Money still number one - Single Man's surivial guide to Philippines

A Word of Caution

We at British-Filipino.com are in no way endorsing or recommending the use of Girly bar establishments, nor do we have any association with any bar, club, or establishment in the Republic of Philippines, This website does not wish to associate with any act which breaks any of the laws of the Republc of Philippines, these pages are for information only, and are the basis of research and information imparted from other foreign travellers who have passed on valuable inside tips and advices for anyone who does wish to travel around the various nightclubs and bars of Manila and Angeles City, If you are in any doubt as to the legal age of a hostess in any establishment, it would be wise to refrain from any further activity with that person. The safe and legal age of consent is 18 years of age. There have been recent stories circulating that Western Tourists have been the victims of under age sex scams, Police have been called and the foreigner has had to pay the parents of the girl, compensation, others have not been so lucky, they have been arrested and charged with statutory rape, this may carry a death sentence, but is often commuted on appeal to life imprisonment, If you are in any doubt as to a ladies real age, your instincts are normally correct, be careful ! whilst having made this warning, please enjoy reading further, these cases are in the minority.

The Bar Girls of the Philippines

Despite emphatic denials by the Philippine Goverment the main attraction for the Single Western male traveller is the exotic bar girl, I am still wrestling with the idea of what makes them so appealing and attractive. They are fun-loving, friendly, happy and have exterior phyiscal beauty, but also, it cannot be denied that they posses inner qualities which at first glance you cannot see, which strike right into the hearts of Western visitors that make them greatly desire to have one of these beauties for themselves, it takes a heart of stone not to fall in love several times a day. Its not just about their fluttering eyelids, bright smiles, its been said that a Go-Go dancer on stage can give you a look that can make you think they are as innocent as a dove.

Whats a beautiful girl like you doing in a place like this ?

This is then a paradox ! Bar Girls are among some of the most beautiful women in the world, on the one hand these girls are said to talk openly and freely about sex, and at the same time, in the privacy of a bedroom will be reluctant to undress without a towel around them because they are shy. Even Go-Go girls who work on stage and and display all of their bodies during a show, will be shy in the bedroom. They will tell you that they hate liars, but then in another moment, tell a multitude of lies at the drop of a hat, they will tell you that they reserve only themselves for one special man, but then will go with several men in a matter of days. Filipino bar girls are total actresses and should go to Hollywood, because they can put on award winning performances whenever they need to, because they are experts at making overweight bald headed 50 somethings feel fantastic and Kings for all the time they spend in their company, this is the job and lot of a Filipino bar girl.

Most bar girls take great pride in their appearance and tend to wear the most attractive clothing they can afford this in contrast to the foreigner on tour, who forgets what sort of guy he is, and ends up walking around town dressed like a beach bum, some have been seen, wearing a curtain tied with a peice of string roaming around the beaches, it doesnt matter really where a man is getting grey up top, has a beer gut that starts from his neck down, it wouldnt matter what he looked like, he could come into a bar looking like quasi modo's brother and still end up with a Girlfriend for the night, provided of course he has the Money ! remember Money is still No 1 in Philippines.

Bar Girls rarely concern themselves with physical appearances or age when it comes to the rich foreigner, after all, this is just a job, and the older ones normally have more money to spend, and they will spend it on the Bar Girl, also, older men are generally not so demanding in the bedroom.
All part of a days work !
To the bar girls working in a bar and going off with a rich foreigner is just part of every day life, just as you go to work each day so these girls go to work in the bar, at the end of their 8 to 12 hours on shift, they are just as tired, hungry and want to relax and forget about work, the trouble they had with their boss or the rude foreigner. Many Girls take to bar work pertty easily, like a duck takes to water, but in truth most would rather be living with their family or husband and working at what they deem to be a 'respectable' job. So why would a girl want to work in a Girlie bar ? the answer is simple and obvious, its to make M-o-n-e-y. There would be no other reason than that, I can assure you, its not because she likes meeting men from different parts of the world, and wants to know about their cultures.

