This is merely an observation, i wondered if others had noticed it. Living in a rural area it`s plain to see the local economy dominated by planting and cropping, people plant, often supported by credit at 30% per crop, suddenly hardware stores go quiet, Tricy and Jeepney owners see a drop in revenue and the lines at Jollibee are shorter. Crop and hardware stores boom, the malls are full, not many buying though, and it`s "one day millionaire" only to start the cycle again!

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OSLO - A microfinance non-governmental organization in the Philippines revealed in a study that one out of 10 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) ends up broke even after years of working abroad to provide a better life for their families.
The study made by the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships Inc. (SEDPI) also showed that most or around 80% of Filipinos working abroad overspend on investments on houses and home improvements.

Also, 8 out of 10 do not have savings and are unable to prepare for their retirement or return to the country and are caught in a cycle of debt and poverty.

The study also showed that only 5% save a fixed amount regularly and about 15% save monthly but not with a fixed amount.

These worrying statistics was told to ABS-CBN Europe at SEDPI's financial literacy seminar for Filipino workers in Oslo, Norway last November 5.

According to Vincent Rapisura, CEO of SEDPI, it is a sad phenomenon that OFWs do not enjoy financial stability despite years of working abroad.

Pressures from family members for regular remittances and investing in idle assets (such as houses) have contributed to bankruptcy and financial insecurity for most OFWs.

He also told the participants of the seminar, mostly those working as au pairs in Oslo that it is important to set boundaries when it comes to sending remittances.

"Ginagawa kayong insurance ng inyong pamilya di ba?" he asked.

He also has three pieces of advice to Filipinos who are working abroad or are planning to work abroad.

First, they must make their goal for going abroad very clear and discuss this with their family. If the goal is to send the children to school, the OFW should be able to go home after this goal is achieved. Another is to learn the discipline of saving money and lastly, acquire insurance cover to prepare for eventualities.

Continued >>>>>

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Let's see how this works in implementation & enforcement. Expats start wearing yours 24/7 now.

(The Philippine Star) Updated April 12, 2010 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo has signed the Mandatory Helmet Act of 2010 that requires all motorcycle drivers and their passengers to wear helmets at all times and imposes stiff penalties on violators.

Republic Act 10054, authored by Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., is aimed at protecting motorcycle drivers, back-riders as well as pedestrians from injuries and death in accidents.

“From narrow streets to major thoroughfares, motorcycles and scooters are a common sight every day and night. Wearing helmets will greatly reduce fatalities in road accidents and would also (foster) a sense of discipline in all motorcycle riders,” he said.

Revilla said it took a long while to see his measure enacted into law. There are an estimated 3.5 million motorcycles registered in the country. “After more than two years of pushing this bill, our long wait is finally over,” Revilla said. “The passage of this measure will not be fulfilled if not for the support of our motorcyclists and the motorcycle manufacturers and dealers who are aware of the danger of not wearing a helmet.”

He said studies have show that good helmets and their proper use are estimated to be 37 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries and 67 percent effective in preventing brain damage to motorcycle drivers and their passengers.

Under the law, those who will be caught not wearing protective helmets face a minimum fine of P1,500 and a maximum penalty of P10,000.

The law requires the DTI to conduct mandatory tests on all locally manufactured and imported motorcycle helmets. They will be need to secure a Philippine Standard mark or an import clearance before they can sell and distribute their products or pay a fine of P10,000 to P20,000 if they violate the provision.

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May 10, 2012 9:10pm
Domestic passengers will no longer have to fall in line at the airport to pay their terminal fees. This is because the terminal fee will be incorporated in the ticket price issued by the airline to shorten the departure process at the domestic airport, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) announced Thursday.

“This will be an added convenience to our domestic passengers as one process will be taken out from the entire experience of checking in for a flight,” MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado said.

Honrado is set to sign next week a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Air Philippines, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, Seair, Sky Pasada, and Zest Air for the integration of the P200.00 terminal fee into the airline ticket.

The P200.00 terminal fee will be part of the total cost of airfare beginning August 1, 2012.

However, holders of tickets bought prior to this date will still have to pay the P200.00 terminal fee at the counters until the eventual phase out of its domestic terminal fee section.

