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With so many times searching Google looking for advice regarding Government Offices here in Dumaguete, I thought I would post the following link that lists the majority of Dumaguete City Government Offices including a link for Philhealth...

Dumaguete City Government Offices:
http://google.com/government-offices/

Dumaguete Philhealth:
http://google.com/philhealth-dumaguete/

Government Offices Capitol Area: (Negros Oriental)
http://google.com/government-offices-negros-oriental/

Dumaguete Department of Foreign Affairs: (DFA)
http://google.com/dfa-office-dumaguete/

Offices covered in the Dumaguete City Government Offices include the following;

Dumaguete Mayor & Vice Mayor
City Administrator
City Accountant
City Treasurer
City Planning and Development
Dumaguete Tourism Office
City Environment and Natural Resources
City Population Commission
Public Information
Sports and Games Office
Human Resources
Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office
City Dumpsite Ecological Park
General Services Office (GSO)
City Assessor
City Budget
Office of the Senior Citizens Affair
City Livelihood and Home Industry Development Office
City Health Office
City Civil Registrar
City Legal Office
Public Library
City Engineer
City Livelihood and Home Industries Development Office
Funeral Services
City Nutrition Office
City Veterinarian
Dumaguete (PESO) