Elections in the Philippines are less than a week away. But, elections here are probably different from where you live, at least if you live in any first world country. Why? Elections here often bring violence. Serious violence. Death. Killings. Kidnappings. Bad stuff!
It’s true. Many of you probably know that I I travel a lot. I have been warned, though, by many friends not to travel much during the runup to the elections. I know it’s true too, because a lot of people get killed during the election period, and I don’t care to be one of those.
The truth is, as foreigners, we don’t have any business getting involved in the election anyway. Our opinions have no value in this matter. We are only guests here in the Philippines, and it is not our business to inject our opinions about politics into the discussion. I am very strict about this. I don’t talk politics here. If I am sitting around having coffee or a drink with Filipino friends and the conversation turns to politics, I generally excuse myself, get up and leave for a while. I don’t know enough about politics to say anything of value, and even if I did, my opinion may not be welcomed. That’s why I feel it’s best to not even have an opinion.
During election season (now), there are always lots of activities going on related to politics. Really, during this time, almost anything in life can be related to politics, so you have to be careful about what you say and what you do. If people even perceive that you are supporting a candidate, and if they feel he is the wrong candidate, you could be killed.
So, my advice for all of us foreigners is to avoid politics, don’t even discuss it with friends if possible. It’s better to remain friends, and to stay alive too!
Hi Bob –
Just out of curiosity, why would a FOREIGNER be a target during the elections, since foreigners do not vote?
Based on your travels, (to ARMM!!!), if YOU say not to go out, then that concerns me!
Ken
And there are so many important things to discuss in life, why get involved in your host country's politics. Life is too short. Literally.
Hi Ken – there are two things to watch out for. Firstly, if you are in a place where there is a political rally or such, when violence breaks out you can be hurt regardless of your color or nationality – just being in the wrong place at the wrong time can be deadly. Second reason – if a politician is running low on funds, a foreigner can be a kidnap target, meaning that they will get a quick ransom which will replenish their campaign warchest. I do stay at home during election time, I think it's the best course of action.
Hello Bob, I think many of us reading your blog at the moment, are not inspired by what we hear, it seems that living in the philippines may bring some benefits in terms of quality of life, and lower costs, but I am beginning to think "At what price ?" as Ken says, if we have to live our life in that environment, maybe its dawning on us, that what we have in our own countries is not that bad after all ? Whilst I have high taxes and costs of living to pay here in UK, I have to say, I am not in fear of being kidnapped, I am pretty sure no one is going to kill me just because of my political opinions, and I can travel to any part of the country, and go where I like without the worry of personal safety, and of course this is my country, and I am not a foreigner.
The grass is not always greener, it appears to me, the dream of living in the Philippines, comes with a price to pay ? sometimes I wonder, will I pay it ?
Hi Tom – My thoughts exactly!
Hi Pete – One thing to keep in mind – there is no place on this earth that is perfect. I can assure you that the Philippines is far from it. As somebody who is not a citizen here, I have no business becoming involved in politics here, it just is not my place. I understand that, and I honor that. I don't walk around in fear, but I also don't put my nose where it does not belong. Elections are not happening all the time anyway, so no big deal, in my opinion.
No matter where on earth you live, there is a price to pay. The price just varies depending on the location you choose.
That is true Bob, I also have no wish to involve myself in the politics of that country, as elections only happen once every 4 years, we can assume this is a temporary problem, and of course as you say, there is no place on earth which is perfect, if it was we all would try and get there, wherever we are in the world, we all live with some kind of risk, in the 21st century, its now accepted that there is an element of risk, it could be the food we eat, (Mad Cow Disease ?) (Genetically modified foods), it could be the place we choose to live (Mindanao ?) risk is not only accepted its planned for, (7/7 London and 9/11 New York) on London Transport, we live with the risk of bombings every day, we have come to acccept, that if we travel anywhere in London, there is always a chance we might be the victim of a bomb attack, and yet we accept that without question !, the risk in the Philippines is almost the same.
So I would support you Bob in what you have said, wherever we choose to live, there is an element of risk, one has to balance the benefits of the location one chooses to live in, against the risks, masama at maganda, there is good and bad everywhere.
I was in the U.S. Navy and I was in the Philippines from 1964 to 1966. During that time there was a presidental election. Military people were not allowed to leave the base for several days during the election. I don't remember exactly how many days it was. A little trivia, that was Ferdinand Marcos first presidental win.
I will certainly be keeping my eyes on the news during the coming week. I am supposed to arrive on the 17th, so after the election, so I hope there won't be any after-effects!
