Philippine Airlines Jaime Bautista , president and COO Stole money from me on 2 occasions Pasay City Philippines

DISASTROUS THAILAND VACATION COURTESY  PHILIPPINES AIRLINES/PHILIPPINE IMMIGRATION AND ONE TRAVEL

Departing flight to Cebu is grounded and we are rushed to Butuan

Cebu plane to Manila is late by at least one hour

In Manila I am told for the first time I need an exit clearance/permission to leave Philippines and since it was Saturday and immigration was closed, my/our flight to Thailand evaporated shortly after checking in the 2 pieces of luggage.

After immigration/PAL in Manila tells me there is a problem with immigration, the luggage is missing for 3 days after multiple promises it will turn right back from Thailand.  Multiple taxi fares amounting to at least 1000 php, empty promises and about 4 hours of useless waiting, finally it arrives at the airport.

PAL tells us it will cost 50,000 plus pesos to shift our travel days by 2 days for remaining flights.

Monday morning bright and early we all go to immigration and find a long line of problems waiting for solutions.  Normal clearance time for exit clearance we are now told is 3 days.  After pleading our case and wasting the whole day we finally got the clearance. Not at 3 pm as promised. Not at 4 or 5 but at 5:30 after closing and everyone else has left.  810 php plus another taxi fare is paid for the all day nail biter.

Countless other people have the same problem as us at immigration.  After getting the clearance along with another couple, we immediately book just the one way flight to Thailand for an extra 950 USD from original travel agent stateside online.

The next morning before departure to Thailand the second time we are fleeced for 1620/person Philippine exit tax for 3220 total for Arlene and son Jhon without previous warning. 

Not a single PAL flight was ever one time but must say the meal on main international flight was excellent.

Trying to check in our 2 pieces of luggage on the flight from Bangkok and multiple attempts to figure out what the problem/solution is I am told for the first time, I must have an exit flight booking back to America so we go upstairs to PAL and after being assured we can charge the ticket and get a refund and pay another $921.31 to fix another disaster.

After arriving in Cebu at 3:00 am and waiting till around 11:30 am for a 12:30 flight we are told it also is canceled due to mechanical problems (this is 2 planes now for total trip).   We are told we can get on a 1:30 flight via Cebu Pacific as we have a sudden unexpected funeral the next day and barely make the      3:30 ferry back to Dinagat Island. 

Both OneTravel and PAL refused to give the required senior citizen discount.  I have an official senior discount card.

THIS IS WHAT DID HAPPEN.

WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED

PAL should improve it’s plane maintenance and on time performance and keep their promises such as refunding/canceling onward flight bookings. 

The booking company and or PAL should warn customers of deal breaking/flight busting situations with a pre booking checklist and should NOT ISSUE TICKETS E TICKET OR OTHERWISE IF THESE SITUATIONS ARE NOT ADDRESSED AND SIGNED OFF ON.

Immigration should lighten up and allow exit permits to be issued at the airport like is the case for permanent residents or eliminate the disastrous process altogether and end their free travel discouragement/bias.  Immigration does a report on me every 2 months when i renew my visa to verify I am a peaceful person.  The extra requirement of an exit clearance is redundant and a way to extract more fees and discourage travel outside Philippines.  

My family and i would not have gone on vacation had we been TOLD THE TRUTH about what is required and the ABSOLUTE FEE FEEDING FRENZY/GREED THAT OCCURRED.

I fully intend to warn others in the expat community or other potential parties thinking about coming to or living in Philippines about this disaster.  This is a tourism killer.

TO RESOLVE THESE ISSUES

Need a refund on unnecessary unused (will not be used) ticket to US

Need a refund on second 1 way tickets to Bangkok

Need 1/2 refund on original booking for lost days, taxi fares, additional fees paid  

MISCELLANEOUS DETAIlS

First booking         Onetravel booking number 41043139      PAL confirmation JBZFJQ

Second booking                                                   41937652                                    XBMBDW                     

SUBSEQUENT CONVERSATIONS WITH PAL May10-11,2017

This is a long list of nonsensical statements made to me over the last two days in roughly a three hour time frame.  I was told the onward flight could not be canceled, then that it could be canceled but because i paid cash (actually a debit card) i would have to go to a PAL ticket office (did so in Cebu on the return flight and they flatly refused cancellation as i would have to present another replacement onward ticket which means i would have to perpetually pay them money to fulfill the requirement,  that i would have to go back to Thailand to get the refund, that the ticket was canceled but due to computer problems i would have to call back 1 day later, thurs May 11, 2017 which i did and was told since it was cash they could not cancel it then they agree but said they could mail me a check as opposed to a debit card credit (in Philippines where mail service is non existent)!!!!  In short about every excuse in the book was given to NOT REFUND AS PROMISED for a flight NOT required by law (see immigration laws of 1940 still in effect today where i challenge anyone to find the “required onward ticket”.  Bottom line is PAL is refusing to cancel and refund the ticket despite its numerous promises to the contrary and is in fact extorting money from travelers like myself under a non existing so called immigration law.  June 7, 2017, just spent 2 ¾ hours battling with PAL upon checking supposed refund advised by Syed from Onetravel and was given the same nonsense and still more.  I got them to agree to currier the refund check but will not do so unless I am staying here permanently or leaving back to America and they claim it is a government requirement.  Another nonsense excuse!!!