Since 2004, there has been a wave of
Brazilian models coming to the
Philippines for work. Many of these models are of
Japanese heritage. They look somewhat like Filipinos but with more "chiseled features", which has been an advantage to them in finding jobs in the Philippines. Brazilians are attracted to the modelling industry in the Philippines because, unlike other countries in the region such as Thailand and China, English is widely spoken. Photographers feel that Brazilian models are less inhibited than their Filipino counterparts, and reject accusations that race or ethnicity has anything to do with their hiring decisions. Brazilian models have been criticised by their domestic competitors for working at low fees, as little as P1,500 for a gig in comparison to typical local rates of P5,000 to P10,000 per show. The Professional Models Association of the Philippines has particularly been critical of the influx of Brazilian models. Models have to get permits from the Bureau of Immigration, and renew them every two months. In a few cases, BI officers have raided fashion shows and arrested models who were working illegally. In November 2010,
Phoemela Baranda also made public statements that the Philippines needed better laws to protect models against competition from Brazilians, and suggested imposing taxes on the employment of foreign models. However, other Filipino actors such as
Wendell Ramos,
Paolo Contis,
JC Tiuseco,
Aljur Abrenica, and
Mark Herras have stated that they are not concerned by the increased competition. ==Culture and organizations==