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Crime Against Foreigners In The Philippines

10K views 38 replies 13 participants last post by  fuji0001 
#1 ·
My wife and I feel safe living in the Philippines. Now we live in a house we built in a rural area, on a dead end road with no close neighbors. When we first moved to Iloilo City we lived in...

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#3 · (Edited)
I agree with many of the things posted on that read, the trouble makers, basically those that you allow in your home, maid is the #1 trouble maker, they'll take your babies, steal bring in robbers or worse. Philippine citizens don't let anyone in their homes including other family members, you sit outside in a patio area.

Drinking by yourself, real dangerous, had an Australian man get taken out that way in our municipality, didn't even make the news here..Lol. He got drunk didn't pay his bar bill and ran out took off on his motorcycle with another family member, it was dark he hit a stray water buffalo in the middle of the road (horn of the buffalo) barangay shows up in the traditional Batman styled tricycle and ran out of gas to the hospital only 5 miles away, he didn't make it. Found out later that the family member that was traveling with the expat on back of motorcycle emptied his wallet and he might have shared the contents, he also turns out to be the long time boyfriend of the expat's wife.

But the part I don't follow is that the poster claims most foreigners don't like walls? What, if you've lived here for years I find that hard to believe... they sure come in handy and secondary gates, people used to walk up and into our house, into our bedroom and we're in bed bugging us, that was the ultimate end game on the bad behavior in our area, steel gates slowly went up along with concrete and steel barred windows, enough is enough already.

Dogs do make a difference, make sure the dog is parked in front of your door or blocking the entrance into your home.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Philippine citizens don't let anyone in their homes including other family members, you sit outside in a patio area.
This statement is more false than any other I've ever read.

I've been all over Philippines, the problem is that they let TOO MANY in their home. It is not odd to see the entire barangay outside your house sharing your television through open windows.

It is very common for Filipinos to walk right up to someone's window and look in.

Which is how westerners get caught unexpectingly by intruders or robbers. Complacency to the common environment is number one way to become a victim.

My wife is still laughing at the statment Filipinos don't let anyone in their home. Maybe in quezon city.... but outside of Cebu and Manila I've seen that the opposite is true; they are naively welcoming.
 
#4 ·
I agree, here if you want privacy and security, a wall and a gate are a must...preferably with a couple of dogs on the inside, not in a cage but with the ability to patrol the premises. It has been my personal experience that most of the people that would try to break in are more afraid of a dog than a gun or knife....
 
#5 ·
.... It has been my personal experience that most of the people that would try to break in are more afraid of a dog than a gun or knife....

You might miss with a gun it could jam or you could run out of bullets, a knife is a little more scary than a gun but requires the person to get up close and personal to use it.

On the other hand, dogs at least good guard dogs, never misses, never stops until threat is neutralized and makes enough noise that the homeowner can summon assistance or take other action.

You don’t even have to really train natural guard dogs that much. Just strong basic obedience training and lots of socialization with the family members. After that just let their natural instincts take over.

Had a German Shepard as a kid, followed me everywhere. Was once jumped by some kids from other school who did not see the dog behind me, before first punch was landed the dog had the ringleader of the gang on the ground, teeth bared and the most menacing growl you could imagine. The kid actually wet himself in fear.

The only training the dog had was we went to basic obedience school together (they train you not the dog) and for several years I was never without the dog. She would walk me to school, go home and then 5 minutes before school let out would want out and would run to school to meet me when I got out.
 
#6 ·
Perhaps there are other Military retirees here who remember the frequent security/home security briefings, what has happened to others briefings here.

Concerning Guard Dogs. Criminals would use a straw or a small tube to hollow out the center of hot dogs, fill them with rat poison and MSG, plug the ends then toss them over the wall or into open windows. Town patrol would often find the half eaten or never eaten hot dogs ate break ins. They advised if you have dogs, keep them inside the house at night or even in the bedroom with you.

One of the most bizarre home burglaries I heard of here was how a friends house who was robbed. He said thieves used a Baygon pump insect sprayer with a tube attached on the end, stuck the tube in his bedroom window AC and pumped in some type of spray that knocked out him and his girlfriend. He said they woke up with severe headaches, valuables gone.

In the 80's, someone stuck a long bamboo pole with a wire hook on the end and hooked the wife's purse off the table while we were asleep. Bamboo poles now are also being used to steal cell phones from houses. Thieves are placing rugby on the tip of the bamboo pole, sticking the pole through the window and snatching the phone.
 
#7 ·
Bamboo poles for snatching



Great point, we locked ourselves out of the house once and I was amazed at how easily the in-laws could open it up for us, seconds, using bamboo poles with wires on the end, snatching keys or what ever, one in-law had a bucket full of different keys, apparently the locks sold may only have 4-5 variations or combinations so easy to find the same key to unlock your door.

If you've ever watched how in-laws or citizens catch animals were not that much different they know our weakness's and have the skills and several others in on the hunt.
 
#9 ·
In my opinion, I think that jealousy is a factor in a lot of crimes committed against foreigners, and I think that it is important not to draw too much attention to yourself. Don't drive a car that stands out, make sure that your house isn't too ornate, and avoid bragging or discussing your finances with locals. Also, back in the 1980s & 90s, I used to feel safe walking around in Cebu City, and Mandaue. Not so much anymore, and it's important to recognize when your surroundings have changed. (There are a lot more drug addicts and mentally ill people.)
 
