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Part of your
education of the Philippines involves Asian syndicates, or
organized crime. One of the first things you notice in
certain areas here such as Malate or Manila is the large
numbers of young Filipino girls and boys begging for coins.
They will be alone, with a group of other kids, or with an
older woman with a baby. These people present themselves in
a down and out way, where they are usually shoeless, covered
with dirt, and have a raspy voice. Let me assure you that
it’s an act. While I’m not comparing them to beggars in the
USA that make hundreds of dollars per day and live in a
Manhattan apartment, the theme is the same. It’s a
professional operation.
So in the case
of the little girls and boys it works as follows. First you
have the kids begging on the street. A few are orphans
while most have parents who live nearby. Regardless, a
local police officer or other gang leader of protection and
influence rounds them up and marks his turf. The beggars
then are given exclusive rights and protection to beg in the
area. The obvious catch is that they must turn over their
money to the syndicate boss. I guess you could say that
organized begging is what is most common to Asian countries.
They usually
know exactly who to shake down for money since most
Filipinos don’t give much. The main target is foreigners,
especially from the West while Japanese and Korean tourists
are also targeted. Most foreigners have only seen
downtrodden Asian girls and boys as street children in
pictures or on TV and immediately feel sorry for them.
While ultimately you should feel sorry for them, it
doesn’t solve the problem by giving them money. It only
encourages their syndicate bosses to make them work harder.
So you might be thinking that you will buy them something to
eat in a convenience store. That’s better, but first you
had better make sure that they can’t turn around and sell
it, because I’ve seen them do it. If you buy them food,
open the bag first. Basically first they want money for
food and if you give them food instead, now they will want
money for a hotel, etc.
Related to
these begging syndicates is where middle-aged Filipino men
shake down foreigners near the tourist belt. A popular scam
is where the foreigner is staying in a hotel and goes out
nearby. That’s where the scam artist is waiting, pretending
that he’s on break from hotel security. Of course, he
approaches the foreigner and says, “Hello sir, I work in
your hotel…hotel security!” The scammer will then proceed
to try to make friends. If the foreigner is receptive he’ll
give a sob story about how the hotel doesn’t pay him enough
and he needs milk for his new baby. Mind you that this man
is often in his mid-50’s and probably is old enough to be a
grandfather, yet he always has a hungry “baby” at home.
He’ll then ask you if you will help him buy milk for the
baby. You might think that’s no big deal since milk is
cheap and at least it is food. Instead the scammer goes to
the Ensure pre-mix powder that costs about 800 Pesos or $15
and wants you to buy that for his “baby”. Many foreigners
will fall for it, or at least buy something in the middle of
the price range as a compromise instead of doing the smart
thing and walking out.
So let’s say
you buy milk powder. What happens now? You might think
that they will go and resell it. Actually it’s a little bit
more obvious. At this point the scammer will use the
receipt (and sometimes won’t need it) to refund the money.
Believe it or not, this type of scam happens all of the
time. My cousin is a grocer and she has been watching this
scam go on for years next to the hotel where she works. The
same men are involved, or they simply rotate to a different
store after a few months since the staff will sometimes tip
off the foreigner.
While this is
a minor scam, it is still annoying and definitely gives the
Philippines and other Asian countries a big black eye from
the point of view of the West.
February 4th,
2005
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