Not allowed to fly on Corregidor island

[jwilson]

We had this tour of corregador Island in Manila bay planned for a couple of weeks. I asked the travel agent if I could fly my drone there. She didn't know. I took my drone with me. After an hour, I asked the tour guide if I could fly my drone. He said no, that would cost several thousand pesos. What money has to do with it is beyond me. Anyway, it would have been a great place to fly, and i know I will never take that tour again. I should of made sure I could fly, in writing, before I booked the tour. It was ok, but not great like it could of been had I flown my drone.

 

[DARKSeifer]

In drones the genera rule of better ask forgiveness than permission applies. Think of it as just doing photos with a hand held camera, you'd only ask permission to take portraits, but not to do landscapes, which is basically what you do with the drone.

Whenever you ask permission on anything drone related you'll always find a person that will say "no", and in general it doesn't matter what they say because no one has a clue of the rules except the specific drone police patrols (which exist in Spain, for example) and the pilots that invested their time reading the rules.

You must know all the rules that apply for any specific flight perfectly (specially when travelling to other countries), else you won't be able to successfully hit&run.

Know the rules, don't make you an easy target, don't ask for unnecessary permission, takeoff from remote areas and fly wherever you want with a hacked Mavic 3 (no RID/Aeroscope), and if you are caught don't confront, don't argue, don't try to be a macho, just play the dumb a bit, and bye bye to fly another day.

The alternative is just leaving the drone in the bag/shelf forever, sell it second hand or limit yourself to fly it VLOS, like an RC plane, on a designated area.

 

[jwilson]

In drones the genera rule of better ask forgiveness than permission applies. Think of it as just doing photos with a hand held camera, you'd only ask permission to take portraits, but not to do landscapes, which is basically what you do with the drone.

Whenever you ask permission on anything drone related you'll always find a person that will say "no", and in general it doesn't matter what they say because no one has a clue of the rules except the specific drone police patrols (which exist in Spain, for example) and the pilots that invested their time reading the rules.

You must know all the rules that apply for any specific flight perfectly (specially when travelling to other countries), else you won't be able to successfully hit&run.

Know the rules, don't make you an easy target, don't ask for unnecessary permission, takeoff from remote areas and fly wherever you want with a hacked Mavic 3 (no RID/Aeroscope), and if you are caught don't confront, don't argue, don't try to be a macho, just play the dumb a bit, and bye bye to fly another day.

The alternative is just leaving the drone in the bag/shelf forever, sell it second hand or limit yourself to fly it VLOS, like an RC plane, on a designated area.

I checked on the internet, and there was nothing about flying over corregador being prohibited. I should of got in in writing from the tour company. Too late now, but it's a lesson.

 

[Cafguy]

Drone Laws in the Philippines | UAV Coach (2023)

Want to learn more about drone laws in the Philippines? Check out our list of links and regulations for people flying drones in the Philippines.

uavcoach.com

 

[wsteele]

I was stationed in the Philippines 50 years and one needed to rub the palm (give money under the table) to get anything done. I needed a Philippine drivers license and outside the drivers license building were people who wanted to be paid to guide me through the process. I refused and when I finally got to the agent he asked why I don't use one of the people outside to help me. It was obvious that they were both involved in the attempted bribe.I also encountered a village Police Chief who wanted ammunition in order to approve me showing a free movie in the local town square. It was the way of doing business then and probably still is now.

 

[orionshooter]

In drones the genera rule of better ask forgiveness than permission applies. Think of it as just doing photos with a hand held camera, you'd only ask permission to take portraits, but not to do landscapes, which is basically what you do with drones.

I disagree- vigorously. What you can get away with in the U.S. should never be assumed doable in a foreign country. I’ve spent significant time on those islands and can tell you things are done much differently there. Filipino police are notoriously corrupt…..graft, coercion, bribes are woven into the fabric of everyday life in the P.I. In fact, wages for government officials starting at the municipal police officer level are scaled back to account for the income they receive on the streets. Ignorance on the part of a cash laden American will not fly. Be careful and plan to get proper permits in advance. And even then, you are likely to have to grease a palm here and there.

 

[KJC Imaging]

Dear DarkSeifer,

I must protest at your advice here! The reputation and public acceptance of drones is at a stage of development where things could go one of two ways: they could become acceptable as a normal part of everyone’s everyday experience, or they could become objects of disgust and anger, unacceptable to be seen in public places and outlawed altogether. Which of these two directions our reputation takes depends very much on the way pilots approach landowners’ permission to operate when that permission is required, and when it is not required, the ability of pilots to produce solid information that shows they are flying legally.

The “ask forgiveness” crowd are dragging our reputation down.

Instead, my advice would be this: do some research. Find the website or list of rules that specifically permits drone use in the area / park / public land etc you want to fly from. Print out that page and carry it with you, along with your license and the same information regarding the airspace you are located in.

Presumably you at least look at a map of your airspace and know and follow the airspace rules for a given location? Why treat the ground any differently?

Sometimes you can’t get an “affirmative” permission from a standing set of rules for a given spot. In that case you need to seek permission from the land management authority. My experience has affirmed your observation that mostly people will say “no!” And the reason for this is they are protecting themselves; it’s simply safer for them to say no than say yes, when no rule has yet been established. There are various ways to solve this problem which I won’t get into here. Suffice to say, as a rather obvious rule of thumb, if the landowner says no, then don’t fly. Only fly in public areas with paperwork that shows you are allowed to do it. When the public Karen complains to the ignorant Park Ranger and he approaches you, it is most satisfying to produce proof that you are flying legally. If you don’t have that paperwork, the ignorant Park Ranger / policeman etc will err on the side of public safety and turf you off their land.

