Alexis Ray Celestino asked:




Here are some tips to help guide you and other travelers find these historical sites:

1. Ask around.

When you have time to visit any locality, fell free to ask the local residents on where they go to hear mass, or where you can find the oldest church, the miraculous shrines, someone surely will direct you on your way.

2. Buy a Travel guide and Map.

This is of course a must for any traveler, especially a foreigner or even a local first timer. Or else, how can you expect to get around without any form of knowing how to navigate your way. Travel guides and maps, such as the Philippine atlas and E-Z maps are easily purchased in bookstores and department stores. These are maps that are also available at the tourism office in any locality.

3. Search the Web.

You can also search the internet on anything and everything about the Philippines. There are many websites that feature the country and touch extensively on various topics, including old churches and historical religious sites.

Perhaps you can visit the Google website and look under:

a) Churches in the Philippines

b) Wow Philippines old churches

c) Baroque Churches in the Philippines

d) Philippines Churches

As you search on those different sites, you can see their different pictures, historical backgrounds, statues of the different Saints and altars. You can also read their different history from when they were built, why they were built and the people involved in building the different Gothic designs of the churches and the beautiful garden designs of the shrines.

Caffeinated Content

David K. Bradley asked:




If you are vacationing in the Philippines, make certain you allow at least a couple of days for a stay at Boracay. Speaking from experience, this is a beautiful spot with white sand beaches and plenty of activities to keep boredom at bay.

The island is a short flight from Manila, about 200 miles south of Manila. Flights are cheap and Boracay is well worth the cost and your time.

The island is small, a little more than 10 square kilometers, dog-bone shaped and just northwest of Panay Island in the Western Visayas. Although the island is small, there are more than 4 kilometers of beach. The two main beaches are White beach and Bulabog beach. White beach is on the western side of the island and Bulabog beach is on the eastern side.

Activities include snorkeling, scuba diving, windsurfing and kite boarding. There is a world-class golf course too! The windsurfing is excellent here; in fact, Boracay Island is a venue on the Asian Windsurfing Tour. You can also hook-up with local tour guides for cave exploration and rides in native boats. Naturally, there is time to relax and sightsee too!

The place is definitely a tourist destination with all the negatives implied therein. Even though I’m a bit jaded, I truly had a great time there and left feeling that I had gotten my money’s worth. From me, that’s saying a lot!

There is ample lodging available here in Boracay, including any number of hotels, and lodges. If you want a vacation rental, they’re here too.

After only a few minutes of searching the Internet, I found a reasonably priced vacation rental. I’m not suggesting this is the one for you, but I liked it for the following reasons.

First, I’m frugal, not cheap, FRUGAL! This listing describes a two-story villa in the native style. I like this because I want to really experience the Filipino lifestyle. For this particular property, only a two night minimum stay is required. The cost is $70.00 (USD) per night, roughly 3200 pesos. The property faces White beach and has all the amenities. It sleeps three, has a full kitchen including all the utensils, queen bed and twin bed with all linens, washer, air-conditioning, refrigerator, cable/satellite TV, wireless internet, deck, balcony, beach view, mountain view and a BBQ grill. Ahhhh, heaven!

The longer you are willing to stay, the lower the nightly rate. It drops all the way to $50.00 (USD) for a fourteen night stay. If you want to stay a month, by all means, do so, for $945.00 per month! This is truly reasonable in a resort setting.

There are many properties to choose from. I don’t want you to feel this is the only one. I chose this one for location, price and amenities. Not necessarily in that order! No matter what lodgings you choose, I can all but guaranty you will enjoy Boracay. It offers friendly people, plenty to do and some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

Caffeinated Content

Jo Jones asked:




The Philippines is a collection of thousands of Islands in Asia. The main religion is Christianity and there are roots from Spain and USA. This means that the culture is quite similar to the west and this brings us onto the first reason why living in the Philippines is so good.

1. The people in the Philippines speak excellent English. The Catholic religion is similar to Europe and America. The previous ties to Spain and more recently USA mean that it is very easy to get along with people. Other countries in Asia like India and Thailand have very different cultures and English is not widely spoken you you feel very out of place.

2. The country has a warm climate and countless places to take a short vacation if you are living in one of the large cities. There is plenty of rain in the rainy season between June and September but the general weather is hot and tropical. You are never more than a few hours away from a nice beach or more mountainous destinations like volcanoes or the rice terraces of somewhere like Banaue.

