Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia, Netherlands, Antilles

You will need to go to the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C.

If you live in the state of:

Arizona, Southern California, Las Vegas/Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego, Texas

You will need to go to the Los Angeles Philippine Consulate.

If you live in the state of:

Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Wisconsin

You will need to go to the Chicago Philippine Consulate.

If you live in the state of:

Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

You will need to go to the New York Philippine Consulate.

If you live in these state/territories:

Hawaii, Americana, French Kiribati, Polynesia, Samoa, Tonga

You will need to go to Hawaii Philippine Consulate.

If you live in the state of:

Alaska, Northern California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Reno Nevada, Utah, Washington

You will need to go to the San Francisco Philippine Consulate.

So how do you stop this “brilliant idea” of being present at the Consulate or Embassy to renew your Philippine passport? Call the Philippine Dept of Foreign Affairs and question them.

Here’s their information:

website: http://dfa.gov.ph/

Department of Foreign Affairs
2330 Roxas Boulevard
Pasay City, Philippines
Tel. No. (632) 834-4000

1) lost your green card and need your Philippine Passport to get a new green card
2) have an expired Philippine passport

Guess what? To renew your Philippine passport, you will now need to be present at one of the Philippine Consulates handling your state or the Philippine Embassy in Washington. Yes, you have to be physically present to renew your expired Philippine passport.

The good news to some is that the Philippine Consulates are doing Outreach programs where they go out to a city who requests their presence granted that there is at least about 300 to 400 people that will be renewing their Philippines passports. They also provide the swearing in of the Filipinos who wish to reclaim their Filipino citizenship. Yes, you can be a dual citizen now – Filipino and American.

If there are no outreach programs in your area, then you will need to go to the Philippine Consulate or Philippine Embassy. Don’t ask us why the Philippine government started this. They really don’t have a clue as to how much of a burden or effect this has to a Filipino American’s life.

Instead of paying the $50 renewal fee and a Fedex shipping fee, the Philippine passport now costs you, a plane fare, a rental car, hotel, lost time at work, and food. Let’s see, $250 for plane fare, $120 for car rental, another $100 for hotel, $200 – $300 from work, then $50 for food. The $50 passport has now cost you approximately $820.00.

So where’s the sense in all of this? Ask our Philippine Government. It’s someone’s great idea but a citizen’s burden. Maybe we all just need to send them a bill for reimbursement of expenses to renew a $50 passport. Being a Filipino will now cost you more money. May be we just need to find out who the bright and smart person was who thought of this. He/she doesn’t have to worry about it because they’re sitting on their fat behinds and they don’t have to go through this process.

Think of this, a Filipino from Texas, now has to go to Los Angeles to renew their passport. Hmmm … that’s 2,221 kms or 1,380 miles. That’s a little over the north to south (1,100 miles) distance of the Philippines. Maybe the person with the bright idea together with the Philippine officials who agreed to this “brilliant idea” should make that trip from Ilocos Norte to Davao del Sur everytime a Filipino from Texas goes to Los Angeles just to renew their Philippine passport. There’s approximately 60,000 Filipinos in Texas. Let’s say 25% of those Filipinos went and got their passports renewed, then we need 15,000 of those Philippine officials to make the trip from Ilocos Norte to Davao del Sur. See how they like that. Let alone, the Filipino now has spent a total $12.3 million to renew a $50 passport. Go Figure!

Here’s a few words to think about – Application for US Naturalization = $675.00 Priceless!

So most of the organizations are social organizations stemming from the house parties which now becomes enormous. A typical Filipino house party will be attended by at least 50 people and can go up to as much as 150 or 200. Seldom do you see a Filipino party with just cheese and crackers, celery, carrots, and dressing. Oh no. Filipinos call that a “boring” party

A typical party will have the food basics, white rice, pansit (noodles), lumpia (egg roll), barbecue, eskaveche (sweet fish), relleno, and most of all – lechon (roast pig). Dessert will be leche flan (plan), cake, and fruit salad (a mixture of fresh or canned fruit with green or red kaong (coconut palm fruit) doused with Nestle Cream milk. Yes, it’s very sweet. With that much food, you have to wash it down. So you will find soda, beer, tequila, run, whiskey, crown, and can’t forget Johnny, either black, red, or blue.

And the end of the party, don’t be surprised that you will be pursuaded to bring food home. Our advice, take some home.

Here’s the low down:

> Of the 2.3 million, 54% are Pinays and 46% are Pinoys. The average family size is between three or four persons.

> 56% were born in the Philippines

> 53% graduated High School and an additional 25% completed a Bachelor’s Degree

> The median income for a Filipino American family ten years ago was $63,057.00

> Seven percent of the Filipino population in the US were below the poverty level

> 13% own their own homes

TheFilipino.com

Most critics would have a lot of things to say or suggestions on how to stop the corruption. I believe the Philippines even acquired the person who was responsible for eradicating the corruption in HongKong. Well, so far, it hasn’t done anything. Why? It’s in the Filipino culture. It’s built-in. It’s how we grew up and how things work. Everyone wants things done quickly and they (rich ones or whoever has bigay money) want to make it an emergency for the government employee or official. With the small salary of the government official or employee, of course, they will take that money. It’s free money and it doesn’t even get taxed. It’s even being distributed within the department so the guy on top also gets a cut. Don’t get me wrong, there are honest workers and kudos to them. But the bad ones usually are the ones we all remember and m3$$ it all up.

How can it be stopped? Or should I say can it be stopped? It can but it takes a long time. It takes a society to commit to end it. It has to be taught in schools and practiced on the streets, businesses, and infused into the culture or their daily lives.

From the bank line, the bus terminal, to the cop on the street, and to the high offices in the government, we have to commit to it.

It’s really up to the individual person to do it. Usually, the typical Pinoy just looks the other way or not say anything. It can be done and it starts with ones self – to have the self discipline, and the patience.

Are Filipinos ready? I don’t think so. They’ll just pay someone else to stop it.

Juan D. Marunong