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When is the Best Time to Visit the Philippines?

The Philippines basically has three seasons: Hot, Rainy and Cold. How they define Cold, to someone from the UK, is a little puzzling though ;) Cold Season: December to February Hot Season: March to May Rainy Season: June to November

The Seasons in The Philippines

The Philippines basically has three seasons: Hot, Rainy and Cold.

How they define Cold, to someone from the UK, is a little puzzling though 😉

Cold Season: December to February
Hot Season: March to May
Rainy Season: June to November

However, the above is not always correct, and can even vary by location in the Philippines.

For example: on the Eastern side, near Samar etc., it is normally the rain season from December to March.

The state weather bureau, PAGASA, announced on June 23 2015, that the rainy season had begun and that it may continue until September. Usually, the rainy season in the Philippines begins in late May. (Rainy season is declared with at least 5 days of rain generating a total amount of 25 millimeters (mm) of rainfall. At least 3 days must be consecutive rain days with 1 millimeter (mm) of rainfall)

Average approx monthly rainfall in the Philippines:

July : 260-275mm
August : 260-275mm
September : 260-275mm
October : 260-275mm

June : 245mm
November : 245mm

May : 170-180mm
December : 170-180mm

January : 135mm

February : 80-90mm
March : 80-90mm
April : 80-90mm

Holiday Seasons for Hotels etc., in the Philippines :

High Season (5 months: Dec–Apr)
Shoulder Season (2 months: May & Nov)
Low Season (4 months: Jun–Sep)

Not sure where October went from the above list 😉

Typhoon Season in the Philippines

The typhoon season is normally July to October

Climate of the Philippines at PAGASA

http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/index.php/climate-of-the-philippines

Philippines Special Work Permit

Special Work Permit (SWP)

A Special Work Permit is not a Visa, but a temporary permit that allows a Visitor Visa holder the ability to do limited work in the Philippines. The holder is responsible for keeping his temporary visitor’s visa valid during his or her stay in the country.

The SWP is normally issued for 3 months and can then be renewed once for a further three months.

http://www.immigration.gov.ph/services/special-permits/special-work-permit-commercial

Other Working Visas for the Philippines:

Pre-Arranged Employees (Commercial) visa (9G)

Any foreign national wishing to work in the Philippines must obtain a valid work visa, called the 9(G) visa

a Pre-Arranged Employees (Commercial) visa under Section 9 (g) and Section 20 of the Commonwealth Act No. 613 or Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 (PIA). This is a working visa that allows employers or proprietors [in the Philippines] to employ foreign nationals with skills, qualifications and experience that may be short in supply in the Philippines.

http://www.immigration.gov.ph/faqs/visa-inquiry/pre-arranged-employee-visa

Provisional Permit to Work (PPW)

The PPW is issued to foreigners who have an application for a 9G Visa in process. The issuance of a PPW allows a Visa holder to work while waiting for the 9G visa to be issued.

http://www.immigration.gov.ph/services/special-permits/provisional-work-permit

Alien Employment Permit:

An Alien Employment Permit is a document issued by the Department of Labor and Employment which authorizes a foreign national, with a valid visa, to work in the Philippines.

http://www.ble.dole.gov.ph/faqs.asp

Balikbayan Visa and Return Air-ticket Requirement

Does a Visitor to the Philippines need a Return Ticket if they are Married to a Philippine Citizen

A Balikbayan Visa holder, is a person who gets a special Passport stamp to allow them to stay in the Philippines, for one year, if they are married to a Philippine Citizen. They get this stamp on ENTRY into the Philippines, not before.

Most visitors to the Philippines normally need a Return or onward air-ticket before being allowed to fly into the Philippines. (I have read that the airline faces a $1,000 penalty if a passenger is found to be not holding an onward ticket)

Most airlines will NOT give return tickets up to a one year period.

So, does a Balikbayan Visa holder need a Return Air-ticket ? And if so, how ?

There are many questions on this, on various Internet Forums etc, going back for years, with various different answers.

A quote from the Philippine Consulate states:

Under the Balikbayan Law, a Filipino citizen’s (including dual citizens and former Filipinos) foreign spouse and children are entitled to a visa-free entry to the Philippines and visa-free stay for a period of one (1) year, provided they enter the Philippines with the said Filipino and they have a return air travel ticket.
http://www.philippineconsulate.com.au/dual-citizenship/introduction-note.html

This does appear to be the legal viewpoint.

