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I am a U.S. Citizen married to a Pinay and quite an anomaly at that, since I am a 44 year old American man married to a 41 year old Filipina. I am a Section 13(a) Lawful Permanent Resident. You, and all of the readers know that usually it is an age 57 to 80 Westerner married to an age 11 to 20 Pinay.. I WISH that was a joke only!
In any case, back to the intended topic at hand. One major issue I have with the legal system here is the lack of trial by jury. Power corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts ABSOLUTELY.
The lack of that, which is constitutionally guaranteed in the USA, nearly, if not all, Western nations and many Asian nations. As if the lack of trial by jury were not enough, my personal observations and experience as someone who has spent over 30 of their 44 years alive, here in the Philippines enable me to know, for a fact, that many, many Filipinos actually and firmly believe that ALL American Citizens as Super-Rich. I can personally attest that many, many of the populace of this country, which I both love and care a GREAT deal for, very incorrectly assume and firmly believe that ALL, not some, but ALL Americans are multi-millionaires who only work if it is their hobby. For example, back in 1993, I hadrecently arrived from Los Angeles into Manila on Philippine Airlines (of course) flight 103 and was spending time with the family of a co-worker of mine (from Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California). These relatives lived in Caloocan. A female cousin of my co-worker was loitering around the front porch of the pension house I was staying in at 4am. I, having major "jet lag" was wide awake at that hour, but of course I was also quite surprised she was there and inquired as to why. She was quite embarrassed, but eventually stated that she "knew" that EVERY American received the sum of 1 Million Pesos each and every morning on the doorstep of their home, hotel, or wherever they were staying for their expenses EACH AND EVERY DAY. She simply wanted 250,000 to set herself up, which would be merely "pocket change" to any and all Americans.
Now, couple that FACT with the many cases I have already seen where an extremely intoxicated Filipino jobless alcoholic, Blood Alcohol Content of 0.34%, with no Driver License (from ANY country), drives an UN-registered motor vehicle onto a public street or Highway, swerves out of the lane they are illegally driving in, crossing the center divider, entering the opposite flow of traffic where an American Citizen, with a valid Philippine Driver License, operating a legally Registered Motor Vehicle, while being "sober as a Baptist Preacher of a Sunday morning"...literally with a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.00%. In the USA or the West, it would be an obvious "open and shut case". Meaning, the unlicensed, intoxicated driver of the unregistered vehicle would immediately jailed and then forced to compensate the LAWFUL, LICENSED driver, REGARDLESS of "race", "ethnicity", or ridiculously flawed view of their financial status by the native population. Unfortunately, there have been many cases where the "Judge" has sided with the inept, incompetent, CRIMINAL side due to their total allegiance to "God Money: Thinking they could extort funds out of the actual victim in the cases.
I will NEVER, EVER side with injustice and total ignoring of facts... I just wish the system here would side on the side of right always, instead of what routinely happens.
Comments? PLEASE prove me wrong! In this one case, I WISH that I was wrong!
In any case, back to the intended topic at hand. One major issue I have with the legal system here is the lack of trial by jury. Power corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts ABSOLUTELY.
The lack of that, which is constitutionally guaranteed in the USA, nearly, if not all, Western nations and many Asian nations. As if the lack of trial by jury were not enough, my personal observations and experience as someone who has spent over 30 of their 44 years alive, here in the Philippines enable me to know, for a fact, that many, many Filipinos actually and firmly believe that ALL American Citizens as Super-Rich. I can personally attest that many, many of the populace of this country, which I both love and care a GREAT deal for, very incorrectly assume and firmly believe that ALL, not some, but ALL Americans are multi-millionaires who only work if it is their hobby. For example, back in 1993, I hadrecently arrived from Los Angeles into Manila on Philippine Airlines (of course) flight 103 and was spending time with the family of a co-worker of mine (from Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California). These relatives lived in Caloocan. A female cousin of my co-worker was loitering around the front porch of the pension house I was staying in at 4am. I, having major "jet lag" was wide awake at that hour, but of course I was also quite surprised she was there and inquired as to why. She was quite embarrassed, but eventually stated that she "knew" that EVERY American received the sum of 1 Million Pesos each and every morning on the doorstep of their home, hotel, or wherever they were staying for their expenses EACH AND EVERY DAY. She simply wanted 250,000 to set herself up, which would be merely "pocket change" to any and all Americans.
Now, couple that FACT with the many cases I have already seen where an extremely intoxicated Filipino jobless alcoholic, Blood Alcohol Content of 0.34%, with no Driver License (from ANY country), drives an UN-registered motor vehicle onto a public street or Highway, swerves out of the lane they are illegally driving in, crossing the center divider, entering the opposite flow of traffic where an American Citizen, with a valid Philippine Driver License, operating a legally Registered Motor Vehicle, while being "sober as a Baptist Preacher of a Sunday morning"...literally with a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.00%. In the USA or the West, it would be an obvious "open and shut case". Meaning, the unlicensed, intoxicated driver of the unregistered vehicle would immediately jailed and then forced to compensate the LAWFUL, LICENSED driver, REGARDLESS of "race", "ethnicity", or ridiculously flawed view of their financial status by the native population. Unfortunately, there have been many cases where the "Judge" has sided with the inept, incompetent, CRIMINAL side due to their total allegiance to "God Money: Thinking they could extort funds out of the actual victim in the cases.
I will NEVER, EVER side with injustice and total ignoring of facts... I just wish the system here would side on the side of right always, instead of what routinely happens.
Comments? PLEASE prove me wrong! In this one case, I WISH that I was wrong!