3. The price of living in the Philippines is very cheap compared to western countries. A small place could cost as little as $200 a month, but there are also high class condos available for expats. Food can cost next to nothing or if you live somewhere like Makati City in Manila there are many top class international restaurants with every cuisine imaginable available.

4. The low costs of living make it a great place to work in. The facilities offered to people working in international companies are excellent throughout the country. If you are self employed then of course the lower expenses will really help. The Philippines has an excellent education system so if you want to start a business it is a perfect place to do so to take advantage of the low salaries.

Caffeinated Content

Jose Abada asked:




Are you planning to visit the Pearl of the Orient, the Philippines and yet you do not have any idea on where to go? Are you sick and tired of seeing frowning people in the busy streets of the usual city setting? Well, I will bet that Davao City is the best place for you!

Sweet fruits, great beaches, hospitable people – these are the words that best describe one of the most magnificent place in the Philippines, Davao City!

This beautiful city is one of the top tourist spot that the Philippines is proud of having. This place is bestowed with wonderful lands and waters that lures and tempts many tourists from and outside the Philippines.

Aside from that, the city has a wonderful history that adds in its magnificence! Originally, the term Davao means fire. It is from the word “daba-daba.” Interesting festivals marked the place. One of the most anticipated and well attended festivals in this city is the well known Dinagyang Festival. Aside from that, many other rituals are done in this place that highlights the gracious past and culture of the people.

Davao City is bestowed by different tourist attractions that really lure many visitors from and even outside the Philippines.

Among the historical tourist attraction, the Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague is one of the must see. It is located in Matina, Davao City. This is an open air chapel that features the replica of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague and Our Lady of Fatima. Aside from the relics, the wonderful panoramic view of the coconut plantation and other fruit bearing trees adds in the magnificence of the city.

About 9 to 15 kilometers from the city cradles a shrine for the veterans of war – the Japanese Peace Memorial Shrine/ Cemetery. Even though that there is the term Japanese in the name, the cemetery is open to all sorts of races.

Your trip to this city will not be complete if you will never get the chance to see and know the people of the place. Go and visit Davao Museum so you will surely have the chance to witness the culture and traditions of the city and of course the people.

Davao City is also known for the beautiful hand woven cloth and actually you can have a glance on this at the T’Boli Weaving Center. The T’Boli Weaving Center is located at the Insular Hotel Grounds, Insular Hotel, Lanang, Davao City. Your visit in the said place will be highlighted by the demonstration of the tribal women of South Cotabato of the traditional craftsmanship and art of the T’Boli Tribe. See how they weave and turn the native abaca into fibers. Witness how the strips turned into canvass of artistry by designing figures with the intricate of patterns.

Davao is not just a place gifted with great people but also it is gifted with splendid water. You can spend your time around the different beaches, which offer best summer activities. Dive and snorkel around its clear waters! One of the must see is the Muslim Fishing Village located at San Jose, Samal Island. In the said place, children can dive overboard while the adults will be busy side seeing over the magnificent view from the native huts built over the waters.

Last but not the least, your stay at the city will not be totally complete without bringing home the ever delicious durian fruit.

Davao City is filled with beautiful sceneries and tourist attractions and of course with beautiful people with the heart of gold! Smiles will surely be a souvenir for any visitor or tourist who will spend time in beautiful Davao!

travel philippines

Rich Quiambao asked:




Among the paradise of islands that is the Philippines, among the choices of escapes around the world, and among all the chains of resorts and hotels all over the globe, there exists a hidden secret. This is a secret so coveted, 99% of the inhabitants of the Philippines doesn’t even know its there: the private resort Amanpulo.

The private island is a so luxurious, decadent and extravagant, it is on a class of tourist destinations of its own.

Owned by the AmanResorts luxury group, Amanpulo bears its parents’ name “aman” meaning peace. The word “pulo” on the other hand is the native Filipino word for “island”. Amanresorts is only composed of 15 or so luxury spots in different places, so Amanpulo is no less lavish and exciting as it other more well-known cousins. Amanpulo just opened in the Pamalican Island of Palawan, in the Eastern archipelago of the Philippines. Getting there and leaving there is by private jet, though one can assure you leaving paradise would be pretty hard. Well, at least the jet ride is seamless and comfortable.

Whats more, since this is a private island, getting in is no easy feat. One must know the appropriate channels and get in the right time to obtain a reservation. For a summer vacation in a year or two. One may not know this, but one of the sole entries in the book Places to See Before You Die for the Philippines is Amanpulo, so it is definitely worth the wait.