Yes. You do appear to NEED a return/onward ticket.

Clark Airport Metered Taxis

Metered taxi at Clark International Airport

The rate for a metered taxi at Clark International Airport is currently 70 pesos flag plus 4 pesos for each 300 metres.

This appears to be a new attempt at bringing in metered taxis in the area, but with many people expecting it will revert back to the very expensive non metered taxi service after the APEC meetings in the Philippines end again.

Most Expensive Median Home Prices in Philippines 2014

Top Ten Most Expensive Median Home Prices in Philippines 2014

Results from Lamudi Philippines show these subdivisions have the most expensive median home prices from their sales records.

Location and Median house price PHP and Australia$

1. Forbes Park, Makati – Php382.9 million A$11,965,625
2. Urdaneta Village, Makati – Php236.3 million A$ 7,384,375
3. Dasmariñas Village, Makati – Php200 million A$ 6,250,000
4. Corinthian Gardens, Quezon City – Php155 million A$ 4,843,750
5. Greenhills, San Juan – Php134 million A$ 4,187,500
6. Bel-Air Village, Makati – Php80 million A$ 2,500,000
7. San Lorenzo Village, Makati – Php76 million A$ 2,375,000
8. Valle Verde, Pasig – Php64 million A$ 2,000,000
9. Ayala Alabang Village, Muntilupa – Php57 million A$ 1,781,250
10. Magallanes Village, Makati – Php35 million A$ 1,093,750

www.lamudi.com.ph/journal/metro-manilas-expensive-subdivisions-buy-home

Report dated November 2014

A$ conversion at Oct 2015 FX rates

Condo Sizes in the Philippines

Size of the average Condo Sizes in the Philippines

You see many adverts for Condos for Sale or Rent in the Philippines.

Condos for Holiday Accommodation can be good, but how suitable are these Condos for normal living. How big or small are they ?

I’ve seen adverts saying “suitable for a family of 4, with a size of 25sqm”
or “Spacious for two people with 24 sqm”

Maybe that works for some people, but I know it is tight for others.

My own last home (Australia) was 210 sqm for two people, and it felt about right, not too big, not too small.
My current accommodation is tight at just 70sqm for two people, but I did stay in a 22 sqm meter unit recently, but just for a few days. Although many families were living in that Condo block very happily.

Why the difference ?

It comes down to what we are used to as we grow up.

The average home sizes in each country will give an indication to how well a person may settle in a certain size condo.

Average Home Sizes (Floor Area) in square metres

214.6 Australia
201.5 United States
196.2 New Zealand
137.0 Denmark
126.4 Greece
119.0 Belgium
115.5 Netherlands
112.5 France
109.2 Germany
104.1 Luxembourg
96.6 Spain
96.0 Austria
87.7 Ireland
87.1 Finland
83.0 Sweden
82.2 Portugal
81.5 Italy
76.0 United Kingdom

The above figures were from 2013 at www.britzinoz.com/house-size-comparison-uk-aus to show the difference in home sizes between Australia and the UK. No figures for Philippines unfortunately.

It does show though that someone from the UK would be happier with a smaller space than someone from Australia, New Zealand or the USA

How many people live in an average home:

Philippines:
average household size was 4.6 persons

UK
average household size was 2.4 persons

USA
average household size was 2.6 persons

Australia
average household size was 2.6 persons

New Zealand
average household size was 2.7 persons

Back Office Boss, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Back Office Boss

901 Filinvest One Building,
Northgate Cyberzone
Alabang-Zapote Road corner Northgate Avenue
Filinvest,
Alabang,
Muntinlupa City 1781

Contact:

Tel: 02-737-9060
Mob: 0908-890-1234 Smart
Mob: 0917-890-1239 Globe
Email:
Web:

Details:

Local and export courier service in the Philippines

Naia Personnel Planting Things in Peoples Baggage

Two Passengers had Bullets planted in Luggage and asked to pay at Manila Airport

September 2015

An American passenger in a wheelchair was asked for 500 pesos after an Office of Transportation Security [OTS] member “found” a 22 calibre bullet in her bags at X-ray, and she paid up so she could catch her flight back to California.

A 20 year old American missionary was asked for 30,000 pesos after an OTS member “found” a 22 calibre bullet in his bags at X-Ray.

Two OTS members; a woman who frisked passengers and a man who operated the X-ray machine, have been suspended to face an investigation.