 

[dave canada]

living in a small town and rural area does have its advantages ,most of the people are intrested in drones than not. And not any I know see them as an invasion

 

[RangerEd]

In drones the genera rule of better ask forgiveness than permission applies. Think of it as just doing photos with a hand held camera, you'd only ask permission to take portraits, but not to do landscapes, which is basically what you do with the drone.

Whenever you ask permission on anything drone related you'll always find a person that will say "no", and in general it doesn't matter what they say because no one has a clue of the rules except the specific drone police patrols (which exist in Spain, for example) and the pilots that invested their time reading the rules.

You must know all the rules that apply for any specific flight perfectly (specially when travelling to other countries), else you won't be able to successfully hit&run.

Know the rules, don't make you an easy target, don't ask for unnecessary permission, takeoff from remote areas and fly wherever you want with a hacked Mavic 3 (no RID/Aeroscope), and if you are caught don't confront, don't argue, don't try to be a macho, just play the dumb a bit, and bye bye to fly another day.

The alternative is just leaving the drone in the bag/shelf forever, sell it second hand or limit yourself to fly it VLOS, like an RC plane, on a designated area.

That's also a good way to go to jail in a foreign country.

 

[TheRock]

It is Philippines where "several thousand pesos" is a lot of money to a guide but at 50+ pesos to the dollar, it could have just been $40 (roughly 2000 pesos). I would have said let's do it and paid. It is really hard to get out there. It would have been worth it. There probably is some sort of charge for flying around a historic site in the PI and Corregador seems to have it's own set of challenges just to get there. The concession for tours there was shut down for months and then there's always the waves in Manila Bay that make it a bouncy journey during windy season that often leads to cancellations. So if you get the chance again, I'd say pay it.

 

[TX Steve]

We had this tour of corregador Island in Manila bay planned for a couple of weeks.

I would have loved to see drone videos from Corregidor. My dad was there on May 6th 1942 :-(

 

[icecoldgin]

For what it is worth, here is a drone video of Corregidor done by, presumably, a foreigner (unless this is just an alias) ...

I don't know what happened to him though and if he was caught, fined, punished or what not.

 

[TX Steve]

For what it is worth, here is a drone video of Corregidor done by, presumably, a foreigner (unless this is just an alias) ...

I don't know what happened to him though and if he was caught, fined, punished or what not.

Thanks, it looks so peaceful now, no bomb holes or broken trees.

 

[icecoldgin]

Thanks, it looks so peaceful now, no bomb holes or broken trees.

Very nice place. Beaches are clean and the water sparkling clear.

 

[TX Steve]

Very nice place. Beaches are clean and the water sparkling clear.

My dad wouldn't talk about his time there, there were a lot of guys that did not come home from there. I was surprised about how much the Pilipino people still today honor all that were lost there and Bataan.

 

[Octavio]

In drones the genera rule of better ask forgiveness than permission applies. Think of it as just doing photos with a hand held camera, you'd only ask permission to take portraits, but not to do landscapes, which is basically what you do with the drone.

Whenever you ask permission on anything drone related you'll always find a person that will say "no", and in general it doesn't matter what they say because no one has a clue of the rules except the specific drone police patrols (which exist in Spain, for example) and the pilots that invested their time reading the rules.

You must know all the rules that apply for any specific flight perfectly (specially when travelling to other countries), else you won't be able to successfully hit&run.

Know the rules, don't make you an easy target, don't ask for unnecessary permission, takeoff from remote areas and fly wherever you want with a hacked Mavic 3 (no RID/Aeroscope), and if you are caught don't confront, don't argue, don't try to be a macho, just play the dumb a bit, and bye bye to fly another day.

The alternative is just leaving the drone in the bag/shelf forever, sell it second hand or limit yourself to fly it VLOS, like an RC plane, on a designated area.

What I do. 1st I need to know the UAV regulations for the Country and I also use the UAV Forecast App. This App allows us to see the Airspace Map and Forecast of the area we intend to fly.
Manila Bay is a restricted area, because of the Airports and Runways in the area just like Singapore is loaded with Runways.

 

[Felix le Chat]

We had this tour of corregador Island in Manila bay planned for a couple of weeks. I asked the travel agent if I could fly my drone there. She didn't know. I took my drone with me. After an hour, I asked the tour guide if I could fly my drone. He said no, that would cost several thousand pesos. What money has to do with it is beyond me. Anyway, it would have been a great place to fly, and i know I will never take that tour again. I should of made sure I could fly, in writing, before I booked the tour. It was ok, but not great like it could of been had I flown my drone.

A lot of the time you'll find this is down to tour guides/ operators seeing the opportunity to make extra bucks, I've come across instances where some of these private businesses insist you have to pay for a local drone pilot to oversee you in addition to their putting a hand in your wallet for "permission".

 

[Droning on and on...]

This discussion reminds me of a time decades ago in Cozumel, Mexico where a buddy and I encountered one of these situations having to do with riding around on motor scooters.

Naive me, I was struggling over whether I would be nailed for offering a bribe, or nailed for not. It's a dilemma.

Fortunately my friend was fluent in Spanish, and a regular visitor to Mexico. We paid up, and were on our way.

 

[TheRock]

For what it is worth, here is a drone video of Corregidor done by, presumably, a foreigner (unless this is just an alias) ...

I don't know what happened to him though and if he was caught, fined, punished or what not.

Thanks for that look. No one was there that day apparently. We tried in November 2023 and were told the concession license was active and no one could go out there. Maybe this guy was able to go during that down time, which was 6 months I was told. Very historic place.