk. It was that or she would actually do her job and look through our stuff. Now, I'm not like my wife. I'm a dick. But I figured my wife would get upset if I made a scene, so I decided to just wait. My plan was to embarrass the official next time I came in the country, when I would be by myself. I have a very loud voice, like opera-singer-voice without the ability to sing. So when the official asked for a bribe, I would simply, in the loudest voice possible, act confused about the bribe and basically make enough of a scene to draw attention to it. That person is a roach, and roaches don't like light. I just wanted to make the roach slink down and beg me to move on. Of course, my bags ended up somewhere else so I didn't even do anything at customs. Next time, though... Look, this is a long story. But don't give in to this slimeball. Make a stink. Fix the problem. I know it's easier to say that than to do it, but I also know that Filipinos have the ability to do this. You should know that Filipinos are famous around the world for two things: 1. The ability to bring down a dictatorship simply by rallying in the street and saying "enough is enough". Incredible stuff. 2. Rampant government corruption at all levels. Search google if you don't believe me, there are plenty of horror stories from foreigners who had to bribe the police there for sometimes thousands of dollars to get false charges dropped. Getting rid of Marcos was a good start, but it was just a start. Gloria wants to stop corruption, but she can't. Only you can. Why not start finishing the job? I don't want to compare countries, I really don't, but in the US that guy would be rotting in jail if he pulled this stunt even one time. I'm serious. We don't put up with it. Nor should you. Michael -- Michael Darrin Chaney [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.michaelchaney.com/ -- Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [email protected] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Official Website: http://plug.linux.org.ph Searchable Archives: http://marc.free.net.ph . To leave, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/plug . Are you a Linux newbie? To join the newbie list, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/ph-linux-newbie
