Hello fellow Spark and other drone users as well!
I'll be traveling to the Philippines this May, and I was wandering what the drone laws are over there?
Should I get a permit for a recreational drone (not commercial) from the philippine CAA or something?
Should I mark my drone in any way?
Would customs make trouble for me bringing it in or taking it out?

Thanks!

Also, as I'll be passing through Hong Kong, I'd be happy if anyone knows the answers to those questions for there as well.
Thanks everyone!

Drones are allowed in the Philippines but there are a number of restrictions - the important ones are: not at night time, not within 30M of people, no higher than 400’ AGL, not within a 10KM radius of anywhere that manned aircraft take off and land, not over congested/residential areas and in VLOS. Check their aviation authority website for permits.

http://www.chordie.com/forum/profile.php?id=863026

https://www.uavsystemsinternatio ... ippines-drone-laws/

Going to throw this/these in because i have a great affinity for the 7,000+ island nation.
If you are going to fly anywhere but a public park you will need the documents listed in the photo iv'e posted. (the photo was taken at the entrance to intamuros/fort santiago)
Inside a public park such as luneta, rizal park or paco park, you need permission from the park office, in my case and if you do, find the park office like where you would go to put on a display, free concert, protest, or group gathering.
You can get a permit to fly as long as you state the time-frame you will be doing so 1pm to 2 pm or 10am to 6pm, just a rough time frame of a few hours, and also you will have to be held accountable for any accidents (falling out of the sky onto someone/damaging park property due to crash). You will have to renew a permit given to fly in public parks each day you want to fly there, so find the office early, and keep the permit handy because you will need it every security guard that sees you will ask you for it, and not to mention they will see the group of kids and adults watching you fly.
These photos are from luneta, rizal park in manila and from the city of tanay rizal.
Hope you post yours here when you go so we can see them.

Hongkong seems to be easy. Till now.
Phils I have no idea, right now

In the PH, if you are not in a city such as a province.... there is no law regarding where to fly it and at what height. in the city however such as manila. just make sure you are following the very same rules in america  since it is full of gents.

Hi, there. Please check the local regulation before flight and you can read the info and NFZ from our website: https://www.dji.com/flysafe?site=brandsite&from=footer Thanks for your support.

Thanks everyone, but must say I'm more confused than before... seems like some contradicting answers...

warubikku Posted at 2018-2-7 10:21
Going to throw this/these in because i have a great affinity for the 7,000+ island nation.
If you are going to fly anywhere but a public park you will need the documents listed in the photo iv'e posted. (the photo was taken at the entrance to intamuros/fort santiago)
Inside a public park such as luneta, rizal park or paco park, you need permission from the park office, in my case and if you do, find the park office like where you would go to put on a display, free concert, protest, or group gathering.

Amazing photos!!! THANKS!

Well looky what I got here!
I corresponded with the CAAP on Facebook and they sent me this treasure.
Bringing a drone into, and flying it in the Philippines for non-commercial purposes requires NO CERTIFICATE AT ALL!
and it's official!
I'll print that and bring it with me to the Philippines just in case.

djiuser_Kf4iPA3DtL3S Posted at 2018-2-19 03:07
Well looky what I got here!
I corresponded with the CAAP on Facebook and they sent me this treasure.
Bringing a drone into, and flying it in the Philippines for non-commercial purposes requires NO CERTIFICATE AT ALL!

If you are reading that correctly...it is stating the fact about "bringing in or importation"...and for customs not to secure and "import or clearance" permit.
it says it in huge letters AUTHORIZATION for the importation of drones...
Did you browse PCAR regulations part 11;11.11?
I know for a fact you need a permit to fly in some places, that's why i posted the sign that i saw at the entrance to intramuros.... I'm not trying to debate, i just dont want you to have a headache or get the run around by the pulis or security somewhere who may or may not try to fine you. (not saying all the philippines pulis or security is bad or anything, just giving you a heads up)

warubikku Posted at 2018-2-19 05:53
If you are reading that correctly...it is stating the fact about "bringing in or importation"...and for customs not to secure and "import or clearance" permit.
it says it in huge letters AUTHORIZATION for the importation of drones...
Did you browse PCAR regulations part 11;11.11?

Yes, I read the PCAR regulation mentioned here, it was attached to the document they sent me. I just didn't upload it.
Basically it says that if you fly non-commercially, you don't need any registration or documentation. Of course you have to abide by the regular rules that exist in all other countries e.g. VLOS, no flying at night, altitude limit etc.
I'm aware that in some places e.g. national parks and such you need to abide by the instructions of the people who run the place. Again, that's not different from other countries.

In the Philippines, you will need to fly your drone:

at a maximum altitude of 122 m above the ground.
at least 30 m from people or large crowds & respect individuals' privacy.
at least 10 km away from airports.
away from areas where its use could interfere with police or first responders.
fly within day light & within your sight at all times.

I've made a blog about full rules, hope this helps!

Hi,

Just a hint: aside from marking your drone with your address/phone number, it is a good idea to put a text file like "address.txt" on the bird's SD card with your contact data (hotels, place where you stay while you are in the country).