Girls with no formal education or degree from a college or University tends to fair badly in the Philippines, being a bar girl is good money, and there are lots of opportunities to make money if she does well, she can sleep most of the day, and if she likes to party, can do so most of the night, she has not been sold into 'sexual slavery' nor has she been hauled into a bar job at the point of a shotgun, a bar girl is free to quite whenever she wants, if she does, there is always another to take her place, such is the amount of traffic of young girls from the provinces who head for the Emerald City at the edge of the rainbow in search of big money, so that they can send it home to their families. Most Bar Girls are bar girls because they want to be, the economic benefits to her and her family are enough to make sure she remains for most of her young life, after all it beats working for P200 a day in a local factory if she is lucky enough to get that job, there is a saying in the Philippines " You can take a Girl out of the bar, but you can never take the bar out of the girl."

Never Forget your Place in a Bar Girls order of Importance.

Some Western visitors end up in Makati City and Angeles City, after spending time in a bar, they fall in love, this does not normally take long, to a bar girl, she has her own list of priorities, these are always the same, just because you arrived in town and have been nice to her, and spent some money on her, you are deluding yourself if you think you have that much magic with her, you are low down the list on her order of importance scale, the quicker you get 'real' the better, here is the list

Money
Gold Objects
Food for Her
Sleeping
Money to send for her Children
Money to send for her Filipino husband/boyfreind
Money to send for her Mother/Father Grandfather/Grandmother.
Siblings other relatives
Other Filipinos
The Caribou ( Like a water Buffalo)
Any dogs, cats or other pets.
Finally YOU !!!

Whenever dealing with a bar girl, never over estimate your importance to her, a Filipino bar girl will always choose from the top of the list down first, many a foreigner has gone to the Philippines and fell into this trap of thinking that his importance to a lady is greater than it really is, when push comes to shove, he usually ends up being grossly mistaken and heart broken.
The Life of a Filipino Bar Girl

There is no bar girl working in the Philippines who is not supporting financially at least one other human being, the girls are mostly from the rural areas of the distant provinces, they choose the world's oldest profession because it pays far better than no job at all, or doing factory or menial work, such as house help ya ya (Nanny) or other menial jobs, they do this for one simple reason, Money Money Money !!! Almost every bar girl has at least 1 child, in the majority of cases the father of the child will be a Filipino, more than likely, he is not in her life anymore, he will have broken her heart, and moved on to another girl. The child will be looked after by her parents, she is most likely supporting her child and her parents who are back home in the provinces.

Do her parents or family know what she is doing ? more than likely they do ! Do they care one way or the other ? probably not, the economic benefits to all the family far outweigh any moral concerns they might have, with or without any child to send for, you can bet your bottom dollar she is sending money to someone, if she has a good month, maybe one or two generous foreigners have passed through her books, she sends a large amount of money home, if not so good a month, maybe a little amount, but she always sends something.

She may also be supporting a Filipino boyfriend, forget any notions you might have about her telling you " I don't like Filipino men !" the concensus among Brit expats is that 80 per cent of all bar girls have a Filipino boyfriend or even a husband to support. Some Filipino boyfriends and husbands will actively encourage her to be a bar girl, as it pays good money. Most bar girls live in appartments from 3 to 4 sharing, Filipinos always like to live together, then they can share the cost of living, a bar girl sometimes can just about cover her costs, living in Manila, then she has to send money home, she needs a steady stream of generous foreigners to achieve this, wages from bars vary, but some girls can make from P20,000 to P45,000 per month, sometimes more, the average wage in the provinces is P200 a day, or less, you can see why being a bar girl is good money and well worth the discarding of any morals she might have..
The Rich Foreigner on Tour - The Typical Mug Punter
Very often the Brit mug punter on tour falls in love with the 1st bar girl that shows interest in him, its hard not to, even for seasoned travellers ! so don't be offended ! the bar girl will often ask you questions such as "How long are you in the Philippines" ? or "Where are you staying" ? " What you do in UK" ? this is generally to gather intelligence about you the Mug punter on tour - finding out how long she can take you for some money, which hotel she can sleep in later if you bar fine her ? and trying to guage your wealth by your job and income that is if you are stupid enough to give her that kind of information, which of course so many do !