In Amanpulo, it is said that wide, powdery-white beaches are the wonder, compounded by the seascape proved majestic by the view of nearby Manamoc Island. Sometimes, when visitors stare out at Manamoc form the footprinted shorelines, do they ever wonder whats its like to be on that island paradise, then find themselves on the exact same fantasy in reality? The Aman gives no less.

The Beach Club of course, is said to be Amanpulo’s pride and joy. The relaxing wide are is spread with soft decks and pillows, with walkways leading to the pristine pools or the magnificent beach. The beach is the best choice by morning, while subtly lit pools are the choice place to unwind in romantic nights.

In addition, the place simply called The Restaurant serves both Filipino and international cuisines. And from the sound of the reviews, The Restaurant is on a league of its own, a throwback to when hotel restaurants were the best places to dine in. Serving fresh greens form its own vegetable and herb garden, The Restaurant will settle everyone’s worries over what’s good to eat because well, everything is good to eat.

Beach side casitas, nipa hut inspired but very luxurious lodges, are spaced very wide apart. This gives the impression of having your own beach paradise because you can choose to rarely see other guests. The views are fantastic, and a camera is a must. Maybe an underwater camera is a must too, since only 300m form the shore, a reef so full of color and life awaits anyone.

Coming clean, this is not an advertising ad for Amanpulo or the Aman chain of resorts. This is just a simple yearning to go there, one of the best places on earth unabashedly called paradise by those who have seen it. To taste the secret.

Local Philippines is your one-stop source of information about the Philippines with its fascinating travel destinations, colorful festivals and premier attractions.

Caffeinated Content

Randy C. asked:




Long known to local residents, but largely a secret outside of the Philippines, Samal Island is poised to become a favored world wide destination. The newly developed upscale vacation resorts and high end residential subdivisions that line the gold coast of Samal are the cause for this current enthusiasm. Of course the beautiful white beaches, lush green tropical vegetation and multitude of adventure activities are what have provided the encouragement for all this development to begin with.

The Island Garden City of Samal, the official name for Samal Island, is just a RORO ferry or bangka ride from Davao City, the largest (geographically speaking) city in the Philippines. Surrounded by land and located in the heart of the Gulf of Davao, Samal Island is in a protected, virtually typhoon free zone. The weather therefore is typical of a tropical paradise, balmy with the usual downpour of rain in the evening to cool(?) things down.

There are nearly 40 resorts offering a wide range of comforts and luxuries on the island. To date the best known of the many Samal Island resorts would undoubtedly be Pearl Farm Beach Resort. This is a world class resort that has earned a well deserved reputation. It might have soon have competition, though. So much in fact that some wonder if this island can handle the rapid expansion that awaits it. Local government has stated that they are intent on the island keeping it’s garden namesake. That may be a difficult task, but one that is surely worth the effort.

Those looking for a vacation or retirement home also have many options. Large and medium sized residential subdivisions can be found from the northern tip of the island and continuing down all along the coast. Don’t expect bargain prices for these prime locations, but compared to a similar site here in the states (is there such a place?) the prices are very affordable. The subdivisions range from residential only to large complexes that include resorts, wellness centers and a marina. If those don’t meet your tastes, land is still available to purchase to build your own, more private dream home. Be aware though that a foreigner can not purchase land outright in the Philippines. If you are married to, or plan to marry, a Philippine citizen then the land must be titled in their name.

As to adventure, scuba diving remains extremely popular due to the magnificent marine life, luscious blue waters and beautiful coral reefs that encompass Samal Island. Water sports such as kayaking, water skiing, and windsurfing are also very popular activities to partake in. Mt. Puto, the highest peak on the island, allows for some challenging hiking and rappelling. For a more relaxed time, you can venture to such sites as the Monfort bat cave, one the various falls or possibly visit a historic site such as the Moncado White House.

What makes it all work is the feeling of relaxation with being away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. With no bridge connecting Samal Island to the larger cities, you really experience the tropical paradise feeling.

Caffeinated Content

Jose Maria Abada asked:




The only issue with these high-end hotels in the country is that the interested visitor and traveler should be ready to pay up the extra cost of the services at these hotels. For those looking to stay at luxury hotels in the country, then there are a number of suggested luxury hotels.