Cheers,
Wolferl

Registering or Getting a Certificate to fly your Drone here in the Philippines "IS NO LONGER REQUIRED" AS AMENDED BY THE (CAAP Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines: Memorandum 2018). As long as you will use your drone for Personal use like YouTube Footages, FB post, Twitter Tweets, and not for Commercial Use (Like Making Hollywood Movies), then you can bring your drone here without any tax, and you can fly it so long as you follow the flight guidelines like:  -    Shall be used for hobby and recreational only; -    Shall be used within a community base organization’s safety standard; -    Shall be used 10km. radius away from Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP); -    Shall operate within 400ft. Above Ground Level (AGL); -    Shall stay clear of populated area;  -    Shall not operate RPAS in a controlled or prohibited airspace; -    Shall not operate night flying; -    Shall ask permission to the local authority; -    Shall operate within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS); and -    Always yield to manned aircraft;

warubikku Posted at 2-7 10:21
Going to throw this/these in because i have a great affinity for the 7,000+ island nation.
If you are going to fly anywhere but a public park you will need the documents listed in the photo iv'e posted. (the photo was taken at the entrance to intamuros/fort santiago)
Inside a public park such as luneta, rizal park or paco park, you need permission from the park office, in my case and if you do, find the park office like where you would go to put on a display, free concert, protest, or group gathering.

This Poster is already amended buddy. CAAP Certification is for Commercial Drones only...  Registering or Getting a Certificate to fly your Drone here in the Philippines "IS NO LONGER REQUIRED" AS AMENDED BY THE (CAAP Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines: Memorandum 2018). As long as you will use your drone for Personal use like YouTube Footages, FB post, Twitter Tweets, and not for Commercial Use (Like Making Hollywood Movies), then you can bring your drone here without any tax, and you can fly it so long as you follow the flight guidelines like:

-    Shall be used for hobby and recreational only;
-    Shall be used within a community base organization’s safety standard;
-    Shall be used 10km. radius away from Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP);
-    Shall operate within 400ft. Above Ground Level (AGL);
-    Shall stay clear of populated area;
-    Shall not operate RPAS in a controlled or prohibited airspace;
-    Shall not operate night flying;
-    Shall ask permission to the local authority;
-    Shall operate within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS); and
-    Always yield to manned aircraft;

djiuser_Kf4iPA3DtL3S Posted at 2-21 06:04
Yes, I read the PCAR regulation mentioned here, it was attached to the document they sent me. I just didn't upload it.
Basically it says that if you fly non-commercially, you don't need any registration or documentation. Of course you have to abide by the regular rules that exist in all other countries e.g. VLOS, no flying at night, altitude limit etc.
I'm aware that in some places e.g. national parks and such you need to abide by the instructions of the people who run the place. Again, that's not different from other countries.

YOU ARE PERFECTLY RIGHT ON THAT BRO... Registering or Getting a Certificate to fly your Drone here in the Philippines "IS NO LONGER REQUIRED" AS AMENDED BY THE (CAAP Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines: Memorandum 2018). As long as you will use your drone for Personal use like YouTube Footages, FB post, Twitter Tweets, and not for Commercial Use (Like Making Hollywood Movies), then you can bring your drone here without any tax, and you can fly it so long as you follow the flight guidelines like:

-    Shall be used for hobby and recreational only;
-    Shall be used within a community base organization’s safety standard;
-    Shall be used 10km. radius away from Aerodrome Reference Point (ARP);
-    Shall operate within 400ft. Above Ground Level (AGL);
-    Shall stay clear of populated area;
-    Shall not operate RPAS in a controlled or prohibited airspace;
-    Shall not operate night flying;
-    Shall ask permission to the local authority;
-    Shall operate within Visual Line of Sight (VLOS); and
-    Always yield to manned aircraft;

Shockwave29 Posted at 12-29 09:34
This Poster is already amended buddy. CAAP Certification is for Commercial Drones only...  Registering or Getting a Certificate to fly your Drone here in the Philippines "IS NO LONGER REQUIRED" AS AMENDED BY THE (CAAP Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines: Memorandum 2018). As long as you will use your drone for Personal use like YouTube Footages, FB post, Twitter Tweets, and not for Commercial Use (Like Making Hollywood Movies), then you can bring your drone here without any tax, and you can fly it so long as you follow the flight guidelines like:

-    Shall be used for hobby and recreational only;

So when you are saying the "poster" do you mean the sign at the entrance to the part of intramuros i posted?...because i am 1,000% sure you cannot fly there without a caap license, then permission from the park office itself.

I went to caap and also rizal park in november and have this documentation.

As already stated you need permission from the parks office to fly there but now they have changed the rulings so that to fly in any of the parks there you must have a caap license, whether it be for recreation or not, you cannot fly in a national park without having a caap license.

The other photos just copy what you guys have been saying yea, if you are just on your street or something, you can fly for fun till whenever you want, with no permit or license.

Or hell even in a public place like some big open unused lots, they don't care if you fly, and most of the security is pretty chill about it.

How do i get a CAAP license. It clearly states that license/permit are not required to fly a drone unless it's 7kg or more and for commercial use. I Just got my new drone, I'm pretty much scared to fly it anywhere because of the rules and requirements needed just to fly. Can you please enligthen me