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I too have these thoughts about my in laws and have said time and time and time again to my wife, that if I dont go 1st, I am not going to waste necessary funds that I will need for our two kids in the years ahead (I'm not a religious person), if you spend a lot of what you have now trying to keep and old person alive using what funds you have saved for your future, what are you going to do yourself when your worries came facts, this is no country to be walking past a bank and not being able to walk in, sure I have bought some medicines in the past and will of course again, but big big spends on in laws hospital stays and operations is a no no no (if hospitals or doctors see who is doing the paying, then be sure they will try to suck you dry)my wife and I have had several discussions/arguments about this, but as the years go by and she begins to see the things that us foreigners see and feel that is different in our cultures she too comments now on things before I do.

I guess what im saying in this tough tough time for you, not being so free with your money is not necessarily being greedy, I think that you are being very practical about it.

 

I would strongly suggest RENTING for at least a year, maybe 6 months if you've lived in PH for awhile.. Then you can decide for yourself. Everybody likes different places for different reasons and has different paranoias; gangs, terrorists, chickens, noisy ill-trained dogs, mountain girls, etc... Our paranoia is "global warming" and "king tides," like in Hawaii, so, after two years renting in town, we're moving to 380 meter altitude... Our other paranoia is how bad traffic will be downtown in 2 years (or tomorrow), so we're moving to the boonies (with well trained dogs). Our other paranoia is which municipality or barangay is the most corrupt and likely to try to extort you, so of course, we're moving to the worst... See what i mean, so, really, you won't get any useful answers on this thread for your own use.....

And Dustin, be nice, he's asking a real question.. Which reminds me.. Don't expect a straight answer, 90% of information is conjecture, lies, or old info, just like the states. And if "out of stock" bothers you, move to cebu or manila. I remember when a burger joint was "out of stock" of hamburger buns... <grin>

But the area is a fun place to live, medium sized town, lots of nice people, nice weather (global warming is forcing most big storms up thru Luzon), enough decent restaurants to keep you well fed (argued to death), and the town is so small that whomever you meet will be related, work with, is cousins with, or went to Silliman university with someone you already know, or they just moved here too...

 

Not only a sad day for the United States but a sad day for the world to see what we have become and what we have learned from this..

 

The numbers do not really add up well.

This process of grand standing law enforcement activities reminds me a little of the LTO traffic stops, where there are lots of officer around, legal motorcycle being laboriously inspected, while 50 to a 100 motorcycles park down the road with in viewing distance of the officers,without lights, mirrors, license plates and tags, just waiting for the "show" to be over so they can drive on. There seems to be a significant number of emotional "shows" here to impress people that something is being done.

 

Recent Experiences on Entering Philippines:

Covid test required with negative result - either antigen test no more than 24 hours before flight or RT-PCR test no more than 48 hours before flight. Antigen tests are much cheaper, I found. Had test kits delivered to an address, took tests (all negative), took photo of test result and sent off with photo of passport. Result certificate received within 10 minutes. Printed them off and no questions asked on arrival.

Arrival in Phils requires:

1. Negative Covid test as described above.
2. Registration on One Health Pass. Be careful with this - can only register within 3 days of travel and if you make a mistake, as I did, some things cannot be retrospectively changed through the 'Edit' section of your profile details. Print off or save to phone the QR Code page that is sent via email.
3. Make sure you have VaxcertPH certificate.
4. KEEP YOUR BOARDING PASS(ES). Several travellers I overheard falling foul of this. BOQ will stamp the boarding pass after checking all other documents at the airport before arrival at passport control. If you cannot show a boarding pass, it seems that you get shunted aside for some other kind of check before being allowed to leave the airport.

Allow time for all of this process. If you are travelling with young kids or have disabled members in your party, you will get some priority, but can still add around 30 minutes to the process, more if you don't.

 

Flew in from Guam-Manila-Cebu this past Friday. Relatively easy process; register with the One Health Pass, upload your negative test within 48 hours and put in your personal and flight info. Once you hit Manila they send you to a separate desk to scan the QR code the OHP emails you, check your vaccine card and they asked if I had travel insurance; I went to pull out a copy and they waived it off. Then off to immigration.

For the connecting flight they wanted to see the initial boarding pass as it gets stamped "verified". Driving back to Negros on Sunday was a breeze with nothing being checked for driving onto the ferry.

I'll be here until 5 April if anyone wants to reach out to grab a beer or something; have a few folks I need to reach out to as well once I get a handle on the to-do list that's been waiting on me for the past 26 months!

Shawn