Here is a listing of seven of the often-suggested luxury hotels in the Philippines:
-Pan Pacific Manila, Manila
-Makati Shangri-la Manila, Makati
-Traders Hotel Manila, Pasay
-InterContinental Manila, Manila
-The Peninsula Manila, Makati
-Amanpulo, Pamalican Island
-Mandarin Oriental Manila, Manila

All these hotels are known for their classic luxury and super luxury, and just a sampling of some of the better hotels in the country in terms of luxury that it provides to residents. Some of the best hotels are found in Boracay Island. And to fully enjoy the things that the island has to offer, the traveler should take into account his accommodation in the area. It’s best to know the island hotels in Boracay on order to get the best experience in the island. These island hotels are plentiful in the area, and hotels here are categorized into high-end ones and to those hotels that can meet even the smallest budget. Of course, to get the maximum experience, the top Boracay Island hotels should be priority on the said list of choices.

The best in the island of Boracay can be found in the White Beach. The White Beach is a 4 kilometer strip of fine white sand beaches. This trip is well-known in other parts of the world, in fact the Boracay Beach and this part of the island was named in 2007 as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. This was the result of the survey conducted by Yahoo Travel. In the same listing by Yahoo Travel, most of the beaches that were listed were located in Hawaii and in mainland United States and it was the island as the sole entry from Asia. This says a lot about the island as a haven for tourists.

A good number of the best hotels in the area are found in White Beach. White Beach is the main tourism beach of the area and this is over 4 kilometers long and the shoreline is lined with resorts, restaurants, bars and of course hotels. There are around 40 hotels in the White Beach area and these hotels will meet the demands of the travelers of different tastes and budget range.

Caffeinated Content

John Grant asked:




Donsol used to be sleepy coastal town in Sorsogon-a province in the southernmost tip of Luzon. Nobody knows Donsol except for, of course, its local inhabitants until a few years ago when tourists from all over the world began to flock this remote place to get a look-see at the largest fish on earth: the whale shark.

Before, fishermen in Donsol were ignorant of the ecological (and tourist) value of whale sharks. They used to hunt, slaughter and sell the poor gentle sea creatures to Japanese traders. Local folks call them “butanding” or “big fish” in the vernacular. Early sightings of the butandings were reported in the Visayan seas in Bohol further south. It was said that massive slaughtering caused their migration to Donsol waters.

Although, according to stories, the first butanding that was netted out in the area was also butchered. A marine biologist witnessed it and instantly recognized the fish as a rare marine specie. The biologist immediately reported the incident to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), an international organization promoting the preservation of the wildlife.

WWF wasted no time and launched an education campaign about the giant creature. After coordinating with the Department of Tourism, whale-watching soon became a tourist activity that allowed extra income for the people of Donsol.

Whale sharks can grow up to 50 feet in length. It has a rather wide mouth with hundreds of pointed teeth. It usually comes in grey or greenish brown color with white or yellow spots all over its body.

It earned the label gentle giant of the sea because of its harmless nature, considering it is of the shark family. It has nothing in common with whales except for its size, thus the name. Divers can swim and interact with them and are only known to sink deeper into the ocean when it gets upset. There has been no known attack on humans of whale sharks.

Scientists are still baffled with the large migration of whale sharks in Donsol. These fishes are known to prefer the cold waters, not the tropical seas that we have. One explanation would be the flourishing of planktons in the area. Planktons are organisms that fill the diet of the whale sharks. It is also hard to record the number of whale sharks that now thrive in Donsol. But early studies show that whale sharks can travel 14,000 miles in 40 months and is capable of breeding in different sea environments.

Whale sharks swim on the surface of the water especially during the morning and early afternoon. It opens its mouth rhythmically when feeding on the planktons and visitors may be treated to this wondrous sight if they spot the fish at the perfect time. But don’t expect them to jump up and down the water like the whales or dolphins. That’s actually another beauty of the whale shark experience because this makes it perfectly east and safe to get near them.

Create a video blog

Teresita Herrera asked:




When you travel to the Philippines, it’s good to have a basic knowledge of English and Spanish, because even among Filipinos who don’t speak Spanish fluently, there are thousands of Spanish loan words in the indigenous Malay languages of the Philippines.

Many people are mistaken in assuming that the Filipino culture is intermixed with influences from the Spanish culture, but that’s actually a mistake, since the national Filipino culture didn’t exist until the Spaniards arrived in the 1500s, and neither did the word Filipino. The Filipino culture is a result of the cultural mix of the indigenous Malay cultures, Spanish influences which are inescapable in the names, the languages, and in the ancestry of the Filipino people, and also a strong Chinese influence.

