philippines travel warning
- Thread starter knuckles
- Start date
Yes it is a con! Years of experiences there taught me that the Philippines is always looking for a way to take advantage of any situation for monetary gain. Just recently they had a scandal involving the discovery of ammunition in the luggage of arriving foreign passengers at the Manila airport. The security personnel were planting single rounds into the bags and then demanding "bond" money to allow the tourist to be released.
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Does not suprise me, poorer countries will always try this sort of thing! Shame really was looking forward to going there. I was there 20 years ago traveled all over the visayas and loved it! But now when I go on holiday I always take my phantom, if they don't like it then I just choose a another destination that does ! Stupid thing is it will cost them in lack of tourists revenue, they are their own worst enemy! Dumb *** idiots comes to mind!
Awesome news! I have the same GPC bag that I will be carrying on to the airplane. Did you put your batteries in Li-Po Bags or just in their little compartments in the backpack?
Thanks
From what I could gather, there is no restriction about bringing a drone into the Philippines as long as it is not for commercial use and under 150 kg.and when I go there in May, I will bring the advisory circulars, and for kicks put the cell phone number of the Director of CAAP.
This is with reference to your e-mail dated 29 June 2015 regarding inquiry for the regulations in operating a UAV for sports and recreational purposes.
The existing regulations on UAVs are applicable to large UAVs only (100kgs [rotorcraft] and above 150kgs [airplane]) and all UAVs used for commercial operations. Thus, small and private UAVs need not be registered with this Authority. If your UAV is a large UAV, the same must be registered. However, guidelines regulating small and private UAV are now being crafted and will be released by 4th quarter of this year.
The following provisions of the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations Part 11.11 shall be observed when operating a UAV:
11.11.1.2.1 OPERATION NEAR PEOPLE
a)Subject to paragraph (b) and (c), a person shall not operate a UAV within 30 meters of a person who is not directly associated with the operation of the UAV.
b)Paragraph (a) does not apply in relation to a person who stands behind the UAV while it is taking off.
c)Paragraph (a) also does not prevent the operation of a UAV airship within 30 meters of a person if the airship approaches no closer to the person than 10 meters horizontally and 30ft vertically.
11.11.1.3 UAV AREAS OF OPERATION
(a)No person may operate UAV beyond the following envelope unless prior approval has been granted by the Authority:
(1)400ft Above Ground Level (AGL);
(2)10 km radius from the Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP); and
(b)The UAV shall stay clear of populated area unless prior approval has been granted by the Authority.
(c)No person may operate a large and small UAV in a controlled airspace unless a prior certificate of Waiver is issued by the Authority.
Such requirements are based on imminent safety and security concerns which this Authority is mandated to protect for the interest of the greater public.
The operation of a UAV may be allowed in a private open field provided that the UAV stays away from populated areas. In addition thereto, the controller of the UAV needs to acquire a UAV Controller Certificate of Authorization prior to operation of any UAV unit.
Should you have further inquiries, you may call the Regulatory Standards Department, Flight Standards Inspectorate Service, this Authority, at Tel. No.: (02) 879-9227.
Very truly yours,
SHERMAN P. DEL ROSARIO
Administrative Assistant II
Regulatory Standards Development Division
RSD - FSIS
Tel No.: (02) 879-9211
This is with reference to your e-mail dated 29 June 2015 regarding inquiry for the regulations in operating a UAV for sports and recreational purposes.
The existing regulations on UAVs are applicable to large UAVs only (100kgs [rotorcraft] and above 150kgs [airplane]) and all UAVs used for commercial operations. Thus, small and private UAVs need not be registered with this Authority. If your UAV is a large UAV, the same must be registered. However, guidelines regulating small and private UAV are now being crafted and will be released by 4th quarter of this year.
The following provisions of the Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations Part 11.11 shall be observed when operating a UAV:
11.11.1.2.1 OPERATION NEAR PEOPLE
a)Subject to paragraph (b) and (c), a person shall not operate a UAV within 30 meters of a person who is not directly associated with the operation of the UAV.
b)Paragraph (a) does not apply in relation to a person who stands behind the UAV while it is taking off.
c)Paragraph (a) also does not prevent the operation of a UAV airship within 30 meters of a person if the airship approaches no closer to the person than 10 meters horizontally and 30ft vertically.
11.11.1.3 UAV AREAS OF OPERATION
(a)No person may operate UAV beyond the following envelope unless prior approval has been granted by the Authority:
(1)400ft Above Ground Level (AGL);
(2)10 km radius from the Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP); and
(b)The UAV shall stay clear of populated area unless prior approval has been granted by the Authority.
(c)No person may operate a large and small UAV in a controlled airspace unless a prior certificate of Waiver is issued by the Authority.
