What kind of illegal activities does a black market do in the economic status of Philippines?

Answer 1

"a smuggler's paradise"Explaining about illegal activities occurring in black markets in the Philippines is easy, explaining about the economic status of the Philippines is generally not so easy.

Mr. Henry Byroade, former U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines once said "Money is power anywhere in the world but particularly in the Philippines". In spite of the past and present administrations' considerable efforts to curb black markets, they continue to this day unabated. This could be atributable to the close proximation of the Philippines to Hong Kong, long considered to be something of "a smuggler's paradise".

Two of the most common black market activities revolve around sex and drugs. Sexual activities are not limited merely to prostitution. Child prostitution, of both sexes, is common. Also, throughout much of Southeast Asia one can readily find astounding transvestite (male)prostitutes. Pedophiles come to Manila, the capitol city, from as far away as Europe, Australia, and the United States. One former American military personnel dubbed the Philippines a "Disneyland for grown-ups".

Drug use is quite commonplace throughout the Philippines. Most of the substances which are abused in countries like the United States are not readily available in the Philippines, but rest assured they have plenty of their own narcotic substances available, most popular of which is "shabu".

Shortly after World War II, political and economic conditions in the Philippines were ripe for smugglers, particularly to-and-from neighboring countries like Malaysia and Singapore. In a war-ravaged economy, many staple needs were in short supply. Smugglers had a field day. Common items like liquor and cigarettes were profitable commodities for smugglers but even sundry items such as onions and garlic lined the pockets of many smugglers before the police eventually caught up with them, often resulting in bloodshed.

If you would like a good broad overview of the black maket situation in the Philippines, I suggest you try to rent the movie "Cavite" at your local library or video store. It will provide you with a very frank and sometimes unsettling picture of what life is really like in "the Pearl of the Orient".