Lawyer Raphael Pangalangan called out foreigners from developed countries and their disgusting practice of “begpacking.”
Begpackers leech off the kindness of foreigners as they travel the world asking for cash donations so that they can continue their global adventures, often in developing nations like in Asia.
“They say it’s quite easy to become a begpacker. All you need is a pair of yoga pants, an instrument you can barely play, and an outstanding sense of entitlement. Having lived like kings never having heard of budgets, they blow their funds on cheap thrills and take to the streets to ask the locals to fund their gap year,” the abogado wrote in his Inquirer column.
“While this may seem harmless at first glance, ‘begpacking’ exposes the double standards of passport privilege and reveals the inherent inequalities in our global society,” Pangalangan added.
As Filipinos face the burden of visa requirements and fees and weather the odd scrutiny of Immigration officials, here come begpackers literally seeing the world despite not having enough funds to support their own journey.
“True enough, if the shoe were on the other foot, begpacking would be simply called ‘vagrancy’ where summary deportation and blacklisting proceedings would soon follow. But while all true and problematic in their own ways, the deeper ethical issue at play is the audacity of the well-off foreigner to beg alongside the homeless and poverty-stricken locals,” he added.
“When the white privileged ask for help, the tables have turned, the universe is turned upside down, and the beneficiary becomes the benefactor. Slave becomes Samaritan,” he said.
“Passport privilege has real life consequences for those on the losing end of this hierarchy. Opportunities for education, work, and personal growth are limited by the constraints of one’s passport,” the abogado pointed out. “The cumbersome and costly visa application process, coupled with the ever-present risk of rejection, serves as a barrier to social and economic mobility for countless individuals.”