This will benefit millions of passengers who travel via NAIA Terminals 2, 3 and 4. There were 8.43 million passengers who used these terminals in 2011 and 7.37 million in 2010, with Boracay being the most frequently visited destination.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/257769/economy/business/miaa-airport-terminal-fees-to-be-incorporated-in-airline-tickets

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I realise of course, that there are a number of members who are building their own property, but I am submitting this link to a website that deals with foreclosed properties and land throughout the Philippines. I thought that perhaps there might be members who are on the cusp of settling in the Philippines and may be looking for somewhere to buy. I also thought that, if nothing else, it would give the reader a reasonable feel for what their money can buy. There might even be a bargain!

I must stress though that I have absolutely no connection to this site whatsoever and have had no dealings with anyone individual or organization that is listed.

http://www.foreclosurephilippines.com/

Best regards to all

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85% of Filipinos satisfied with everyday freedoms

MANILA - Filipinos enjoy the best freedoms among the 20 Asian countries included in the recent 104-country study done by the London-based Legatum Institute in tandem with Gallup World Poll and other groups.

“Filipinos enjoy excellent freedom of movement, religion, and speech, and 85% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the freedoms afforded to them in their daily lives,” the poll found.

Japan was second and Taiwan third. In the bottom of the list was Pakistan.

“Freedom of movement, religion, and speech are strongly upheld in Japan,” according to the poll, “and fully 83% of respondents were satisfied with the freedoms afforded them in their daily lives.”

As for Taiwan, residents have many freedoms despite notable dissatisfaction with their daily affairs. Only 64% of respondents were satisfied with their personal freedoms.

Pakistan has the most restricted freedoms of all countries polled.

“In a setting of extreme political and regional instability, freedom of movement, religion, and speech are nearly non-existent in Pakistan,” the poll found.

Worldwide, Norwegians enjoy the best personal freedoms, followed by the Danes and the Canadians.

The freedom poll is part of the Legatum Prosperity Index 2009, which is a continuation of an annual ranking of 104 countries based on a number of prosperity-driving factors such as economic fundamentals, democratic institutions, governance, health, education, entrepreneurship and personal freedoms. (Newsbreak)

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/11/04/09/rps-freedoms-best-asia-poll

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Following the passage and the implementation of the R.A. 9439 or the Illegal Detention Law, the hospitals experienced and continues to experience a surge in the number of confined patients in private hospitals who insist on being discharged without paying their hospital bills and with just a promissory note, by invoking the provisions of this law. To dramatically illustrate this point, can anyone enter a restaurant, order food and drinks and leave with just a promissory note? Definitely not. Why then was this allowed in the hospital industry, where patients are given the necessary medicines, supplies, room and board and patient care and after ‘consuming’ all these goods and services these recipients of care can just walk away?

The resulting data is a testament of how detrimental this law has been to the hospitals. Out of ten (10) promissory notes issued by patients, only 1 out 10 or a mere 10% are fully paid, 3 out of 10 or only 30% are partially paid while the remaining 60% become bad debts. Many of these hospitals learn too late, that these patients are NPAs - with no permanent addresses.

This law also encouraged even a number of well-to-do patients who profess to be indigent to take advantage of the shelter provided under the Illegal Detention Law. This law significantly affected the collection of hospital accounts, raising the accounts receivables to a whopping 25%-30% of the revenues generated. This prompted hospitals to call this piece of legislation the “Killing Me Softly Law”.

As if this is not enough, lawsuits are also filed against hospitals by arrogant patients who misconstrue even a small delay in the discharge process as being held against their will for unpaid hospital bills.

The question that begs to be asked is “what has the government done to assist the hospitals on the unpaid promissory notes?”. The answer to this day – NOTHING AT ALL.

http://phablog-recorder.blogspot.com

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We all know how easy it is to get a huge box into the country. $60 USD and you can stuff in as much junk as you want and have delivered here it in 3-8 weeks.

But what about shipping that exact same box from Manila to the United States? This seems to be a great mystery. The company I used to get the box in says they only work one-way, coming back to the Philippines (hence the term "balikbayan").

The box is 75 pounds and measures 24" x 18" x 24'. My only idea so far is to call LBC, but it's 6:40 AM on Sunday morning so there will be no call to LBC for me.

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..... or Tweet it or Google + or any of the other things that are listed under 'SHARE' on every page.

Please spread the word about the site if you think others would find it helpful too.

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I'd love to go, but..............
we'd have to take a ferry or plane from CDO to Cebu
and then?
Bus to the "far north" or do we take our own car on the ferry from CDO?
And, if we bring our own car, can we take the car to Malapascua Island?
How long does this entire Odyssey take?

Keep smiling
Bob

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