Over the past months on this blog there are two issues that we’ve discussed that are kind of moving together and certainly coming to a head. Remember how I reported that so many Koreans are coming to the Philippines? They come here mostly to study, but for other reasons too. Also, remember how I reported how Bureau of Immigration officers were being accused (and even fired) for scamming foreigners here? Well, these two issues are joining into one, and it is not looking good.
What has happened is that a number of Koreans have complained that Bureau of Immigration officers have been extorting money from them. These Koreans (reportedly Korean Businessmen) have reported the extortion attempts to the South Korean Embassy, and the Ambassador is taking action. As a matter of fact, he is acting in a way that could really hurt the Philippines. The South Korean Ambassador has frozen all Immigration applications for Filipino Overseas Workers who want to go to Korea to work.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer had a story about the whole diplomatic mess today:
The South Korean embassy here will continue to suspend the issuance of visas to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for that country, Consul General Hong Sung Mog said Wednesday.
While he is scheduled to meet with Immigration commissioner Marcelino Libanan, Hong told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview he is “not optimistic” about getting a “positive signal” on the complaints by Korean businessman about extortion allegedly committed some immigration officials
“I plan to lift the suspension either today or tomorrow, but I have to get a positive signal from the Philippine government. So far, I am not optimistic about it,” he said.
Earlier, Libanan, responding to the Koreans’ complaints, said the real issue was not extortion but his agency’s campaign against Korean nationals illegally engaged in business here, especially the retail trade.
It doesn’t really look good. Several Philippine Senators are getting into the fray, and complaining that just because of alleged extortion by Immigration officers, it is not right to penalize innocent Filipino workers. My take on this is that this is the normal way things work between governments. One action by a government begets a response by the other government.
The best thing the Philippine Government could do, in my opinion is to make sure that the Bureau of Immigration is running a clean operation, and that it’s agents are honest and forthright. I hear so many complaints from Immigrants here, that it is just obvious that there are problems. The Bureau of Immigration even fired two of it’s officials a few months ago, after giving multiple warnings to employees and having those ignored.
I do hope that the argument between the two governments can be resolved quickly, and in a way that is best for all involved.
Good to bring this out, Bob, because the typical "head in the sand" approach so often practiced by Philippine lawmakers is not the best way to deal with this significant problem. It ties directly to some of the tourism issues you mentioned just a few days ago.
I started to write a lot more, but I can't. The BID is in serious trouble and it's hurting the Philippines in significant ways.
Hi Dave – I do believe that this is an important issue for the Philippine Government to deal with. This may seem kind of silly, but I believe that it is an indication of the problem – the Bureau of Immigration, is alternatively called the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation. That name, BID has a very negative connotation to it. It sounds kind of "mean" or imposing. It's not welcoming. The two names go back and forth, and I am not even sure which is "official" anymore. I believe that the name itself indicates a kind of negativity toward immigration when they throw in the "deportation" part. I really believe that in this case the Korean Government is hitting the Philippines in a soft spot, because the RP depends greatly on remittances from OFW's. Korea is not a huge market for Philippine labor, but this could catch on with other Governments that are big users of labor from here. If there are corrupt agents at the BID/BOI, those people need to be rooted out. I say "if" because I cannot be 100% certain, di ba? 😉
I hope these agents are really fired not merely "transferred" Personally, I believe they should go to jail if caught. This will prevent BOI's warning to its agents from being ignored.
Hi Bobby – I agree with you. Something must be done to resolve this issue. For me, I have a resident visa, and everything is up to date on it, so I have no reason to worry regarding immigration matters. But, I hear from so many foreigners here of troubles that they have had with the BOI/BID. When you hear from so many, there must be some problem….. you know, where there is smoke there must be fire!
Hi Bob,
The problem here is twofold – 1) there are erring BI officers who should be dealt with accordingly 2) apparently, there are over 100,000 Koreans staying illegally in the Philippines, most of whom are engaged in the retail business (see link below from today's issue of Philippine Star).
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p…
The latter opens more opportunities for extortion by these rogue BI officers. The Koreans should report these erring BI officers and I believe this is what happened which made the South Korean Ambassador take action. This as a good sign because all these illegal activities wouldn't have surfaced if no one complained.
What brought this to a head, I believe, is the fact that there have been reports of: 1) Koreans opening businesses exclusive to Koreans, no Filipinos allowed, 2) they don't pay their employees fair wages 3) they maltreat their Filipino workers, etc. Undoubtedly, there is growing tension between the Filipinos and Koreans. I've heard a lot of complaints from numerous sources about the rudeness of Koreans and how they lord it over the Filipinos. Naturally, the Filipinos don't want this kind of treatment. Let's see what happens…
Yes, Tina has hit the nail on the head. Many Koreans are trying to take advantage of the Philippines and are very willing to do it illegally. Some in the Dept. of Immigration are willing to let them do so, as long as they get they get a piece of te action. Missionaries have been effected by this problem because many Koreans were coming in on missionary visas, and setting up busineses, sometimes even bars. In order to try to keep this from happening, all missionaries were having to renew their residency visa every year, and to report to Manila to do so! Immigration requirements were changed so that proof of missionary work must be photographed and otherwise documented in order to keep that kind of visa. This was a good move.
