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The Troubles With Clark Airport

I am a 13(a) holder and last departure I paid the following:
PHP 2,170 immigration fees
PHP 750 (everyone has to pay this) Airport departure fee)
PHP 1,620 Travel tax 13 (a) holders have to pay this. It is normally included in the ticket but since the advent of the low cost airlines like Tiger and Cebpac then it is collected at the airport sometimes! My last departure was the first time they actually collected it.
So i paid a total of PHP 4540 to leave the country. My round trip ticket to KK only cost PHP3,000
This travel tax was imposed during the Marcos days and was equivalent to USD 100 at that time. It was designed to encourage Filipinos not to go overseas for vacations but to spend their money here thus keeping the foreign currency in the country.

Its relevance now is questionable. Most of the money actually goes to the department of tourism.
Another issue with me is the collection of the immigration fees of PHP2,170. I showed up in very good time but as 2 flights were departing at the same time from Clark there were only 2 immigration officers on duty working inefficiently.

The flight was delayed because of the inept bureau of immigration officers. There are now about 6 counters but only 2 manned. So i paid the fee and the guy put it straight in his pocket. No time for a receipt sir or you will miss your flight.

Now the receipt is not so important to me but I pay a huge amount in taxes every year that pays these guys salaries. I might add that this is a fairly common occurrence at Clark. Always the same individuals. I guess most people feel the same as I do that if we do anything about this rampant corruption they will give us more problems in the future.

By the way as far as I am aware certain types of SRRV holders are allowed to work but there is a cap on the income.

[The Subic Bulletin] Firstly lets deal with Clark Airport (DIMA), the management of this airport has been a big disappointment.

Immigration:
The immigration office is headed up by the Governor’s nephew, that’s surely why your immigration fees went into the pocket, but moreover they haven’t even bothered to buy a i-card reader so after investing all the government money in an i-card system, it is still done manually at an airport which is specifically mandated to attract that profile of passenger. This is also why there is NO arrival express lane for residents carrying an i-card. Every time you try to depart there you have to wait while they go and find immigration staff to assist you, I mean where are they if they are not attending to their duties when there is aircraft departing soon.

Travel Tax Collection:
Although technically you can collect travel tax on every departure the system has long been to only collect travel tax from permanent residents that has been 12 months since their last entry. They do not collect travel tax from regular permanent resident travelers through Manila Airport but recently Clark airport became militant on the issue and even started getting security to use stand-over tactics on permanent residents who were being demanded to pay a tax that had never been asked from them before. Simple answer is that it now costs more to exit Clark than Manila, well done Clark tourism marketing!

Baggage Handling:
Clark would have to have the slowest baggage handling in the Philippines, with one plane on the tarmac you must ask if they are inspecting every item one by one as they take it off the plane because its easily 20 mins just to get your bags 100 meters from the plane. Maybe its a lack of equipment but its still a dismal effort.

Customs:
On frequent arrivals into Clark the customs officials demanded to open EVERY BAG OF EVERY PASSENGER and of course they did this with only TWO customs officers. In hundreds of entries to Manila we have never witnessed this. On one occasion I suggested that this seemed like a bad idea given there was already a line of 80 people waiting and the customs officer went off his brain screaming at me “Don’t you think I know my job” and “Your just a visitor here you better watch yourself” then he turned to his boss and screamed “this man thinks we are stupid, what do you want to do with him”, fearing I was about to get a body cavity inspection I didn’t try to reason with them that it was a helpful observation but it was clear their attitude was not at all welcoming to tourists.

Now in regard to the Philippine Retirement Authorities SRRV visa and the ability to work.

Our statement on SRRV visa holders not being able to work was based on a presentation by the Philippine Retirement Authority that we attended. During the question and answer section a member of the audience asked “If I have an SRRV can I get a work permit” the then head of the Philippine Retirement Authority said “Of course not, your here to retire not work”. We notice that this advice does not match what it says on the PRA website.
See this link: http://www.pra.gov.ph/main/faq?page=1#req3

Either this regulation has changed or the PRA didn’t really know their product. What else is new…

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