I agree, but there is also a limit as to where you draw the line. Do you live in a permanent state of paranoia or do you take calculated risks? I'd wager that 99% of locals have no idea of the broad spectrum of the law. It's just that unfortunate fact that Westerners in the country do have a reputation of being dirty perverts and will stand out in comparison to locals. Granted, that may be true in my case but I'm a harmless pervert. It would suck big time if some do-gooder got the wrong idea on the basis of my skin colour. Eventually, I suppose, you have to live your life. As bad as the justice system is in the Philippines, I don't *think* they are in the business of incarcerating would-be step parents. It would be easier to explain why you have taken the kids to 7/11 if you are a long term partner.
Yes I agree with that PA , I get on well with all her friends and family , and it's pretty quiet in the province . As a side note , I hope you and your lady are ok .
I think you might be able to argue the point that you were carrying out a social and moral duty in picking up the kids from school. To be on the safe side, permission to do so from the mother (in writing) would possibly protect you, particularly if you got the agreement witnessed by the local JP, Chief of Police or by a lawyer. Taking the kids to a strip joint would probably not get you similar sympathy, so don't even consider it!
I think there are two important points here. 1. There are no doubt many many other expats than Heathen who are unaware of this law, which I've never heard of in any other country. Like if you go to Thailand, did you know you're not allowed to lick postage stamps because they have the king's head on them? (I once lost a lot of letters because I did that in the post office) 2. The final sentence in the law is important. I'm sure in "local custom and tradition" a filipino man in a long-lasting relationship with a women who has kids would normally be able, if not expected, to do things alone with them sometimes. And yes, a social or moral duty: paying the school fees for the kids and picking them up from school or taking one to the doctor or whatever. It's also "pretty quiet" for us, just as it is for OTT. We've been together for a year, accepted by everybody, no problems at all. The only thing that ever happened was once at a Jollibee some distance from where we normally go. I was briefly upstairs with the children while my partner was ordering downstairs. A man sitting close to us asked one of the children about me, and she told him the situation, and that was the end of it. I have occasionally been alone with one or more children to a Jollibee where we're well-known as a couple, with absolutely no problems at all.
