peso | The Adobo Chronicles

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila can never seem to escape the headlines.

Just months after the laglag bala (drop a bullet) scheme was uncovered, a new scam is all but brewing. (Laglag bala was a scheme in which unsuspecting airline passengers were questioned and detained after airport personnel supposedly found live bullets in their bags and luggage — all for the purpose of extorting money).

The new scam is called laglag piso (drop the peso) and it involves what appears to be a collusion between airport security and taxi operators.

Foreigners arriving at NAIA are offered a taxi ride to their hotel or destination and are handed a rate card that quotes the fixed fare in U.S. dollars, instead of Philippine pesos. The dollar rates are not only illegal, but exhorbitant. What could be a fare of just a few hundred pesos can turn out to be thousands of pesos, in dollar equivalent.

When questioned about the newly-discovered scam, Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Joseph Angel Honrado said he has no control over the activities at the airport. “My role is merely to coordinate.”

It’s exactly what he said when questioned in the Philippine Senate about the laglag bala scheme.

Traveling to Manila? Drop the peso. Hang on to your U.S. dollar. It will go a long way. Away from your wallet, that is!

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Baguio City, with its San Francisco-like weather, is known as the summer capital of the Philippines. Soon it will also be named “Barter Capital.” Yes, barter as in exchanging goods for goods.

Already, one can go into a boutique shop and pay for a nice blue dress with a leather handbag. Parking tickets can now be paid with a basket of fresh strawberries. Live chicken can now be used to bribe politicians. No money for your jeepney fare? No worries, just hand the driver a fresh banana.

The city is leading the way for the return of the centuries-old barter system, the method of commerce before currency was invented.

Other cities throughout the country are now also looking to follow in Baguio’s footsteps, especially with recent developments in which the Philippine peso is losing value against the U.S dollar.

Even some members of congress are proposing that school education be provided free to all Filipino citizens in exchange for an unpaid employment in one of the call centers after they graduate.

Dollar remittances from overseas Filipinos are rapidly declining, while shipment of goods via balikbayan boxes are on the rise.

So who needs money when you have goods and services that you can use to maintain a happy, stress-free and comfortable lifestyle?

Thank you, Baguio City!