I never had anybody ask me to physically count the money, though I play safe so far, with keeping not more than 500$ or so in a separate wallet in my hand luggage bag. Once I did have about 1,000 S$ plus 15,000 peso, but then again, nobody asked me. If anybody asked, I was prepared to ask them how the fuck am I supposed to make their country richer without bringing in money to spend on their women .. (women ?? ok .. that is a wrong excuse, but you get the idea right ??? )
I heard the counting happens if you step in via Clark, I have only passed by T1/T2 and T3 and Manila (SQ/PR and Cebu Pac respectively)
There had been some unsubstantiated stories of the Philippines Central Bank (a-ka Customs) siezing the extra money, but I am not convinced.
It is a chicken and egg story. If you can't bring in money, how the fuck do you spend for your tourist expense ?? Damn .. only Filipinos can
Apparently, the ceiling of 10,000 peso was placed for anti-money laundering efforts, but then again, fuck all.
Legally, you must declare the extra money, if you bring in, though nobody says what will happen, say, if I declare 5,000 S$ for my one month stay .. As a matter of fact, a smart country should tell people with least amount of money to stay away .. damn .. it only happens in Philippines ...
Anyway, the safer bet is to use credit cards for major expense like hotel stay, and reduce the amount of liquid cash in hand, and use a bank that has corresponding counterpart agreement with your bank - like DBS and BPI, and always withdraw the maximum amount at one go..
BPI - Bank of Philippines Islands.
BTW, I like the following post, on another thread, about declaring money.
"Why people don't declare the extra money ? Because they don't want anyone to know! They do not trust any airline employee or enforcement agency. They assume that all Pinoys are crook and in conspiracy to get their money. Revealing how much money they have is like placing a $ sign in their foreheads, making them an easy target."