I think that authorities need to know about abuses of the immigration system, and we also need to respect the fact that there ARE people who should be kept out of thise country, and that has to be determined by the powers that be.. I like to think that if we are good people and respect Filipino laws, we will not have major problems with the people who do this.
Hi Tina – I agree completely. There are lots of Koreans who are taking advantage of the Philippines and not obeying the law. The solution is to arrest them and deport them. No problems! I am sure that if this was the procedure the Korean Ambassador would have no problem with it, just as erring Filipinos in Korea are deported, I am sure. However, shaking them down and extorting money is wrong, and it impacts the tourism business of the Philippines. When words gets around (and believe me, it does get around) that tourists in the Philippines are regularly extorted by Immigration officials, people don't come! Who needs the hassle? If the lawbreakers are either jailed or deported it will put this whole issue to rest, and everybody will be happy (except the Immigration officials will be out money, and the people who get deported!).
Hi AmericanLola – I totally agree that there are people who must be deported or kept out in the first place! No argument from me on that. But, deport them, don't go looking for bribes and extortion.
Couldn't help but see the irony for July 18: Comments to "Hey, Why don't they do things my way?" and "Bureau of Immigration running into trouble vs. Korea." Definitely not Kansas! 😀
Hi Paul – We aren't even in Iowa! 😆
Hi Bob,
I agree that all undesirable aliens should be deported regardless of nationality. Since we can't deport undesirable Filipinos (rogue BI officers), we should put them in jail and throw away the key! 😡
I would recommend for a tourist who is a victim to 1) file a complaint with the BI and 2) write to the media. It is so easy to send a letter to the editor of any online Philippine newspaper. Exposing these illegal activities is what is going to make them stop. If the government agency doesn't seem to do anything about it, the media will have a field day for sure. Keeping quiet will only encourage these misdeeds.
Hi Tina – Ha ha…. maybe we could send the rogue BI officers abroad and let them deal with rogue officers in the country where they are sent! A taste of their own medicine.
I hate koreans they are all wankers:evil:
hoi polloi – Wow, you are so hateful! I wonder how Koreans feel about you?
I was really concerned about the Koreans coming to the Phils in huge proportions. Looks like something fishy is going on. Bringing little kids to the Phils to learn english, renting apartments with unknown number of occupants ? Worst, these kids are showing their ill manners as if they're entitled to do so in the Phils! I'm not sure what GMA is doing about this issue. Those corrupt BI officers ? they need to be put to jail, together with the airport inspectors. They're truly an embarassment.
Hi Jul – Yep, it's a bad situation on both sides!
Hi Bob,
Noticed that you've been talking about retirement lately and I came across this article. Just wanted to share it with you. Interesting! I didn't expect these (Chinese, Taiwanese, Koreans) to be the largest groups of retirees there…
http://business.inquirer.net/money/features/view_…
Hi Tina – Thanks for the link. Interesting article! Like you, I didn't realize that many Koreans were actually retiring here.
Of course there are more Koreans here than people from the Western Hemisphere. Korea is only 4 hours away! I am sure there are many more people from the West in the Caribbean Islands than Koreans, I assure you.
Back to the topic. Koreans mistreating Filipinos. I have recently read many posts that refer to this. I wonder where they get this idea? When I read Korean blogs in Philippines, they complain about why Filipinos, both government and local civilians, mistreat Koreans, even though they are the ones spending the most money in the Philippines (not that money is everything). Koreans wouldn’t dare give less than the prevailing wage to Filipinos. In fact, they pay more. Go to ANY Korean establishments. Ask the employees directly. They are very well paid, and they would not want to move. Money is not the issue. Koreans don’t mistreat Filipinos here either. Koreans are very sensitive to legal implications, and they are actually very scared that their actions could cause them to be involved with the local law enforcement.
I think the real reason lies in that there is far less than perfect communication between the Filipino and Koreans. Koreans who move here are generally blue collar, just like the Westerners. They speak VERY little English. So, miscommunications must abound.
Because of their lack of English abilities, Koreans make very easy targets.
Imagine you just ate dinner, and walked out. A girl comes up to you and starts to talk to you. You don’t understand what she is saying, so you move on. The girl is appears angry and starts shouting. Then, a police comes. The police says you hit the girl, and after scaring you half to death, tells you to settle the matter with the girl by paing her 10,000 pesos, or else you are going to the police station. Extortion. If YOU were in this position, you will say, fine, let’s go. But for that Korean, he is scared because he doesn’t clearly understand. This is not a made up story. This was a post made just yesterday on a Korean blog.