Story at: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/724782/another-naia-flyer-complains-bullet-in-bag-planted

An American missionary has accused security personnel at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) of placing a bullet in his luggage and using the “planted” contraband to extort P30,000 from him.
Because he refused to pay up, 20-year-old Lane Michael White of Florida spent six days in jail and got out only on Tuesday after posting a P40,000 bail.

Causing him all this trouble was the .22-caliber bullet found in his bag in the morning of Sept. 17, when he and his family were scheduled to take a flight to Coron, Palawan. He ended up being charged with illegal possession of ammunition before Pasay City Judge Pedro Gutierrez.

White was the second foreigner in a week to make such allegations against airport personnel manning the X-ray scanner at the departure area, where members of Naia’s Office of Transportation Security (OTS) are assigned.

Earlier, a wheelchair-bound American woman said she had to give P500 to an OTS member just to be cleared for her flight back to California. Like in White’s case, two .22-caliber bullets were found in one of the pockets of her luggage.
White returned to the airport on Wednesday to recount his ordeal at the Media Affairs Office. He was expected to lodge a complaint against OTS personnel.

OTS spokesman Jonathan Maliwat on Wednesday said he was not yet aware of White’s case.

On the case of the American woman, Maliwat earlier said the two OTS members she cited—a woman who frisked passengers and a man who operated the X-ray machine—had been suspended to face an investigation.

Losing Weight with Coffee

Can you lose weight with drinking Coffee ?

This is not an advert or endorsement for any stupid weight loss system.

This is an actual story for ONE person, altthough maybe it wasnt JUST the coffee change

After gaining 10kgs in weight from a trip to Australia, the land of good food and big steaks, it appeared hard to reduce back down from the 50kg to the previous 40kg.

However, a slight change in diet has removed 5kg in about 5 weeks.

Changing Coffee from the nromal 3 in 1 to the San Mig Super Coffee, with splenda instead of sugar appears to have made a difference, and only with 3 cups per day.

However, a change from fruit juices (the packet mixes) down to water, may also have helped.

It may be woirth trying if the taste is OK for you.

There are three flavour strengths: Mild, Original and Strong, although we have only seen the Original. And that one is in a different packaging to the ones on the San Mig website:

FX Rates Historic from 1965 AUD-PHP

AUD – PHP Foreign Exchange Rates

The following average Exchange Rates for the Australian Dollar to the Philippine Peso show a remarkable change from 1965 to 1995:

Current Rates can be seen at the Bottom of the Page.

Year	Average AUD/PHP
1960	2.2568
1961	2.2624
1962	4.1752
1963	4.3797
1964	4.3792
1965	4.3783
1966	4.3680
1967	4.3680
1968	4.3680
1969	4.3680
1970	6.6129
1971	7.3086
1972	7.9580
1973	9.5832
1974	9.7576
1975	9.4751
1976	9.0940
1977	8.2062
1978	8.4271
1979	8.3703
1980	8.8627
1981	10.6944
1982	9.5917
1983	10.9063
1984	15.4441
1985	12.2162
1986	12.3809
1987	13.3740
1988	18.2596
1989	18.2222
1990	17.8713
1991	23.6121
1992	19.4310
1993	19.0642
1994	18.1590
1995	17.9385
1996	21.2522
1997	24.2135
1998	25.4064
1999	27.6564
2000	26.9527
2001	26.4897
2002	28.0642
2003	35.4473
2004	41.2998
2005	41.9612
2006	38.6250
2007	38.5697
2008	37.6604
2009	37.7268
2010	41.4451
2011	44.6948
2012	43.7269
2013	41.0251
2014	40.0749

Current Australian Dollar to Philippines Peso FX rate

Coron Backpacker Guesthouse, Coron, Palawan

Coron Backpacker Guesthouse

Coron-Busuanga Road,
Opposite Dive Cal.
Busuanga
Coron
Palawan
5316

Contact:

Telephone: 0916 4004 871
Mobile:
Email:
Web:

Details:

Guesthouse. Help with Visa Renewal etc.

