Local airline stupidity

one better

if your domestic flight is also a connecting international PAL flight here is a sweetener for you
if you check in in dgte and you get both domestic and international tickets, with your bags checked through to your final destination, then your filipino citizens travelling with you, don't have to pay the philippines travel tax, as you dont check in for the international flight in manila, you already checked in, no one will ask you to pay, immigration will just let you through as per normal, (the desk check in operators are bound by law not to release the ticket until you show the receipt from the tax desk, since you already have your ticket for international, your good to go )my wife did not pay the tax for our last 4 trips and no one ever asked

this does not apply to cebu pacific as they require you collect your baggage in domestic and check in again for international, so you have to pay it as you have to get your ticket for the international leg