Such requirements are based on imminent safety and security concerns which this Authority is mandated to protect for the interest of the greater public.
The operation of a UAV may be allowed in a private open field provided that the UAV stays away from populated areas. In addition thereto, the controller of the UAV needs to acquire a UAV Controller Certificate of Authorization prior to operation of any UAV unit.
Should you have further inquiries, you may call the Regulatory Standards Department, Flight Standards Inspectorate Service, this Authority, at Tel. No.: (02) 879-9227.
Very truly yours,
SHERMAN P. DEL ROSARIO
Administrative Assistant II
Regulatory Standards Development Division
RSD - FSIS
Tel No.: (02) 879-9211
So the chances of customs stopping me for carrying a hard case shell and confiscating my P3 Standard are how high?
Even thought the rules clearly say that you can use your Phantom in the Philippines, getting it through customs might be a roll of the dice. I lived there for 8 years and know from experience that there is a chance that some enterprising customs official could make a "request" for a "special handling" fee for you to be allowed to bring it in. On the other hand, if you are coming in at night with passengers from one or more fully loaded aircraft they might be too lazy or tired to check you. I was only checked by Philippines customs once and that was at Clark not MIA. Also I am bringing my Phantom in a backpack as a carry on bag. Not in something as obvious as a hard shell case.So the chances of customs stopping me for carrying a hard case shell and confiscating my P3 Standard are how high?
I got the backpack made for the Phantom. It looks like any other backpack. Also when you are about to pass through customs, don't make eye contact with anyone in the line where they search your bags. Just walk through the line for nothing to declare with other people and they probably won't stop you.
What's up everyone!
I just got back from the Philippines and had NO PROBLEM getting through Customs flying into Manila from the US and then again from Manila to Palawan and then from Palawan to Manila. I used a GPC Limited Edition Phantom 3 Backpack case as a carry-on. No problems at all.
Just to cover all of my bases, I also was in contact with the Bureau of Customs and received an email MUCH LIKE JTC'S above that communicated that I was "GRANTED permission to import the drone into the country of the Philippines". If you need additional information from me, just reach out in a message.
So all went well, there were no problems into/within/out of the the Philippines by the Bureau of Customs and all of my Quadcopter footage was amazing! Here's some links if you wanna check out my Vlogs that have drone footage.
SEND ME A LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE!! Check out my Philippines Playlist! ENJOY!
I just got back from the Philippines and had NO PROBLEM getting through Customs flying into Manila from the US and then again from Manila to Palawan and then from Palawan to Manila. I used a GPC Limited Edition Phantom 3 Backpack case as a carry-on. No problems at all.
Just to cover all of my bases, I also was in contact with the Bureau of Customs and received an email MUCH LIKE JTC'S above that communicated that I was "GRANTED permission to import the drone into the country of the Philippines". If you need additional information from me, just reach out in a message.
So all went well, there were no problems into/within/out of the the Philippines by the Bureau of Customs and all of my Quadcopter footage was amazing! Here's some links if you wanna check out my Vlogs that have drone footage.
SEND ME A LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE!! Check out my Philippines Playlist! ENJOY!
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don't worry, dude. I was born there and was still tagged for bringing in my P3. but I was lucky. my cousin-in-law is some sorta big shot. I honestly have no idea what he does. anyway, he has a friend who is some sort of travel commissioner. he has clearance to go in and out of the arrival terminal as he wishes. when I arrived with my girlfriend, he was there to escort us out of the terminal. one of the newbie customs agents wanted to know what I had in my waterproof electronics case and I replied it was a quadcopter. newbie agent then said "please open it up for inspection. we may need to charge a customs fee." our escort then flashed his badge and told her to let it go. from then on, we traveled to Palawan island and I was calling it camera equipment whenever I was asked about the contents of the case.
Yeah, I agree. My uncle is some sort of big shot there too and he told me to just call it a "travel camera". I also don't know what he does... In Customs, when they had to scan everything, the stress levels were high, but I knew that I had the permission letter in my back pocket - whatever that was worth.
You never know what they'll do in the Philippines. We literally had to pay a bribe leaving the airport because we "didn't have permits"..... Our driver had all of the permits needed, the cop was just not being a cop at the time. SKETCH.
You never know what they'll do in the Philippines. We literally had to pay a bribe leaving the airport because we "didn't have permits"..... Our driver had all of the permits needed, the cop was just not being a cop at the time. SKETCH.
I am hoping that coming in late at night on a large plane and carrying my "camera" in a nondescript backpack will help. If they do stop me, I will try to be nice. If that doesn't work, I will then show the letter. If that doesn't work I will get out my cell phone and have the name of LT GEN William K. Hotchkiss III AFP (Ret). Director General of the CAAP, along with a contact number and ask them if they want me to call him!
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