There was a story in the SMH Online “Aussies 'held captive' in Philippines” on 6th Nov 2008 highlighting the experiences of an Australian property/resort developer in Boracay. In this instance his family were held hostage by ‘armed thugs’. Greg Hutchinson, the owner of SandCastles resort, believes the intent of the bandits was to intimidate him.
Hutchinson was one of the original developers on the island, arriving in 1989 when there were just 10 resorts. This is not a new phenomenon. There are vested groups in the Philippines who resort to intimidation if you achieve too much success. You establish a successful business model and they want to force you out. A time of financial crisis is the best time. The intimidation is not just of foreigners, but Filipinos as well, whether local or foreign. The Philippines is a nation of victims and perpetrators. The trick is to have modest goals or to spread one’s interests broadly, so that you remain under the radar. Avoiding the drug, prostitution and arrogance settings is another sensible strategy. I would therefore recommend avoiding these places.
Hutchinson said he had been experiencing such intimidation for three years. He said "There are certain elements in the country who wait until you develop something, make a success of it and then they move in and force you out so they can reap the rewards". One could speculate on what rewards the bandits are after? Were they there to rob the guests, were they trying to discredit the owner’s establishment, did they want to burden him with higher security costs than them, did they hope to encourage him to move out before his 30-year lease expires in 11 years. Maybe some combination of those. Interesting this article follows a similar story of a Australian businessman in Angeles City, who was killed because his business was too successful. I haved posted on this previously. Its apparent that the Philippines gets a bad reputation from these crimes. They always seem to be centered on those centres of ‘prestige’ like Boracay, Manila and Angeles.
Hutchinson was one of the original developers on the island, arriving in 1989 when there were just 10 resorts. This is not a new phenomenon. There are vested groups in the Philippines who resort to intimidation if you achieve too much success. You establish a successful business model and they want to force you out. A time of financial crisis is the best time. The intimidation is not just of foreigners, but Filipinos as well, whether local or foreign. The Philippines is a nation of victims and perpetrators. The trick is to have modest goals or to spread one’s interests broadly, so that you remain under the radar. Avoiding the drug, prostitution and arrogance settings is another sensible strategy. I would therefore recommend avoiding these places.
Hutchinson said he had been experiencing such intimidation for three years. He said "There are certain elements in the country who wait until you develop something, make a success of it and then they move in and force you out so they can reap the rewards". One could speculate on what rewards the bandits are after? Were they there to rob the guests, were they trying to discredit the owner’s establishment, did they want to burden him with higher security costs than them, did they hope to encourage him to move out before his 30-year lease expires in 11 years. Maybe some combination of those. Interesting this article follows a similar story of a Australian businessman in Angeles City, who was killed because his business was too successful. I haved posted on this previously. Its apparent that the Philippines gets a bad reputation from these crimes. They always seem to be centered on those centres of ‘prestige’ like Boracay, Manila and Angeles.
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