I always go to forum and message boards and have a good read, and common sentences are “If Filipinos spoke Spanish…”, “Filipinos don’t speak Spanish” “If Filipinos spoke Spanish today…” “Only old Filipinos speak Spanish.” “The only kind of Spanish in the Philippines is Chabacano…”

I’m 24 years old. When I was in Manila two years ago, I visited my great aunt, who I was told was becoming senile, so I assumed that she probably wouldn’t recognize me since it’s been 13 years since she had seen me, but I was amazed that the moment I arrived, walked up the steps to our old Spanish colonial style home, and entered the sala, she called me by my first name and began telling me about how tall I became and how I look so “mestizo” with my brown hair combined with my ****** features. I told my great aunt, “No, you look mestiza!” And she laughed and said, “No, I’m an indio!”, the irony being of course that these words were coming out of my great aunt standing there with her porcelain white skin, striking green eyes, sharp pointed nose, and wavy hair that used to be black but is now a beautiful snow white.

Of course, we’re just using the word mestizo in Philippine vernacular referring to appearance. Referring to my previous articles on our blog about the word mestizo, far be it for me to give a lecture to my great aunt about how the word mestizo is being used in a different way in the Philippines and is spreading miseducation among Filipinos about our actual racial ancestry as a country, especially when she’s the one who speaks perfect Spanish and learned it as her first language. But at the same time, it’s also understandable that words change meanings in different countries, and it’s just a natural part of language evolution.

I never thought that I looked Spanish or Latin, but it seems everybody else I ever met that wasn’t a family member or family friend in my entire life always did. But that same thing always happens to my mom and my aunts and uncles, since we don’t have features that are typically Malay. My Filipino friends always told me, “You know you don’t look Filipino…” a comment which is intended to praise you, but at the same time, also made makes one feel excluded. And I always thought it was ironic because I’m not that white looking, there are a lot of Filipinos especially celebrities that have a lot more and stronger European features than I do, compared to the rest of my family, I’m practically an Aeta, hehe. But of course, that’s okay, because Aetas are beautiful people.

I remember I worked for Fuji, the Japanese photo company in New York, and I’d speak in my broken Tagalog to our Filipino clients, “Oh! You’re Filipino!” And a funny thing is because I was used to speaking with my Spanish speaking clients and they always greeted me with “?Como esta?” whenever they entered my office, so I was used to saying “Bien!”. Well, one day, I was busy doing some work, a woman walked in and she said “?Como esta?” and I said, “Bien, gracias!”, and I looked up from my work, and realized that it was that nice Filipina woman I knew who was our repeat client, so I scrambled and said, “I mean, mabuti!” Hehe. It was when I looked up at her face I realized that she had said “Kumusta?” not “?Como esta?”, since to the discerning ear, the way Filipinos and Latinos say this common greeting in our culture is indistinguishable, and it certainly was for me that day and I’ll never forget it, hehe.

So I’m at my great aunt’s house, which is actually the former house of my grandfather, which she inherited when he died. One time, I visited by myself, and after merienda, she sat me down at the window, and we had a long talk in Spanish, about a lot of things, and I kept thinking to myself, why is everybody saying she’s becoming senile when her memory is still there? And in Spanish, I asked her about her life growing up, because I realized that since I hardly visit the Philippines and this is my last connection to my grandparents and to my family history, I have to soak up everything, and I have to find out as much as possible before the inevitable happens. She would speak to our maids in Tagalog, and speak to me in Tagalog and English also, and I’d reply in my broken Tagalog, but mostly in English since my Tagalog is so broken, hehe. But when I switched to Spanish, she spoke only in Spanish to me, and proceeded to scold me in Spanish, saying that I need to do good in school, and do something good with my life, and work hard, etc. which became really irritating since she began to say the same things over and over again. And then I asked her about her childhood, and she told me all kinds of stories, still in Spanish since it was her first language, about World War II, and how my great uncle died in the war, and all kinds of great things that I scrambled to write in a piece of newspaper so I could save it for later.