Chris Sports, Angeles City, Pampanga

Chris Sports

SM City Clark
M Roxas Street
CSEZ
Angeles City
Pampanga
2009

Contact:

Telephone: 045 499 0124
Mobile:
Email:
Web:

Details:

Sports Equipment

List of Barangay Captains and Contacts in Cebu City

List of Barangay captains and phone numbers in Cebu City

There are 80 Barangays in Cebu City, and contact numbers for the Captain of each of these Barangays can be found at:

www.cebucity.gov.ph/barangays–brgy-officials

Correct at time of page publication in Sept 2015

Number of Regions, Provinces, Cities, Municipalities and Barangays

At 2014 there were 42,208 Barangays in the Philippines

These were divided up between:

1,490 Municipalities
144 Cities
81 Provinces
17 Regions

Arrival Tax at Philippine Airports

Is there an Arrival Tax at Manila and Cebu Airports

This question crops crops up at times, and the answer has always been:

There is no Arrivals Tax, only the departure taxes.

You can see current Travel Tax rates at: www.tieza.gov.ph/index.php/travel-tax/travel-tax-rates

Current Philippines Departure Tax is:

P1,620 + 200 (certificate fee) for Economy Class

and

P2,700 + 200 (certificate fee) for First Class

Who pays the Philippines Departure Tax?

1. Citizens of the Philippines
2. Taxable Foreign Passport Holders
3. Non-immigrant foreign passport holders who have stayed in the Philippines for more than one (1) year
More: www.tieza.gov.ph/index.php/travel-tax

Oculus Archery Range, Angeles City, Pampanga

Oculus Archery Range

Back of Mountain Clark Firing Range
15-29 Don Jose Street,
Don Bonifacio Subdivision,
Pulung Maragul,
Angeles City
Pampanga

Contact:

Tel:
Mob: 0917 587 0530
Email:
Web:

Details:

Archery

Mountain Clark Firing Range, Angeles City, Pampanga

Mountain Clark Firing Range

15-29 Don Jose Street,
Don Bonifacio Subdivision,
Pulung Maragul,
Angeles City
Pampanga

Contact:

Tel: 045 625-0389
Mob: 0905-343-2412
Email:
Web: www.mountainclarkfiringrange.com

Details:

Range Hours:
Monday to Sunday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Guns Available with rental prices at August 2015

Beretta 92 FS Pistol 9mm 15 Rounds Php 500
Colt 1911 Pistol 45 Caliber 8 Rounds Php 500
Glock 17 Pistol 9mm 17 Rounds Php 500
Para Ordnance P16.40 Pistol 40 Caliber 16 Rounds Php 500
Taurus Revolver 357 6 Rounds Php 500
Colt M16 Rifle 5.56 30 Rounds Php 1,000
Para Ordnance Pistol Super 38 16 Rounds Php 1,000
Uzi Machine Pistol 9mm 25 Rounds Php 1,000

Marriage, Birth Certificate or CENOMAR for Australian Migration

Originals of Marriage, Birth and Single Certificates for Australia Immigration

When applying for Migration to Australia the requirements for some Visas include the Birth Certificate and Marriage or CENOMAR Certificates.

The online application process includes an option to upload these documents, which is easy to do by scanning them in.
However, many applicants receive an email to ask for these again, at some stage during the process

If we read the Embassy webpage on this subject, we can see why:

Applying for a marriage / birth certificate or CENOMAR from the National Statistics Office?

Clients should only apply for an NSO document(s), once a visa application has been submitted, and at the request of a case officer.

Clients need to include a file number or Health (HAP ID) number when applying for an NSO document. See, applying for NSO documents. The documents are sent directly to the Australian Embassy in Manila. This ensures that the most recent and complete information is provided from NSO and avoids additional checks on individually submitted documents which may lead to a delay in the processing of the application.

Please note that we only accept NSO documents obtained using this process.

There is a standard process for submitting Philippines Statistics Authority (formerly National Statistics Office or NSO) documents such as birth or marriage certificates.

Please note that we only accept PSA documents obtained using the process outlined below. If the documents are not obtained through this method, there are likely to be delays in processing and the application may result in a refusal for non-compliance.

https://philippines.embassy.gov.au/mnla/National_Statistics_Office2.html

The parts in red may help to understand what is expected.

Also, please read this:

What is a CENOMAR

A Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR) is a certification issued by the Philippines NSO stating that a person has not contracted any marriage. Also called a certificate of No Record of Marriage or Certificate of Singleness.

A single person is someone who has never been married, or is annulled void ab initio, (not valid in law to start with).
An Unmarried person is someone who was previously married and was divorced or widowed.

https://psa.gov.ph/civilregistration/requesting-civil-registry-document/cenomar