Bar Girls in the Philippines work on different financial incentives, some are 'salaried' bar girls, some are freelancers, the difference is in the bar fines you the mug punter have to pay if you wish to have the girl to yourself, if she is a salary bar girl, you would have to pay a bar fine, for each night that you wish to have her to yourself, if she is a freelancer, she is probably working only for drinks commissions, tips, and with the hope of meeting a very generous foreighner, that is you the mug punter on tour !. If you wish to tip the girl, you must put the money directly in her hand, if you don't any tips you leave the bar, will be shared among the girls, the girls also get commission on drinks you buy, whatever drinks you buy, a slip is placed in a jar, at the end when you pay your bar bill, she will receive a commission on the amount of the bill, after all, its she who keeps asking if you would like to buy her a drink, this normally involves you buying yourself one and her, your drinks are double the price, and hers are normally employee rate, if you bar fine the girl, and stay in the same bar, which would be crazy, her drinks change to customer rate ! hahahahaha, and you pay double again

Don't think you can ever outsmart a Filipino bar girl ! your'e not that good ! some Filipino bar girls are very intelligent and are trained in the art of extracting money out of you in the most imaginative ways, some girls make a fortune by accumulating a stable set of very generous foreigner boyfriends and some are described as greedy, selfish and cunning to the point of almost being evil. The want it all from you, and they want it now ! the vast majority of decent ladies in the Philippines are the total opposite, most Filipino's just want to survive and get by, they want to make a sustainable living, some of the bar girls just want to get on in life, and make a living without going home and selling phone cards, or monkey nuts on the street.
The Freelancer bar girl

Some girls who appear to be working in the bars are not on salary, they are not actually guest relations officers, they come in and go as they please, and usually hang out in certain favourite bars of theirs ! A Bar fine is usually payable to engage her for the night and take her out of the bar, this is because a commission is payable to the bar for her to come in and tout for clients, once you have paid this bar fine, its usually only paid once, remember Money still number 1 in the Philippines literally anytime a transaction takes place, someone pays a commission, whether its you buying a 'lady drink' or obtaining services, guess who pays ? you guessed right - its the rich foreigner on tour.

Some Freelancers dont attach themselves to any paticular bar, they tend to hang around the hotels where foreigners stay, like the Makati Palace, they are there in the hope of catching the eye of a rich foreigner, they also go into discos, nightclubs, and coffee shops, they walk along the street innocently appearing to be going from A to B, the benefit from picking one of these girls up, is that you don't have to pay a bar fine to release her from the bar, however that also has its own set of risks

Never agree to go to a room suggested by a bar girl, some foreigners are off guard and thinks that the best way to be discreet, in fact its always better for the foreigner to suggest going to another room in a hotel if he wants a encounter, this is known as short timing !, there are plenty of short time hotels if you look for them if you go to a room suggested by the escort, she might have her boyfreind in the room, while you are pre-occupied enjoying the fruits of horizontal relaxation, some Filipino is going through the contents of your wallet.
Some Freelancers are not actually girls at all ! they can be lady-boys, these are very beautiful women to look at, but actually they are boys, by the time you find out its too late, and then it costs you money to get rid of them. If you do get robbed, what are you going to say to the PNP, (Philippine National Police), the girl was short, black hair, and I met her on the street" You are going to be LOL out of the Philippines, "Stupid ka rin !"

The Language of the Bar Girl !

