The Elliot Eastman Kidnapping was a Message

I've been in the Philippines for a long time. When I first arrived, the Philippines was a destination for retirees, specifically vets, to come and live like kings on their pensions. The visa structure is set up to accommodate this paradigm. That's why you have the SRRV, which lets vets stay here forever, and the 13a for those who wish to marry a Filipina and help support her family.

10 years ago the younger crowd went to places like Thailand, Vietnam, or S. Korea where not having an income wasn't as big of a deal since they could get jobs teaching English. Now those places have tightened their visa standards more and more younger (and broker) expats are coming here into a system that isn't designed the accommodate them. This is creating friction. I found it peculiar that after Elliot Eastman was kidnapped there was no ransom demand. I was puzzled by that until I read in Rappler that he was making videos complaining about financial troubles after spending 14k for Starlink.

The reason locals tolerate our personality quirks and high expectations is because we bring in dollars. Now I'm seeing more young broke expats coming here it'll probably turn into a Thailand situation where the government decides we're more trouble than we're worth.

In my opinion, after he started complaining about running out of cash on YouTube the locals in that area decided that Mr. Eastman was more annoying than he was worth. He was reportedly warned several times by local officials to leave but he refused. He probably misunderstood the gravity of the situation due to the politeness of the warnings and as a result, this young man lost his life.

The bottom line:

The Philippines wants expats who either have a pre-existing income ie a pension or highly skilled foreign workers who will contribute to their society.

The Philippines doesn't want broke expats who will compete with locals for jobs. The Philippines also doesn't want young good-looking (but broke) vloggers who will compete with local men for the best women.

It's human nature to perceive outsiders as a threat, the Philippines is no different.