Philippine Real Estate Corruption

REPORT: Sir John, I am a young attorney and a Christian hired by a Korean International Investment firm who wants to build a P1.5B resort in Philippines. The govt is asking P60M grease money for the release of the permits. Should I advise them to pay?

ANSWER: No. They should not tolerate it. Just advise them to withdraw their investment plan and advise them to read my advisory/warning for real estate buyers and investors at http://reibs.com/

Tell them: "If you are a serious investor who has no time for bullshit, simply withdraw the plan to invest in Philippines, and think about it again after two decades."

Please send also a private message to me the whole detail of the story because I intend to add the anomaly in the advisory/warning. I promise the detail will be kept confidential in my office.

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Review of Related Article:

PROS AND CONS OF INVESTING IN THE PHILIPPINES
...URL: http://www.offplanpropertyexchange.com/off-plan-property-investment/blog/2008/02/25/cebu-an-asian-rising-star-in-the-philippines/

From what I hear, doing business in the Philippines has a definite downside. The Philippines has some pretty sound foreign investment laws, but it seems to be better known for problematic government. That’s probably not irrelevant to why so many people have to leave to find work elsewhere. Neither Transparency International nor the World Bank in its “Ease of Doing Business” survey gives the Philippines particularly high marks.

If you talk to someone from the Philippines about what is good and bad about their country it doesn’t take long for the subject of graft and corruption to come up. People I know who do business there seem to regard official corruption as simply a cost of doing business. Cebu is hardly immune from allegations of corruption, but it seems that local business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce are taking strong stance against it.

The Philippines clearly has to get a handle on this problem if it expects to progress and people taking a strong and vocal stand against governmental corruption is a good start.

Nevertheless, despite its shortcomings, the problems are outweighed by the attractions. The Philippines has immense potential. And Cebu seems to be in the vanguard!

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My Comment on the Article: it says that Chamber of Commerce are taking a strong stance against corruption. I don't believe this. I think the Camber is "tolerating" it because they take most of their profit from exploitation of unprofessional real estate agents, overprized materials, and substandard construction professionals which are in turn tolerated by government in exchange of the grease money. In fact, the Chamber has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to exclude their salesforce in the professionalization of real estate service under the RA 9646. Read http://petalcorin.blogspot.com/2010/11/creba-manipulation-on-real-estate.html

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Hayaan mo na! Pnna-alis ko na ang investor. Sayang 200 sana ang ma-employ sa P1.5B Resort na eto. I advised them to invest na lang in Thailand. I am taking a strong stand as the first and only Exclusive Buyer Agent and Real Estate Consumer Advocate in Philippines -- I am recommending FREEZE INVESTING in real estate Philippines.