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hey, just a suggestion. you might try ernie at the smoke test place, first one north of city mall on the north highway. maybe a block or two. he has always been very helpful and has managed to get my paperwork cleared on a number of issues re vehicles. at the least he will probably be able to answer your questions about this. i get my annual paperwork done there and he walks it though for me saving me the time and aggravation.

the place i have seen the most relatively new but used cars posted for sale by foreigners is the bulletin board at why not. if you do buy used you are likely to need a mechanic. after six years here i have found a great mechanic. his name is toto and he operates his business on the national highway right across from the entrance to the airport. he has a sign, "Toto" , on the highway. he is a toyota trained mechanic and very good at dx problems. the negros oriental police use him. just fyi

 

all world currencies go up and down relative to each other reflecting a myriad of economic indicators as well as other issues. the changes reflect the relative purchasing power of each currency. trump and duterte probably have an impact but perhaps no more so than other world leaders. my dollars buy more in pesos now, about twenty per cent more , than when i came here in 2014,. if trump and duterte have an impact, trump has been dramatically positive for US citizens here.

you can use this to your advantafe. i keep dollars in a philippine account and then covert as i need pesos but try to do this on an upswing. the long term trend suggests in five years a dollar will be worth about 56 to 58 pesos but its just a guess. the exchange fluctuates on a current basis by one or more pesos to the dollar each month, going up and down daily. it may be a fools game but i try to exchange based on watching for the best current rate

i think the most significant way to help yourself is to look for the best place to exchange dollars for pesos to my knowledge the "x change?" under robinsons downtown has the best rate, better than their sister outlets and better than most banks. by all means avoid exchanging at street corner vendors

you also will make the best of your money if you transfer dollars to the phils, bank account to bank account for little or no cost and then maximize your exchange as noted above. using an ATM for example may involve both a fee and getting nicked on the exchange rate they offer.

 

ENT. Dr Simon Flores at Silliman Medical Center

 

If you want the things to be here like they are at home wherever that may be then you should stay at home, learn to adjust and adapt. Don,t waste your energy on things you have no control over.

 

I'm not for communism, but did want to talk about your second point.

I think it's a little shortsighted to think that everyone wants to sit on their butts all day and let the rich pay for everything. I'd say a big part of the issue is there just isn't enough opportunity to support everyone working at decent pay. The Philippines is a perfect example of that. Way more people than the economy can support.

I have a good friend who owns some section 8 housing and his tenants are primarily single woman with a couple of kids. They are on public assistance and also getting disability payments for he kids who have ADD. People can make more money doing nothing, so why not kick back. The system is broken.

I'll thought I would add a little color to the numbers you threw out.

45% of Americans pay no federal income tax

With respect to the 45% paying no taxes. Everyone pays taxes, not everyone pays income taxes, but everyone pays taxes on almost everything they buy or consume. Those taxes go to the government. In addition, taxes are baked in to product costs in the form of tariffs, so there is another instance where they pay. The other misleading part of throwing that number out is that a significant number of those are retirees. They have to stop working at some time, don't they?



With respect to the "rich" paying for everything. They certainly pay more $$, but what I found interesting is that they don't necessarily pay a higher percent. It it harder for me to come up with 25% for them to come up with 25%. Who should we feel more sorry for? I know you don't feel sorry for anyone, and I'm not asking your for you feel sorry for me either, just asking you to think.


The images are from:
Who doesn’t pay taxes, in eight charts

I just find it curious that it's easier to sympathize with people that have more money than they know what to do with it, than people who barely survive from one day to the next. Do you really believe people chose to struggle from day to day?

 

Try Du Ek Sam...they have good Prices too....choosse a Brand and Model first, then look around and compare Prices....that way I got my Fridge in Du Ek Sam for the best Price