-elisa
Hi Pete – Exactly!
Hi Dan – I have a friend who was in the Philippines while serving in the Navy during that same period. He has told me many stories of his stay here.
Hi Elisa – Just keep a low profile if there is any follow up problems with the election. You should have a good visit, don't worry too much!
Regarding Pete's initial comments:
I am happily living in a 2 bedroom condo in a safe neighborhood in Columbia, South Carolina at the moment, and my total monthly expenses are about $2,000/month. (Usually less, but sometimes I have sporadic expenses like car work.) Yes, I can go places here at night and get in trouble, but for the most part I am very safe. I figure my fiance and I could live in my condo for about $2,500/month, and have a very nice lifestyle.
Okay, so I would save maybe $1,000/month in the Philippines. But is the trade-off in infrastructure and safety worth it?
My answer …….. "Yes". (Surprise!) Solely because she would be close to her family. I am not sure there will be any benefits for me living in the Philippines.
Regarding Ken's reply, thats not bad at all Ken, if you can get away with living on $2000.00 per month I think you are doing quite well, I was discussing the incredible cost of living here with Scott our good freind over the weekend, apart from moneys remitted to the Philippines for some finishing off on the house, our monthly spend was about $7000.00, I know I would benefit greatly from the lower cost of living, when you think that our condo is about $2000.00 alone which is same as yours Ken a 2 bedroomed condo, then on top of that we have some of the highest petrol (gas) costs in th world, there is little wonder that so many of my countrymen clammer to get out to other countries.
The main destinations are Australia, Canada, Spain, Italy, and suprisingly the U.S.A. interestingly enough, the Philippines is not mentioned as the prime desire destination, maybe no one has told them about it, well they are missing out right guys ?
Infrastructure is a very important consideration, hahaha I know what you are all thinking, but its true, Bob told us a story in his blog about his drive to Bislig city, he said "We were driving along this road, it was a dirt road, it was passable, but it was a bone shaker" I have also driven along roads like that, especially on Bohol, I'm not planning to live on Bohol, but the roads there are pretty par for the course on Negros Occidental, where I plan to live, the road from Bacolod City to Kanbankalan in the south is pretty bad, in parts, you have to go down a single track road which is in concrete, because there is not enough money to complete the other side, then you swop about 5 miles down to the other part of the road, which has been completed, in parts, there are potholes everywhere, which you have to negotiate, funny but true.
For you Ken there is no I-95 on these islands, and for me no M25 and no service areas to stop off and use the comfort rooms, lets all face it, as we said in previous posts, its a trade off, Bob will no doubt be laughing at my comments, but in the end Im sure that the trade off is worth it, once we are all aculturalized to our new way of life, our expectations will have to be curtailed somewhat – as will many other things.
Hi Ken – nicely said! You have some good thoughts there that everybody should consider!
Interesting thoughts your all having. I live in Kansas City and I will share with you that there are sections of the city that I will not go to elections, holiday, or any day. Why because the risk of being killed, robbed, car jacked, etc is high-always. I know I am comparing apples to oranges but Bob is only bringing up a recommendation to be careful during the election process. If you read some of Bob's links to Mindanao news you will see that violence has increased every where due to the election process. One very nice aspect of this site is that Bob prints a topic with his warning-others turn a blind eye. It is a given that living there has trade offs and only we can decide if those trade offs are a negative or a positive. Going back to my original point though dangers are every where. The front page of the Kansas City Star is sitting right in front of me. The headline says "Lodsdon had killed Before" (he killed 6 people in a mall last week-end. A different lead story is says "FBI says alert clerk thwarted terrorists" (this was a planned attack by Albanian Muslims on Ft. Dix to kill as many soldiers there as possible. I think you get my point. Good luck to all.
Hi Pete – You are really getting it now!
Hi Ron – Yes, there are killings and other such activities everywhere. It's just something that you have to live with, regardless of where you are located. Fortunately, here in Davao, such instances are rare, which is nice.
We all have our little stories. I was visting my sisters son and his new wife. She was wondering how safe it was in Leyte. I said I feel safer there than in the us–not everyone caries a gun. I asked her where she was from in California and she said Compton. I laughed so hard that I fell off the sofa! Compton is the birthplace of the Bloods and Crips gangs. They got very very mad at me and said it was very quite where her mothers house was in Compton.haahahah
Hi Don – that indeed is a funny story! Wasn't there also some kind of Post Office shooting in Compton some years ago? Maybe I am remembering wrong.
Not sure about the post office thing but there have been plenty of others over the years..ie gang central of california. I never lived near there but heard and read many stories.