Even a foreigners wife can get the Blame

Total bovine excrement.

 

Dogs are very forgiving that way. The longer I'm gone, the happier they are to see me (no matter where I've been).



Larry

 

what is an "opposition counselor"?

I'm sorry but what is an "opposition counselor"?

 

Well there is a downside, their own blood on the road. As I see it, those who are irresponsible, which is to say a minority of drivers, are making a decision on the cost effectiveness of headlight, helmet etc. versus the likelihood of a bad consequence. Most offenders are young men; in most any culture the consider themselves immortal.

Your other point is well taken. Railing against the local way of thinking and cultural notions of fairness will only make you a grumpy old man. And we are only talking about the barangay level. The barangay captain's role is to mediate disputes so they do not reach the police and the courts. He is not applying any law, he is not trained for that. If you do not agree, ignore it and go to the police. You need a police report for insurance coverage in any case.

 

Strategy for success requires wise choices.

The reason most offenders are young is that do not grow old taking high risks on the road for long. They are killed or injured and learn as they grow and groan. The odds are against you when you come out of side alleyways blindly with no lights on at night onto the national highway. One of those 1000 times will have some consequences. The time that there is consequences is the learning experience time, maybe even the final lesson in life

Do not take my point to strongly, I do believe in fairness and not just passively letting others fleeced because they think they entitled to do so. A little grumpiness never hurt anyone except those feeling the grumpy attitude toward them. A controlled bad attitude can be a negotiating tool. Although I was trying to make a point that accepting the situation makes life easier, reducing the frustration, I do not feel that we just accepting the situation is totally the answer either. There seems to be a thought pattern with the less connected Filipinos that foreigners are only here to be scammed. While the upper levels of political power may think the same way while focusing on the bigger scam, they do not seem to be abusive in their scam approaches. I think they may realize there maybe value in keeping a golden goose alive that could keep laying golden eggs, if only to scam that goose for more golden eggs at a later date. The higher up you go in the political arena, the more the thinking seems to be that maybe foreigners do have some value and that the Philippines should not always totally treat them unfairly. At the burangay leve, the thinking can be small and short sighted and they may chose to take all you can from the foreigner today. However that doe snot have alwasy be true.

I have found my borangayy people very fair and friendly, but I have nurtured that relationship. The federals spend a lot of money on the "more fun in the Philippines" campaign and I do not think they want publicity that counters that campaign. I think you have to go to the higher political powers that do have an interest in making the Philippines a successful economy for the longer term. I am not sure the Borangay captain's positions qualifies as thinking that way. I think the Ex-pats need to respectfully stand up for the principles expounded by the higher levels of Government for the Philippines and not let every selfish person take advantage of you.

Trying to keep the balance between standing up for what you think is right, and accepting the environment you are living in is not always easy. As those close to me will attest to when we shoot the sh*t. But both confrontation and acceptance are choices we have, and probably choosing the one that is most appropriate should be done wisely with as little emotion as possible. The key is the figure out when what is appropriate. I have not always figured that out yet O-|.... but a few more groans will get me there.

 

Yes Dave. You seem to have a good attitude. And you are probably better adapted than I. However, we cannot expect poor filipinos, living day to day, to have the good of the national economy in mind when dealing with foreigners. Really, the point I wanted to make is to understand what is at stake--really, nothing--at the barangay level. And not to generalize from it.

 

If that's how you see it, then you need to take a closer look. I counted one night out of curiosity and about 10% of the motorcycles had inoperative lights. Too many to count but I'd say the percentage of riders wearing helmets is somewhere around 1%.

I always wear my helmet and all of my lights work .. I think there may be 2 or 3 others in Dumaguete like me

 

they locals would rather spend their money on a noisy exhaust than a p30 peso tail light globe

 

there is a bitsaremissing Pagero on the nat highway near Bacon / Dauin, I understand that a motorcyclist without lights lost his life after being hit by the Pajero, the driver was so frightened she crached the car into 2 x trees then was thrown out the front windscreen.

 

there cant be too many loving parents out there, would you let your daughter get on one of these deathtraps that did not have lighting????