BITING REALITIES

by MELROSE S. LUNN

Shady Deals With Expats

This column will share with you Expats in the Philippines who continue to love this country inspite of the scam they get from our fellowmen.

I just learned that there are approximately 60 Swiss citizens who live in the Philippines. About half of this Swiss nationals are 50 years old and over. Their ages make them one of the major European entities in the archipelago.

A daily newspaper in Switzerland mentioned Alfred Lehnert who sighted some advises and recommendations to caution Expats who live in the Philippines. His advices are to:

1. adapt themselves to the local environment (i.e. rent an apartment and avoid buying luxurious residence,

2. drive a discrete car which will not attract too much attention,

3. to live discretely, especially outside of Metro Manila where the differences of life levels will be all the more noticeable, and the risk of extortion is greater, and

4. know friends and local habits, and then live more comfortably.

Are these realities biting? I beg to disagree with the above suggestions for living in the Philippines is more than a dream. But, come to think of it, foreigners are vulnerable to scam by anybody whose bad intentions really come first in their mind. I wonder how we can be greedy to the point of exchanging friendship for money.

A European friend said, "money speaks so strong that a person can say yes when he/she has to make both ends meet. When "cold cash" speaks, you don’t think twice but go for it." He maybe is right. Look at the number of Filipinos in China who are in death row? They said they were lured by drugs lords who care for nobody but think only of money.

On the other hand, a group of Australian and Canadian are still fighting for their rights on the legality of their residence in a supposed bought and owned lot, but the deals turned out to be illegal transactions. They are threatened to death if they will not vacate the area. How cruel our fellowmen!

Our government is doing its best to protect our foreign investors. However, some of them will also tell you, this is already beyond our control. Yes, indeed, for they also do their best to make both ends meet and satisfy their hunger for a luxurious social life. At the end of the day, we found out they are also behind these shady transactions. The investors are lured by their sweet words. Indeed, these are biting realities. /MP