Comments on: Could you be deported?

By: MindanaoBob

MindanaoBob — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:48:26 +0000

Hi Yumi – Thanks for sharing your story, it is interesting to hear. I hope that your boyfriend can learn the lesson and through doing so keep his opinion a little more in check. It is something that all of us foreigners must learn to do better, I think.

By: yumi

yumi — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:28:36 +0000

Hi Bob, this site is very enlightening^^. I am a Filipina from CEbu. I was searching about deportation cases in the Philippines and i ended up here in your site.
Recently my boyfriend went through a deportation proceeding. It really saddened me so much and much worse I was terribly embarrassed about my country’s justice system. I know there are foreigners who deserve to be deported ( especially when they do illegal stuffs) but not to those who just expressed their anger or something.
My boyfreind and I work in the same company and he is the operation manager,. Often times my BF complains about the work attitude of FIlipinos . ( and I couldnt argue more about this coz , it’s is true). And he sometimes loose his cool to our staff and tells him off ( I swear he is the most reasonable person i’ve known). One of our Filipino managers ( under him) couldnt take it and filed a complaint to BOI.
Although the case has been solved in favor o f my bF, he said he felt humillitaed and angry about how our people in the government treat them ( thought he ddint tell me what really transpired in the hearing) and it costs him a lot since he has to fly to manila for the hearing and bring his lawyer.
I really feel sorry. SOme Filipinos ( especially those who are in the middle class and ruling class) really need to be educated more about this. Some of them are narrowminded and what they knew is what they can do with their very little knowledge. THey have never thought about impact it will bring to others and to the Filipinos in general.
So i really hope , our governent officials can see this problem ( although, i have lost my faith in them) with one deportation case who knows we have already lost a potential help for the filipinos.

By: MindanaoBob

MindanaoBob — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:39:41 +0000

Hi Gary – Eleven years? You have been here long enough, I hope that you have settled into the routine now, and can live the way things are here.

I am lucky, I have never had any threat of deportation, not even talked to about it. I am certainly aware of the possibilities that it can and does happen.

I do believe that speaking the local language (what you do speak, cebuano or surigaonon?) can make you more likely to be deported. I say this because by speaking the local language you are showing people that you have been here long term, and because of that you should understand how things work here.

I wish you all the best.

By: Gary

Gary — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:17:13 +0000

Hello Bob,Justin,David ,Kumander ,Jim,Dave Starr , and all the rest;

I know I am a month late for this conversation. I just wanted to add my thought on deportation. I for one have come close to being deported at least 3 times. have also be talked to about the black list. Every time it was miscommunication, and or the party that was wrong felt that as a foreigner I could not show them in the law that they were wrong. They would just say, “that is not how we do it here” ha ha the laughing was how I got in trouble. I guess I’m lucky that I am still here.
Maybe just Maybe the reason is I really try and speak the local dialect. I know that back in the states you hear all the time “If you are going to live here learn to speak English” I am trying very hard to assimilate into the culture. I left the U.S.A. for a reason.. I don’t want to bring it here. After 11 years I am starting to get better at being quit “promise”
Just a thought….

Gary from Surigao City

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:54:10 +0000

Hi Captain Todd – To live happily in the Philippines, it’s good to keep your head low, and try to just get along even after your become a citizen! That’s just the way that most people live here.

By: Captain Todd

Captain Todd — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:21:38 +0000

Thanks for that update, Bob, and for raising awareness. I will keep my head low for the first 5 years, then take that oath ASAP!!!!!

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:36:18 +0000

Hi Captain Todd – I know a lot of foreigners who have been deported. There are foreigners deported from the Philippines every single day – 365 days per year. Perhaps your wife never heard of it happen, but for sure, I know that it does. It is not something that most Filipinos follow. It’s kind of like – how many parking tickets were issued in your town in 2008? You probably don’t know, because it just is not important to you. Same situation with deportations. Believe me, it is a normal and regular thing.

If you become a citizen, you could never be deported, because you are no longer a foreigner.

By: Captain Todd

Captain Todd — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:04:25 +0000

As far as the land ownership issue – I can understand why Pinoys want to keep the Philippine Islands to themselves; Chinese already own half of New York, and it would be easy for them to buy these islands right out from under the Pinoys feet – although a compromise might be to allow someone married to a Philippine Citizen to purchase up to 1,000 square meters of land in their name. Just a thought.

On the issue of deportation – THIS IS REALLY SCARY! I have been there 3 times so far, and plan on retiring there in 4 or 5 years, but have never heard of this happening! Does anyone know if it could happen to a Naturalized Citizen of the Philippines? For example, let’s say 10 years from now, I take the oath and become a Naturalized Citizen, could someone then do something which would lead to my deportation because I’m a “foreigner” – or would I be covered with the same legal rights & protections as a Native Citizen? BTW: I asked my wife about this – she’s from Virac, Catanduanes and Quezon City, Luzon – and she says she has never heard of anyone being deported like that. Still, it kinda makes one wonder…..

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 12:07:54 +0000

Hi Rusty – I try to be careful about the things I write. I don’t feel that I have to not say things, but rather maybe I need to say them in a way that is not too negative. I can’t be sure if one could be deported for what is written on a blog, but I don’t doubt that it could happen.

By: Rusty

Rusty — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 07:53:55 +0000

Hmmm, I wonder if writing a negative article about a landlord or a pizza pub could result in disrespecting a Filipino and thus a deportation?