Expat Community > Philippines

standupguy
Joined 2013
Posts: 2947

government services

8 years ago

Renewed my Visa today and my passport & bill got to the final checkpoint & teller exactly at noon. The final checker is a man that I observed being quite rude to foreigners if they arrived t his station next to the teller at Davao immigration. At noon her would turn his chair around and stop speaking mid sentence, so I was surprised he spoke to me. He told me I owed P2,930 So I have him 3. P1000 bills. Then he said "lunchtime come back at 1:00 pm. I asked for my passport and change, but he said "after lunch". When I returned at 1:00, he gave me my receipt and passport, but not the P70 in change he owed me. The teller told me to give him P30 & he would give me a P100. Then he said "No" take your P30. I did. Then he said give me your Passport. My wife jumped up saying NO! There was rapid fire visayan and the teller again told me to put P30 down and told the old goat checker to give me a P100 & this time he did. Everyone was staring at us. Next we went to NBI to get my clearance for our adoption. There were over 400 people waiting. We were 476. More forms finger printing payments, but the staff let me jump the line up since I am handicapped. More forms, about an hour wait, I got to the final window, a Devon fingerprinting and then a receipt that said HOLD. I have to go back in a month. Bureaucratic snakes and. Ladders. Someone also grabbed our take out Pizza. I was bewildered.

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