The main language spoken by all bar girls will either be Filipino (The cultural language derived from the Tagalog speaking regiions, also she may speak cebuano, or Bisaya or Ilongo (Hiligaynon), whatever she speaks I can guarantee you won't understand it, seasoned travellers to the Philippines tend to learn some basic Tagalog its not a hard language to learn if you take the time, however, even if you understand some basic Tagalog, you will not be able to read the girls in conversation as they speed up to an incredible level. You will always be referred to as the foreigner, its not meant to be a derogitory term, its just the Filipino way, everyone is not Filipino is a foriegener by virtue of not being Filipino. All Bar Girls pass themselves off as Guest Relations Officers, or Cashiers, they will say that no bar girl ever has sex with a customer, she is only with him to entertain and sleep with him, every bar girl always has a problem at home with the family, that can easily be remedied with a huge cash injection of yes you got it - YOUR MONEY !!!
The main language of the bar girl is money then money and still money ! that usually means your money ! if you go to a bar and are looking for a girl you met up with the previous night and you are told, "Oh she sick, she gone home as not well" this is generally a total fabrication, the fact of the matter is, she has gone off with another rich money bags Joe she met up with 10 minutes before you arrived, no bar girl is ever going to give up the money you are going to spend on her, unless she has calculated that she can make more money from another unsuspecting rich kano ! ( Kano short for Americano, or U.S. Guy) you will hear that phrase used quite alot, if its not foreigner, its kano ! again I keep stressing, money is still number 1 in the Philippines, in my view Filipino Bar Girls should get business awards for being terribly innovative and efficient, their organizational skills are second to none, take this story:

A Bar Girl says goodbye to her kano boyfreind she picked up in Makati 2 weeks earlier, she has been his companion for 13 nights, been out to dinners, had expensive gifts, nice plush buffet breakfasts at the Makati Palace and the Intercontinental, new bags, shoes, designer jeans, money for expenses, after going in a taxi to the airport she wheeps for her kano who is leaving for the U.S.A. after her honey goes through to immigration, she goes straight around to arrivals to meet kano no 2 who is arriving in town from the States, his flight is arriving in 2 hours, so she has time to get lunch, before waving from the arrivals area, I don't know what you think of that, but that girl sure is well organized ! she should be given a business award dont you think, for excellent guest relations.
Who is entertaining who ?
Expressions you will hear very much in bars, are "Hello sexy man you are so gwapo !" or "Would you like a drink" this immedeatly puts you in a mood to sit down and order drinks, you will always pay of course, why else are you there, if its not to pay, the only thing that can be annoying is when you strike up a conversation with a bar girl, many contacts have told me when I did some research about bar girls, that the most frustrating thing, is that you are continually being told tsup to you ! If you want the opinon of a bar girl you are interested in, its frustrating when they answer every question you like with, "Tsup to you"

Where would you like to go tonight ? answer "Tsup to you"
How much money shall I give you ? answer "Tsup to you"
What is your name ? answer "Tsup to you"
Do you love me ? answer "Tsup to you"

Anecdote

A Foreigner arrives in the Philippines and goes downtown looking for a female companion, he expects to meet up with a beautiful filipina and does so, he starts off by buying her drinks all night, then when the conversation runs out, he cannot get rid of her, he finds they have nothing in common, why would they have anyway where does he think he is ? Asianeuro.com ? he finds he doesnt much like her really, she suggests they go to a disco, he goes reluctantly, and then finds its not to his liking, when he gets to the end of the night, he is minus about USD 200.00 and cant think how he spent so much.