The thing I noticed was that she seemed okay but a little exasperated when she would conversate with her maids in Tagalog, and it was nice, but when I spoke to her in Spanish, it’s like an entire section of her memories just flooded back to her, and her eyes lit up, and I soon realized that it was because a great portion of her entire childhood and youth was lived in the Spanish language, and to have someone awaken that in her now, it was just an amazing thing to feel. It felt like when I looked into her green eyes and she told me all these stories about her childhood and her university life and the war and about my grandparents, I was literally stepping back in time to a Manila that no longer exists today, I was stepping back in time to my family’s own history, and it was just surreal.

My uncle also visited the house, and we had a short chat in Spanish also. And my aunt, who works in Canada for IBM,. There are also many Filipinos in this world that are highly educated and entered the U.S. or Canada through scholarships, and that proudly includes my mom and my aunts, anyway, she always tells me how this Spanish woman always likes to chat with her during lunch, because my aunt and uncles also grew up with Spanish (not Chabacano) as their first language, before they learned Tagalog or English.

My family is from Manila (and has been for generations ever since our family history has been recorded), not from Zamboanga or Ermita and certainly not from Cavite, although those are beautiful places, and and we have family members that speak Spanish, not Chabacano. There are Spanish speakers that are Filipinos that are not from those two provinces, but the miseducation about this topic seems to be deep among Filipinos.

But Chabacano is a beautiful creole language, and I love hearing it being spoken since it’s extremely easy to understand, at least for me, since it’s a mix of Tagalog and other local dialects with Spanish, and I understand Spanish and Tagalog fluently, so put it all together, it’s Chabacano, and I love it, I love hearing it.

It is absolutely true that Spanish is no longer widely spoken in the Philippines, and one step out of the airplane, it doesn’t take long for anybody to realize that, however, the Philippines does have it’s own unique version and accent of Spanish that is not Chabacano, it’s proper Spanish meaning that it’s not a creole, but it’s a Spanish that has it’s own influences from Tagalog, including dental stops between vowels that are influenced from the Malay languages. However, the only people that seem to be researching this very important and endangered part of our heritage are not Filipinos, but are American university scholars, and while Filipinos speaking Spanish today might seem like a grand myth to many young Filipinos, especially those overseas many of whom seem to be completely clueless about it among other things related to Filipino culture, it is in fact real. And it’s real in my own family.

So, the point is, always take everything you read on Filipino forums and message boards with a grain of salt, because all the statements above that I’ve read before, and I’ve heard repeated over and over before, I certainly know for a fact aren’t true considering that I am living proof of it, and so is my family, and I experience it and see it with my own eyes, and I live it everyday.

And don’t forget about the Filipinos celebrities in the public eye who do speak Spanish: Pilita Corrales, Junior, Isabel Preysler, Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias Jr., Shaila Durcal, Tamara Falco, Ana Boyer, Chabeli Iglesias, Carmen Morales, German Moreno, Jaime Fabregas, and many many more.

Caffeinated Content

A. Hathaway asked:


What to know when considering a Philippine Bride

The Philippines is a poor country and has a reputation for relationship fraud. Of course there are plenty of good, beautiful and honest women seeking marriage with foreigners. There is also an active population of scammers, fraud schemes and old fashioned gold diggers. Some women seek financial gain and lifestyle upgrades, an escape from poverty. Others are actually seeking a loving relationship, marriage and something new and exciting. How to tell this difference is the key question.

If she asks for money, put the brakes on. Beware of family or medical “emergencies” where the woman needs cash and financial support fast. Know that sending money via Western Union is likely lost in the event that she’s a scammer. Understand that the scammers are professional criminals and are very difficult to distinguish between an honest and trustworthy woman.

Educated yourself by reading about scam and fraud methods. Knowing about the different scams will help you recognize any foul play. The schemes and fraud efforts vary in strategy, but all have one thing in common, money. Money is usually requested in the form of advance fee fraud, where the criminal needs help with school, medical, rent, family, visa, etc. You can read more about the fraud types at Wikipedia’s site for relationship fraud and advance fee fraud. This is a major step in prevention.

Once you understand the fraud types and warnings signs, consider a trip to the Philippines. Get to know her and her country. See for yourself who you’re dealing with. This is a key step in not only preventing fraud, but also in establishing a meaningful relationship. Take time to get to know her. A Philippine woman in a hurry to marry is a major red flag.

Lastly, if all checks out, get a professional background check by a firm with a local presence in Manila and Cebu. Wymoo offers confidential investigations and has years of experience dealing with potential brides and relationships in the Philippines.

Best of luck, and do your homework!

A. Hathaway