The kind of retail businesses that were the target of BOI are exactly the type of just about any other shops run by expats here in Philippines whose shop is not under the name of the Filipino spouse. Basically a dummy corporation. A dummy corporation, by law is illegal. But the fact is, most foreign “owned” business operate this way. Korean businesses are often the target of such investigations because, as I stated above, they make easy targets. The Korean owners get scared easily because they don’t understand what is being said, and in their desperation, want to get out of the situation by paying money. I don’t thing they want to pay money to grease the system, do you? They do this because it’s out of desperation.
Korean government is angry exactly because of this. They are angry that only the KOREAN businesses are targeted, whereas so many other businesses owned and operated by other foreigners operate the exact same way.
Koreans ask, why them?
Filipinos who get fired by Koreans get very angry because, first they lost a very well paying job. And they know that it would be easy to threaten Korean owners because of the situation stated above.
I am sure there are some abuses. But I have a hard time believing this is a widespread problem.
Ask yourself. Do you really know what you are talking about when you say, Koreans are this, and Koreans are that? Or is it all hearesay? How much of heresay do you find accurate? Do you believe everything you read/hear in the news in Phil?
I recently got angry at a forum because people were bashing Koreans and Koreans were not able to defend themselves because they generally do not frequent English language expat forums.
Now, I am at it again. I don’t like it.
Hello,
I've worked with Koreans for almost three years, and until now I still interact with some Koreans because of my job.
I agree with Bob that Koreans are basically opportunistic. Aside from that most of them are racists, culturally distubed people, liars, and cheaters.
Opportunistic in a sense they like you when they still get something from you. I have a friend who works in a Korean company and has been there for almost five years now. I know her very well as really a kind person and has competence in her job. She got promotions and salary increase, but she was disappointed recently for her boss asked for a salary cut from her, because she was demoted, without due process.
Racists in a sense that they always see themselves as better people than Filipinos. Some filipinos in a workplace experience maltreatment, bullying, and harassment. F**K are those Koreans!
They are culturally distrubed because they are too insensitive about Philippine culture, and they don't bother to learn it by heart. Like they shout at their employees in a workplace when their company is not doing well.I happened to asked some koreans who are not happy in their repective homes in South Korea. They are rich people but they seem not still living in the Dark Ages.
Liars because they ask you not to tell the truth. I came across a blog from a pure Filipina teaching English in Korea. Her English is flawless and I think she's really intelligent because she graduated from the UP. She was asked to tell her Korean students that she is a Filipina-Canadian where in fact, she never been to English speaking country her entire lire.
Cheaters because they ask you to do so. I managed a Korean company and was asked to ask our external accountant to distort our financial statements to avoid taxes! I refused it and my boss was mad at me.
Koreans must know how to RESPECT OTHER PEOPLE before they get apprehended because of their bad manners and culture.
Hi ProudBrownMan – Firstly, when you said that you agree with me about Koreans being opportunistic – I am sorry, but I don't think I have ever said that. If those words came from me, I must have been confused or mis-typed. I would never say it. Sure, some Koreans are opportunistic. Some Filipinos are too. Americans are, and Aussies are. To generalize and say that "Koreans are opportunistic" is a racist statement, because not all Koreans are the same. ProudBrownMan, I feel like you are simply wanting to say your side of things, and I don't fault you for that, but you are really generalizing, and saying that all Koreans fit a certain mold that you have experienced with individuals in the past. I am sure you would be upset if I said that "all Filipinos are this way or that way." I wouldn't blame you. I urge you to step back and re-evaluate. Those people whom you've had experience with you have a right to judge their behavior. Those whom you have not even met may not fit your stereotype, though.
Good luck to you!
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your clarification.
I am not trying to be generalizing or sterotype. I said "MOST OF THEM".
There are more bad people than good ones in their country. Many of my foreign (Americans, Japanese and even good Koreans) and Filipino friends have the same sentiments about Koreans.
It's my own perception of them based on my expericnes which I want to share with other bloggers here.
Hi proudbrownman – I understand. For me, the problem is that you don't know "most" Koreans, so how can you know how "most of them are?" Anyway, I understand it is your opinion, and I respect that. It just makes me feel bad, because I do know Koreans who are good people too.
Hi Bob–Thanks for respecting my opinion. I know "most" of them. Out of 10 Korean seven are bad and three are good ones. I hope you happen to get along with Koreans and try to do your own statistics.
I almost forget to tell you that you've got a beautiful blog.
Thanks for allowing me to post here.
Hi proudbrownman – Thank you for your nice comment about the blog. I'm glad that you like it. You are free to post your thoughts anytime! 🙂