Tip

You can make many costly mistakes when you forget the most important thing, you can pay a small fortune to do somethings that you do not want to do, with people who you do not want to be with, you would not dream of doing that back in your own country, why is that you suddenly go brainless and do it in the Phlippines stupid ka rin ! Never forget who is entertainin who ? if you are paying a bar girl for being your companion, if you don't like her, get rid of her before it costs you even more money.
Filipino Bar Girl V Stupid Mug Punter from West
Most foreigners on tour go out to the Philippines with pockets full of money and nothing to do with it, sometimes they have more money than sense, they believe with their awesome spending power and the availability of young beautiful women, that they cannot possibly go wrong, and will have the time of their lives. Then if that is true why do so many go back to freezing cold pissy weather and arrive back at Heathrow Airport scratching their heads wondering where all the cash went ? Sure they had a great time ! but why is it, in a country which is so much cheaper than their own, did they end spending so much money ? The answer is simple, they underestimated the supreme intellect of the Filipina professional bar girl ! Filipina Bar girls are great mind readers, and most foreigners have been played a merry tune before they even know about it. The Filipino bar girl is the master of deception, she would make a superb intelligence agent, and she is the master of reassurance and flattery ! When the foreigner steps out of the safe sanctuary of his hotel, he is in her kill zone, her cheeky smile and sweet mouth are her most lethal weapons

Stage 1 - The Bait

Filipino bar girls are well aware that foreign men find them irresistably attractive. The ones with darker skin learn that foreign men find them more attractive than their own Filipino men do, they use this to their best advantage. Once a bar girl spots the mark ( the target of her approach) she uses the phrase "Hello sexy man ! " this always goes to show that they will try and stroke the ego of the mark, every man's achilles heal, the one thing that he finds hard to ignore, is a beautiful woman suddenly telling him he is sexy, even when he has tattos up his arm, 3 earings in each ear, a beer gut as big as a beer barrel, and a big fat wallet full of cash in his back pocket. Of course its a shock to the system when the mark is continually told he is a sexy man, the danger is, he starts to believe it, when he is told it enough times, maybe back in his own country the females he knows in the local pub are completely short sighted, maybe the mirrors are distorted and his Doctors are commenting on the way he is so healthy and keeps in shape, "Hey maybe I am a sexy man, all 300 pounds of me, a lovely bald, big sexy man.

Stage 2 - Intelligence Gathering

Firstly its important for the mark to be indentified to not just the girl who is gathering the intelligence, but to other bar girls, so they know who each of them is talking about, so they ask his name, then they can say oh " John from U.S.A. Jurgen from Germany, or Mike from UK, its also good to ask the country he is from as then they know what he is likely to have on him, for currency conversions, if its Dollars or Euros or Pounds, the girls can then check the exchange rates so they have some idea of how much he will spend. also another set of questions arises, "How long are you in the Philippines, or How long have you been here, or Have you been here before, this is really to guage if he has lots of money left to spend, or is he at the end of his stay, this of course is the Golden Goose, the best prey for the bar girl.

Foreigners seem to be classified into Class A, B, And C's and are marked as such, if its the first time a mark is in the Philippines he is not Filipino wise, nor is he bar wise ! he is easy pickings for the bar girl, if he has only been in town for 1-2 days, then he has plenty of money to spend and if he is around in the same hotel for a week or so, there is plenty of time to get the money out of him, he is a Class A Golden Goose and any bar girl is going to hang on to him, so that she can get what he has.

The bottom feeders on the scale is the C Class, they are classified as a total waste of time, he is the bar wise multiple visitor, or he is a long stayer, has got used to the system, he very rarely tells the truth about his situation, he doesnt seem to have much money either so he is not worth much effort.

Between these two marks is the Class B He might have been in country before, but he still is worth questioning further, girls like to take him a bit further to see if he is a bankable commodity worth investigating, body language is sometimes the key, girls who are smart, can often within a few minutes, know how much money a mark has, where he keeps it, whether he is kuripot (stingy) or a spender, and of course how much he is likely to part with for the evening to be with her.

After the intelligence and evaluation period is over, the mark is tagged and pidgeon holed, its now up to each girl to determine how much effort they will put into earning his favour, the next stage is Reassurance and Flattery, and starts with pleasing comments about herself.

