If you have been to the Philippines then you will already understand what im talking about. Generally anyone who isnt a Filipino is a “Foreigner” if you have white skin then your a “Kano” as in Amer”Kano” yet im not american and hate to be called one. I have enough issues with being British as im from Scotland and will always be Scottish by birth and blood. But whats wrong with being a “Kano”? Simply a lot of the stigma has been left here from the Vietnam years where the Philippines was a staging post for recouperation for GIs. Which made a huge business for prostitution and also brought an influx of cash into the country which even today is causing contrasts. Im from the West that is for sure but i left because i hate the selfish world in which being western breeds and many people here feel the same. So being a “Kano” goes against the belief of many people who are not only NOT american but are also against the Western ideal which is rammed down peoples throats here by the Elite selling theyre wares on the television. I want a simple life, a farm a loving family and to just relax and watch life go by. But the “Kano” is a disease here and you cant be invisible with white skin. You are overcharged for taxi fares as soon as you arrive at the airport. Rentals on a property can double aswell as land purchases for your partner. Your partner can be singled out as someone who is either marrying for money or simply a lottery winner by bagging a foreigner. In my wifes case neither account as i told her im not a rich foreigner and we expect 5 years of hardship to make a go of things in the Philippines. Which her parents have never took my skin or who i am into account because they can see how much i love theyre daughter. But an aunt has already charged rent on a house i built on the family land. There is many good people here but the foreign skin here causes major problems for a wife and the new life you build. Your children may suffer from bullying in school because a white foreigner is seen as a lottery win. Yet a rich Chinese businessman isnt. Because the power train although similar is different. Westerners are seen as Rich and powerful. Chinese are seen as Powerful and rich. Although the scenarios are similar westerners are seen as only powerful due to the fact they can buy anything where as chinese is more likely to force people to make them rich which is apparent if you look at slavery, the chinese mining industry or anything else in China they dont care about people! So where did it all go wrong?? Personally i think a lot of it has to do with NGOs (Non Government Organisations) because they are mainly charities that are looking to help people and the fact that most come from the west seems to show some kind of weekness that Filipinos may find as a soft touch. Chinese have been here for a long time and not only created businesses but created respect because people know the Chinese owners of a business will fire them where a Westerner will listen to the hard luck stories of life. These mixed contributions have created a hard scenario to live in. I have started learning Cebuano and people assume you dont know what they are saying but as time goes on i understand more and more and you start to realise more people hate you here than you think. But either way im in for the long haul and if people assume they can get extra money out of me for being white then so be it im lucky enough my wifes father understands this and will happily do my shopping for me 
so sorry to hear about that. i never really pondered on that issue long enough to be guilty thinking a certain way of filipinas marrying foreigners.
i hope all goes well for you. keep believing in us and soon they’ll realize you only have good intentions. i guess i should include myself. i don’t live in cebu, though.
thanks for posting.
Thanks for your reply lengkyx. Im mainly posting to get people to understand things from both sides in a hope that people start to learn and understand that people are all different regardless of race and colour.
Hey there.
I’m quite sorry to hear about your experiences here.
My family and I moved here from the States about 2 years ago. We live in Bohol, about two hours or so by boat from Cebu.
I was born in Cebu but was raised in California.
Now, I am Filipino, but my step-dad is white. I know what you mean by getting overcharged for things and all sorts of other stuff that wouldn’t happen if only your skin color wasn’t white or you don’t look like an outsider.
I know Visaya fluently, but I would much rather speak in English…because I have a very “American” accent as many people say and I sound stupid when speaking Visaya.
But anyways, whenever my dad goes out to places, I always try to go with him, just because I know there’s a lot of people just looking to rip him off due to him being white.
I know when I first got here, I told people that I didn’t speak Visaya just to see their reaction. You start to realize that once they know that you are Filipino but you don’t speak the language, they immediately cast you as an outsider. Many times I’ve heard street vendors say things in Visaya like “oh, whatever, he doesn’t understand us. Try to charge him more”
I let them go on with their little charade but after a while it got old.
Seriously, though, I feel your pain to some extent and hopefully your life here in the Philippines is great. The past two years have been fairly good for me, so I hope that times do change and start looking up for you.
I think its a part of life.. If i catch people doing it i never use them again. Also make it obvious why i wont use them. Im lucky my inlaws are pretty good they will often do the buying of things for me so that no one sees me. But it shouldnt be like that. How is the Philippines to encourage tourism with so much racism?
I love the country and the people.. i find Cebu as my home. Thanks for adding your comment btw
Heya.
I actually talked to my dad about this. He hasn’t experienced racism, he says it’s the contrary, rather. He says people like him more because he’s American and because they know they can get more money out of him. They like him because of the extra money they can get out of him. I don’t know if it’s racism, but I guess it’s just horrible practices.
Myself personally, I haven’t been ripped off to a huge extent. Maybe a few pesos here and there, but nothing wild and outrageous. Oh well, hopefully everything goes great for you in the future. Good luck
Everybody likes you if you have a full wallet and easy to extract money from.. My question would be this if you were in the US and it was found out that a store would only overcharge people from Asia how long do you think it would be until the authorities got called?
Im not too bothered about it myself as like you said a lot of it is small thefts. But its the fact you just cant go buying things because your white.. I have a friend who went to buy a car his brother inlaw agreed the price over the phone they arrived to pay and collect as soon as the people realised it was a white guy buying they tried to charge more money.
not all filipinos are like that but most of them are. this is because of poverty. most people dont really care about building a long term relationship but rather would just think of what he can get from you at that very minute thinking you wouldn’t be around that long anyway. I’m filipino who got back from tokyo and I tell you… every filipino i came accross with thought i was a walking pot of gold. and the funny thing is, even if I don’t tell them i’m a ‘balik-bayan’, for some reason they can sense it. the sad thing is, because of poverty, most filipinos lost their dignity and pride. in my opinion, the philippines has started to rot from it’s core. it’s like it has accute cancer. this once beautiful country with all it’s beautiful people and natural resources is in it’s verge to self-destruction because of the greedy, corrupt government.
Its a strange scenario and one that doesnt do the Philippines any good as a tourist destination. I know there is a lot of factors and some of it is the fact OFWs and Foreigners make such a big change to families in the Philippines. Something i dont encourage. Ok i help where i can but nothing is for free. Im happy for family members to do business with me on a shared ownership. BUT there is no free lunch. No one is here working alongside me to pay for everything. But if i can help a family member develop a business then thats the way forward. But too many people are abusing OFWs money that is sent home and many of the foreigners suffer with the same problem its the “You can afford to lose it” rather than seeing in truth its nothing short of theft by overcharging. Whats the long term effect? Maybe that less people will visit. It also damages trust. OFWs work so hard abroad for theyre families but at home do you think you could leave chickens roaming on your lot and goto work and expect them to be there when you go home?? It saddens me but like you said its not all down to the people its got to stem from the top. With so much corruption its dropped into the cycle similar to what many African nations suffer with. Time will tell if any of this will end.