The Philippines is really a beautiful and intriguing country in many ways, and you can not help to love the country and its friendly and happy people. The land of true proud heroes like Rizal and Lapu Lapu, that had more than their share of hardships, to include the Japanese occupation in WW II.
A lot has been said about some bad apples and people without scrupulous using scams as a way of living, but the truth is that they are a minority. Unfortunately, they end up making good, decent and honest people, the vast majority, look bad. People have the tendency to stigmatize the whole because of a few. It is like making an orange juice, you squeeze 11 good oranges and one bad, it spoils the taste of the whole refreshment.
The Philippines has over 7 thousand islands, lots of excellent beaches, resorts, good cities to live in, many positive points to be highlighted.
Considering marrying a Filipina and living there? There are plenty of options, cities like Dumaguette, Lapu Lapu ( a fish and sea food lover Paradise), Samar Island in the Visayas, simply beautiful. These are safe, clean, enjoyable cities, full of expats and with good facilities, hospitals, universities etc. They are building very attractive houses, full of amenities in the 300 thousand dollars range. In my city, this will buy you a so so semi-detached 10 years old house at best (needing costly repairs).
Stay away from the main big cities like Manila, Cebu, Davao, that have problems that are characteristic of big cities no matter in which country you live in. No wonder they are the places where the scammers operate....
I also feel that girls coming from small cities are more traditional, simpler, humble, very religious, usually live with their parents till they get married. They might not hold a Master's or a PhD, but they are real, good, wholesome people nevertheless. Life in the big city can be rough ....
I divide the scammers in 3 categories. The professionals, lazy people that do not want to get up at 6 in the morning and face a real job, no matter how simple it is, the opportunists, that try to get away with few stunts and people that did or are still doing it out of despair.
The present Social and Economic scenario of the Philippines is harsh and ugly as it has ever been right now, but no country is perfect, no human being is perfect, we are all in the same boat navigating in the Universe.
I noticed the number of pawnshops and "shark loans" offices in Davao. It is extremely difficult for an ordinary citizen to get even a small loan in a bank to start up a small business. No commercial bank will lend money without tons of collateral. No Government guaranteed start up loans are available. It looks like everything conspires to keep the poor without the possibility of ever improving their lives. Pure stupidity, since what makes a country strong is a healthy middle class as we all know. We do not need a Master's in Economy to know this basic principle.
The first thing that comes to mind when I think about honest people committing an offense out of despair, is the immortal work of Victor Hugo, ""Les Miserables" that shows the atmosphere in France during their Revolution. The hero, Jean Valjean, steals a bread, desperately hungry and is thrown in the galleys as punishment. A despotic king ignored the hardships of his people holding them in contempt and..... the rest is History, we all know the end of the drama. France would never be the same again. Although this is a book, shows the sheer reality, people do commit actions out of utter misery that in normal conditions they would not even consider doing.
I see in Toronto, how proud, hard working, well liked and respected the Filipino community is. Most of our nurses are Pinays, very well trained and with an excellent reputation, we have also many Filipino teachers, accountants, business people etc. Some hold even three jobs, to earn more money, not out of greediness, this enables them to send as much money as they can, to help their folks back home. They are the "Real McCoys", the true Filipino people. Given the chance, they will work very hard and do their tasks with dignity, honesty and integrity.
Who has the authority or the right to judge others?
I remember being in Lima, Peru, in a beautiful afternoon, walking in a park enjoying the weather and I was approached by a child, a girl no older than 15, dressing school uniform. Suddenly, she opened her blouse and exposed herself and asked me if I would take her to my hotel. I was just horrified, I asked her to cover herself, which she did, and I asked her if she had eaten a meal already. She said "I left home early for school and we did not have any food in the house, I did not have breakfast and I feel pain in my stomach.
I cleaned up my pockets, I had less than 100 dollars on me at the time and I gave it all to her. In those days that was good money in Peru. I told her to go eat properly and give whatever was left to her parents to buy groceries. I told her not to do that, that her body was sacred, a gift from God. She replied "it is very easy for you to say this because your tummy is full".
It was a big lesson for me and those words will resound in my head to my very last day in this planet.