Stage 3 - The Reassurance

This is always down to a fine art ! it often makes the mark wonder why the girls always seem to have the same lines ! the mark often hears the following: "I no like working in bar" "I only work for 1 month" " I am not like the other bar girl" this is to reinforce the fact that they are somehow different from the average bar girl that you will see, they are distancing themselves from the 'rest' as they see it. The mark may also here " I am working here as cashier or hostess or I am only guest relations officer" of course Guest relations officer is a very broad term and can mean almost anything ! and invariably does.

Most Filipino bar girls are well aware that foreigners do not really trust Filipino men, to ingratiate herself with the mark she would say " I no like Filipino man" this of course is total bollocks since its more than likely she has a Filipino boyfriend, lover, or husband, The Filipino race has not expanded at a rapid rate simply because Filipina's cannot stand their male population.

By this time if the mark is still seated and has eaten all the bullshit and bollocks she gives him, she will have reassured him that she is not like other girls and only does this work for economic reasons.

Stage 4 - The Flattery

Convincing the mark that she is a 'nice' girl, and different is part of the act she goes through, but he is not ready just yet ? to get him to like her, and of course desire her, she needs to take it a bit further ! Now the total bullshit starts, she starts to slowly convince him, that he is sexy, goodlooking, and that she suddenly like him above all others she has seen, a woman knows that a man's ego will not allow him to reject a female that professes to be attracted to him, its very hard for the male not to be attracted back when this happens, a filipino bar girl is well aware of this, and uses it to her best advantage. If he looks younger than 35, she will say, "I like younger man" " I no like older man" if he is older and bald, she would say, " I no like young man in here, I prefer older mature man" if he is from the States, she would say " I no like man from UK" if he is from UK she would say " I no like kano !" only English man, English man very nice" if the mark is very fair, she will express how she like to be white like him, not dark skinned like she is, she will stroke the marks ego, by stating "What nice skin he have, and how she wish also, she had it" She will insist that his combination of nice accent, good looks and nice body, will make him the ideal man for her. by this time the Bar Girl has won the battle of the sexes, the only thing now that will happen is the mark saying ' So How much is your bar fine ' ?

Essential Filipino-English for the Bars

Hello sexy man !................Hello gullible money bags Joe.

Hello Sit down please !................Bring on the latest sucker !

You very handsome..so gwapo! ................You look like you have lot of money

Where you come from ?................What currency do I need to check the exchange rate for ?

Is this your first time in Philippines................Just how much of a sucker are you ?

I have no Filipino man with me ................I have a Filipino boyfriend/husband he needs your support

How long you stay in Philippines................How many days have I got to work on you

Which hotel you stay at ?................Where will I be sleeping tonight

I have no other foriegn boyfreind................I have lots of other gullible foreigner boyfreinds, they all send me money

I love you !................I love money !

You very good man for me ................You can spend alot of money on me, you are good for my financial health

You have a good heart................You have a big wallet.

I no want money from you ................I want all your money - sucker !

I no sleep with lot of men................I only sleep with my Filipino boyfiend and any other foreigner who pay my bar fine !

I only work as hostess................I am lying.

I wait for you until you come back to Philippines................I will wait for you until you safely on plane back home.

We go to xyz bar tonight ! ................I owe money at xyz bar, you can pay it for me

I need 4000 pesos to give mama, she is sick so bad................My Filipino boyfiend needs new tires for his motorbike

You give me 10,000 pesos, I stay only with you for your stay................You give me 10,000 pesos, you never see me again

You cannot come to my house, it not nice ................you cannot come to my house, because my lazy ass filipino boyfriend is in bed

You no 1 ................ your money is no 1

We hope you have enjoyed this section of the Single Mans Rough Guide to the Philippines - Money Number 1, advice on bar girls of the Philippines General Advice for the Single Male Traveller Now please Link to the next section.