Thanks for the replies guys, my original thread was about our PAL brothers getting a fair deal and what their company is doing about it. But hey... threads morhp!
About PAL, Air Phil and CFIT... I wouldn't know. The Cebu Pac comment was the most celebrated in recent years. Sorry e6b if you were offended.
License conversion around the world is fairly standard. ICAO member states allow conversions fairly easily, generally with an Air Law exam and a flight test. If you have a comprehensive ATPL (ie one where you have to really study for each subject like in Europe, Australia or Malaysia and not one you are given the answers to) the conversion is easy. The US ATP is VERY SIMPLE, the only difficult thing about it is getting clearance from TSA (Transportation Security Administration) due to 911. Otherwise when regulators get your application for a conversion, they get a correspondance (usually a fax) stating that the documents are in order and thats it. It seems like the Filipino regulator is trying to throw a spanner in the works or at least slow down the process. What it means for the Filipino pilot would be to do all the ATP subjects of the prospective country then a flight test if the regulator doesn't give clearance.
If there are any other suggestions... pls post!!