#10 ·
Security is important ANY WHERE you live. This article is in my opinion crying wolf. You pick up a city newspaper and will see attacks / break-ins are everywhere. Now that Obama has allowed 5 million amnesty lets check the stats in a few months. Now I agree you must be vigilant. I live in a so called secure estate, I have an outside dog and 3 inside dogs. I have CCTV. All this is not a prevention as NOTHING will prevent a culprit from conducting a crime. All this is, is a deterrent in hopes of making them think twice. I spent 20 years in the military and 15 years training soldiers how to build and protect a Forward Operating Base (FOB). Look at Iraq and Afghan does all the weaponry and precaution stop them from attacking NO. Its the same for culprits. By no means am I saying don't take precautions but don't live your life in a cocoon. Then you consider what about when you leave your home? How vulnerable are you then?. So according to this article don't hire a maid or driver, don't allow your GF or wife's family access to your home. Don't hire anyone to do work on your home. Don't allow deliveries to your home Pizza Jollie Bees KFC etc. It's bad enough we have the government forcing us to live a certain life style much less unsavory people.
 
#11 ·
I agree with your point of view here. At the same time, I understand the article (I did not write it) to be more of a heads-up for those who are making the move here.

What I see are what would be considered as normal, smart, people moving here from many different countries. Then once here, for some reason many act and live as if this is a country filled with simple minded island natives and proceed to throw safety and caution to the wind. In doing so, many have nasty experiences while there are others that end up paying the ultimate price for ignoring safety and related precautions..
 
#13 ·
Let’s put some numbers to this discussion.

According to this news article Global homicide: murder rates around the world | News | The Guardian with the data listed here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AonYZs4MzlZbdEFKenJZdUd4WE9HYlVfSE8yc19QclE#gid=0

The homicide rate in the Philippines is 21 per 100,000 population. That is roughly the range that many African countries fall into. It is only slightly more than Puerto Rica (18.9) and much less than Jamaica ( 33.7) or Russia (29.7) It is about 3 times the US (5.9) rate.

Yes this is bad however there is no data about the rate against foreigners. Murders tend to fall mainly into two categories. Criminals killing criminals or family members killing family members. These sorts of crimes are easy to avoid, simply exercise some precautions about where and when you go and you will not be collateral damage in criminal killings. The issue of family members here can be a little more tricky, you simply do not have the ability to fully access all family members as you would have at home and more of the extended family (and hence unknown persons) are involved in people’s lives than exists at home.

There are lots of news articles about high murder rates of foreigners here. Most of these have almost a total absence of facts behind them. It is easy to say crime is rampant, gets politicians elected and sells security hardware and services and sells newspapers. Many of the claims are simply too self-serving on their face to be considered seriously.

In Canada right now we have a Conservative government scaring the population by claiming crime is high and that only the Conservatives can protect the people, never mind that the statistics are that crime is falling. In Afghanistan it was common that the local government people would tell us how many guards we needed. If we were much less than this number we would get attacked (harassment fire, nothing serious) as soon as we hired the recommended number the attacks stopped. It was amazing how well the local people of influence could predict to the man how many guards were needed to prevent attacks. It worked no matter how many of the local guards actually showed up for work as long as they were paid we were OK.

Until and unless I see some hard data that foreigners are significantly more likely to be killed or become victims of violent crime here than in other retirement places, I’ll just take normal precautions, avoid dark alleys, not go out of my way to create enemies, lock doors secure valuables, not flash lots of cash etc.
 
#17 ·
And many murders don't get "counted" due to X or Y reason until they are statistically dead (a new term in Philippines ... )

Like the killing of a foreigner in Baguio last year never saw the news because of God Only Knows what reason. I know the fellow can't be more dead than dead and his wife refused to file charges
 
#18 ·
Personal safety vs peace of mind

I was reading a thread here yesterday (that of course I cant find any more) where I believe jon1 said something to the effect of:

let the family know that if you die, the money stops

I've always thought this excellent advice, but how do you balance that with wanting your Filipina wife to know that if something should happen to you, she and your kids will be taken care of with an insurance policy you've purchased.

One one hand I dont want anyone to know about any insurance I've bought to take care of my wife and kids should I die, but my wife can be a little overprotective because she thinks that if something should happen to me, she and the kids are hosed.

Anyone have any thoughts on this or things that have worked for them?

Thanks!
 
#19 ·
I was reading a thread here yesterday (that of course I cant find any more) where I believe jon1 said something to the effect of:

let the family know that if you die, the money stops

I've always thought this excellent advice, but how do you balance that with wanting your Filipina wife to know that if something should happen to you, she and your kids will be taken care of with an insurance policy you've purchased.

One one hand I dont want anyone to know about any insurance I've bought to take care of my wife and kids should I die, but my wife can be a little overprotective because she thinks that if something should happen to me, she and the kids are hosed.

Anyone have any thoughts on this or things that have worked for them?

Thanks!
you never said why you don't: want your wife to know about the insurance.
but make sure she gets it in installments,cause if she is any thing like my partner a lump sum would be all gone in a month.
and of course if any thing mysterious was to happen to you then the insurance dies with
 
#39 ·
first, thank you for this thread. I Live in Calif. USA, with my Pinay GF. She wants to return to her home in Davao (she owns house) in 3 years and i come along of course. We will spend two weeks there this June. I have medical issues which are not discernible to casual observer and health care is part of my evaluation. As important as that is, I seem to be leaning toward personal safety and the overall crime I read about. Her house is in So Davao, and she has property on one of the Islands SE of Davao. Scale of 1 to 10 how much is safety a consideration? I notice strict gun laws related to foreigners. THanks in advance
 
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