Hi all Manila International Airport is classed as the worst Airport in the world, not just because of the facilities, but for the fact that its staff are rude and corrupt. Upon leaving manila to fly to the UK, I was charged P500 for the terminal fee (that is normal yet it should be included in the price of the ticket) then I was charged P2,880 exit visa (that is normal also for a permanent ex pat resident of the Philippines) but quite unexpectedly, I was also charged another P2,400 for tourist Tax...even though I explained I was NOT a tourist and even showed them my permanent residency card....they insisted I pay it or would not allow me on the flight !!! That is over P6,000 just to leave Philippines...what a rip off.
I was staying at a hotel at the airport. I called into the airport to get some cash from a cash machine. I asked a security guard how I could get in. He showed me a route in but wanted a gift. I gave him an Isle of Man £1 note which he couldnt do anything with.
Mabuhay! Thank you for visiting the Philippines. Please come and visit us again! Joking aside, in the Philippines, always insist upon your rights. Never back off unless they have a gun or knife in your face. I understand the first two charges because they're normal, but the third one shouldn't have been done to you. You should have threatened that you will call the UK embassy or make complaints to the Philippine Immigration. Chumibog sila sa pera mo. (They had a good meal out of your money.) Most Pinoys, when they see that you are serious in confronting them, will ease and back off. We want the shortcuts, the easy conquest. Those people saw you as a weak, easy-picking foreigner, hence why they targeted you. Only fear those with 'a gun or knife', or have people with a 'gun or a knife'. They will have no qualms in using it against you because they have the advantage. We are mostly a timid race. Cute even, as you tell your girlfriends/wives. But we can be cunning, when we know we have the advantage and there's nothing you can do. Always remember that.
I agree and whenever I can I inconvenience Male Pinoy,s over here one group of rich fellers really enjoyed there entry search and confiscations I supervised a few years back at an event
You have not been ripped-off by anyone based on what you have written. The P2,400 is not a fee on tourists but is Travel Tax as you either bought the ticket in this country or you have resided here longer than 364 days. Not all airlines issue tickets that include the Terminal Fee although if it was purchased online in this country, it should have been included. You could have saved yourself a few hundred Pesos had you obtained your ECC at a BI office not at the airport, ie at Intramuros.
haha, dont worry, I am just as cunning myself and know all the tricks they play to try and take advantage, I have had 5 years of being cheated, lied to and ripped off, so I know the signals....I just avoid those kind of people, they are easy to spot. There is plenty I can do, I just put comments to all the blogs about my experiences, so really the people who cheated me and many other foreigners are simply destroying the image of the Philippines..such a shame.
N Thanks for your input but I have lived in PH 5 years and exited many times for trips to Hong Kong, Cyprus and UK...in those times, I only paid terminal fee and exit visa.....never the travel tax or tourist tax they mentioned.
Then I suggest that until this last year, you exited the country within 364 days of your arrival. Or it was included with your ticket.
On another occasion I hired a taxi. And the driver asked me for a "souvenir". I gave him an Isle of Man pound note.
Terminal fees paid last year but not this year, girl wrote on my ticket at check in 'all fees paid' and it wasn't questioned. But there was a 'reclaim terminal fee' desk anyway, just a few yards behind the terminal fee booth funnily enough.
No Markam I have exited many times in a year from 2010 up to 2015,and also exitited more than 364 days before as welkl without this additional charge... this was the first time they charge me the extra tourist tax, I am NOT a tourist, I was living and working there on indefinite visa. Like I said, they could not answer me as to why I had to pay it when I never paid it before, over 6k to leave a country is just a rip off. I dont like to post this as its more negative publicity for the Philippines, however, those that do this kind of behavior are the ones damaging the image of the country and I feel its only right to warn others.
I agree. These things need to come out. Lest the unwary get caught in the same way ( migration to the Philippines ).
Of course I will go back, I will just be more street wise next time, I did NOT foresee it, however I was warned many times NOT to go there by ex pats who had lost everything.
Steve, you are making a mountain out of a molehill and you're accusing Philippine officials of crimes they simply did not commit. Most airlines include PTT in the fare calculation - that's Philippine Travel Tax - but, for some reason, that was not the case when you most recently exited the country. Whilst it is perfectly true that you have paid more in fees than a casual short-stay visitor, I can assure you that the amounts you were charged are both correct and quite legal. I object to paying these (unnecessary) fees too. Especially that for the BoI Exit Clearance Certificate, the one where they finger-print you (again!) and the fee for which includes a ten Peso charge for an Immigration Officer to type your name into a search box on his computer - the "Legal Research Fee". Especially egregious is the "Express Lane Fee" which in the past had some significance but these days is simply a mechanism to wring an additional 500 Pesos out of the foreigner.
