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This one snuck up on me. The SSL certificate (which gives you the green "https" in the address bar) expires tomorrow. It usually takes a couple days to get the new one. Tonight I'll generate my own SSL cert and install it until they email me the new cert. The site will be just as secure but your browser won't agree with that and will show a security warning because I'm not an registered trusted agent....or some nonsense like that. I might decide to just go back to regular ol' http to avoid any user confusion.....if I can remember where I put all those redirects to https a year ago.

Sorry about that. I thought I had until the 12th for some reason.

 

Just a snippet of info to be aware of,a friend of mine had his black and gold Honda wave stolen on Sunday from the area near the public market.he said he was parked near Mercury drug store and was only gone around 15 mins.

 

I disagree. I think that most of the time (which is the 18-20 hours of the day that are not rush hours) driving in Dumaguete, even in a car,. is not a problem at all. Being unemployed/retired should make traffic very easy. If someone refuses to adjust their very open schedule to avoid driving during these times of day it is kinda their own fault. All you have to do is push your meals 2 hours earlier or later and the vast majority of the traffic headaches goes away. I've driven in Manhattan, Dubai, Manila, Cebu, L.A, Atlanta and lots of other big cities and traffic is horrible in all them if you are driving during rush hour....but if you go driving off peak hours you are going to have the roads pretty much to yourself most of the time. If you are lucky enough to be able to avoid driving during the times when most people have no choice but to drive then why not do that? If someone is incapable of adjusting to their environment perhaps a move to the countryside would be a much better option. I think the choices about dealing with rush hours should be a) deal with it (if you must drive during it) b) avoid it (if you are retired and have that luxury) c) move out of the city.

I would also disagree that Dumaguete has not been improving and widening their roads. There are a lot of streets here that did not exist or were only dirt roads when I first got here. Driving through certain areas it is easy to see that they have been laying down new concrete. When I first got here making one trip up to Valencia would require you to tighten all the bolts on your motorcycle and you were lucky if you didn't blow a tire out in one of the thousands of pot holes before you got to the top. Driving up to Bias would have taken a 4x4 is it had been raining. They've greatly improved the road going south as well. Actually all roads leaving the town have been greatly improved. There are still a lot of areas that need improvement but it seems to me that they are actively taking on all the main roads. Yeah, it sucks if you live on a small side road but those are always the last to get fixed no matter what country you live in.

The roads within the city are really not all that narrow or in that bad of condition. It is a lack of driver and pedestrian discipline/education that is making the traffic here so bad during rush hours. Trikes and even nonprofessional drivers park/double park or pickup/drop-off people where ever they please. It is not only local drivers though, I see plenty of expats driving and parking like complete tw*ts as well.

To the OP: the traffic is not that bad in Dumaguete compared to where you were in Cebu and what you will experience in other cities in the Philippines. Sh*t traffic is a fact of life in the Philippines and should not be a determining factor if you are planning on living in a city. (If it is a determining factor and you must live in a city you might just want to forget about the Philippines.)

BTW: if I had to choose another city to move to in the Philippines I would probably go with Iloilo or Naga City (the one in Bohol). I really enjoyed both of those places but I would need to spend more time in each of those cities to decide if it would be a wise move.

 

Immigration Commissioner Ronaldo Geron has sacked a confidential agent for carrying out an unauthorized investigation of a British retiree.

“Your contract as confidential agent is terminated effective immediately due to gross violation of office rules and (for) undertaking an unauthorized operation resulting (in) loss of trust and confidence,” Geron said in a letter to Emmanuel Ambrona, who had served as a confidential agent for several years.

Geron said his decision followed a letter from one Trevor Fawcett, a British national living in the Philippines on a special resident retiree’s visa.

Immigration agent sacked for harassment of British retiree | Inquirer Global Nation

 

Thank you for taking the time to study the beginner’s guide to driving in the Philippines. This handbook will help you survive driving in the Philippines and will make sure you cause as much traffic and inconvenience as you can on your journey to becoming a certified Pinoy driver.

Everything in this handbook will be based on two principles. Learn them well and commit them to heart.

The first rule of driving in the Philippines is: You are more important than other people on the road.

The second rule of driving in the Philippines is: There are no rules.

Ready? Step on the gas, pull out without looking, and let’s begin.

Right-Of-Way
Courtesy and common sense dictates respecting the right-of-way of others, vehicles and pedestrians alike. However, you are driving in the Philippines. Remember our first rule? Nobody is more important than you. Here, whoever yields loses. So go ahead and block everybody!

- See more at: The beginner's guide to driving in the Philippines - InqPOP!

 

I think it was best said on FB:

"It is with great sadness that I say "Farewell" to a fallen warrior brother, Phil Prins. He expired at Silliman Medical Center this morning, 29 December, 2015 on his birthday.

He was an Army Scout, gulf war veteran and photo-journalist for Foundation University. Phil was murdered by several men outside a downtown Dumaguete bar Christmas."



I didn't know Phil personally but I would like to send my deepest condolences to his friends and families and I hope that Phil gets the justice he deserve.

(Let's all remember what this section of the forum is for. All posts here will need moderator approval before being publicly visible.)