Juana Change “FIXER” – Familiar?

I wrote recently that I have been doing some repairs and remodeling for a commercial property in Metro Manila, and for the past decades we have been very good about paying our permits, taxes and complying with whatever old and new requirements the government foists upon its people (e.g. VAT, e-VAT, increase in local tax rates, increase in real estate taxes, mechanical permits, electrical permits, reconstitution of land titles due to a strange fire in city hall, etc.).

Before I left for Bangkok, I was told that to get a permit these days meant Php20,000 to the local government and Php40,000 to the pockets of the people whose salary we already pay to process these permits. When I was adamant about paying the proper fees, the contractor, interior designer and architect were all telling me to pay the “extra” else work would stop and be delayed a few months.

So I said, “I will wait.”

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