How much cash can one bring to Philippines without declaring?

You must have a tough wallet. I carry a metal money clip and it has to go through the backscatter. That many hundreds is going to draw some attention (if it doesn't break trying to jam that many hundreds in it). Remember you can get stopped before you even teach your destination. I believe in most US states it is illegal (or highly discouraged by law enforcement) to walk around with more than 10k USD. Not sure how the US (or other countries) will take to you trying to carry that much cash overseas. I imagine they are going to have some questions (I would).

I have seen a family stopped just prior to boarding a plane by security for having too much cash. They were not allowed to get on the plane. They were asked if they had declared the money to the country they were headed to (the US in this case). They didn't have the paperwork, were detained and didn't make the flight.

The cash will show up on the backscatter and a chunk of change that thick is going to be visible in your back pocket (if you get a pat down they are definitely going to wonder why you were trying to sneak it through). Again, is it worth the risk?

Why not declare it at pay the appropriate taxes/fees? We are law abiding citizens...right?

 

Source?

If a husband and wife come to the Philippines and say they don't know each other (and went through different immigration/customs lines) how exactly would they know?

Exactly what law states that a husband and wife/family are only allowed 10k USD as a group? The laws given here as sources specifically state "per person", not per family.