Population: 87,857,473

Economy Overview:

The Philippines was less severely affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1998 than its neighbors, aided in part by annual remittances of $7-8 billion from overseas workers and no sustained runup in asset prices or foreign borrowing prior to the crisis. From a 0.6% decline in 1998, GDP expanded by 2.4% in 1999, and 4.4% in 2000, but slowed to 3.2% in 2001 in the context of a global economic slowdown, an export slump, and political and security concerns. GDP growth accelerated to 4.3% in 2002, 4.7% in 2003, and about 6% in 2004, reflecting the continued resilience of the service sector, and improved exports and agricultural output. Nonetheless, it will take a higher, sustained growth path to make appreciable progress in poverty alleviation given the Philippines' high annual population growth rate and unequal distribution of income. The Philippines also faces higher oil prices, higher interest rates on its dollar borrowings, and higher inflation. Fiscal constraints limit Manila's ability to finance infrastructure and social spending. The Philippines' consistently large budget deficit has produced a high debt level and has forced Manila to spend a large portion of the national government budget on debt service. Large, unprofitable public enterprises, especially in the energy sector, contribute to the government's debt because of slow progress on privatization. Credit rating agencies are increasingly concerned about the Philippines' ability to sustain the debt; legislative progress on new revenue measures will weigh heavily on credit rating decisions.

General Business Practices.

1. The English and the Filipino languages are widely used in the Philippines.
2. Philippine Peso is the primary monetary unit.
3. Yes, only lawyers are allowed to represent a client in court proceedings.

Collections

A. Background of Industry

1. It is difficult to estimate the volume of collection work in the Philippines.
2. Both lawyers and collection agencies handle debt collection work.
3. Both commercial and consumer accounts are collected.


B. Licensing requirements

There is no licensing requirements for debt collection agencies.

C. General Procedures

1. Collection agencies generally use
a. Letters
b. Telephone
c. Personal visit

2. Lawyers generally adopt the following procedures
a. Send a series of demand letters
b. Follow-up by phone
c. File case in appropriate court.


D. Charges and Remuneration

1. Lawyers generally charge a fixed monthly retainer fee and a commission based on amount collected.
2. Debt collection firms charge commission on funds recovered, these vary from 10% - 35% depending on the size and age of endorsed accounts. Charges are embodied in a collection contract. No charge are made on phone calls and letters on an individual basis.
3. Collection charges can be passed onto the debtor, but this varies on a case to case basis.
4. Interest of between 2% - 5% per month may be added onto the debt.

E. Accounting and Remitting

1. There are no special requirements for transferring money in and out of the country.
2. Payments can be made either directly to the lawyer, collection agency or creditor. Where payments are made directly to the creditor, they are invoiced at the agreed commission rate.
3. At present there is no government regulation that require agencies or lawyers to maintain separate trust account.

F. Miscellaneous

1. We provide skip tracing services, the fees for this varies between US$ 100 - US$ 250, depending on the requirement and coverage of the effort.
2. When a case is cons