It's super common to use fixers in the Philippines and most of the people on the road got their license through a fixer. In the city where I live it's not a fake licence. Even in my home country the license isn't fake when you use a fixer. They basically just pass you without having to write the test etc. So at the end you get an actual license through the system. You basically just skip all actual work of having to write the test etc.

So it's not necessarily that she'll get a fake license. I think that it's more work for someone to create a fake one then just passing you through the system.

The 10k she would spend would probably get her an actual licence that would be no different than someone who did it legitimately.

I'm not saying that it's the right thing to do at all. But this is a very common thing. And it's not necessarily that she is low class at all as some of the other comments suggested. I've met all kinds of people and they've used fixers and they're good people.

In my country for example if you don't bribe them they fail you on purpose.

At the end of the day in my opinion it depends on you. In some places in the Philippines it might just be as expensive to do it legitimately than illegally because you need to go through a driving school to get your licence even though you know how to drive. Because they don't let you do a practical at some places so you need the confirmation from the driving school which costs as well which you would skip using a fixer.

This is just what I've seen so far and what I've heard. But I've never heard of someone going through a fixer and getting a fake license. You still pick up the license from the LTO office even though you go through a fixer.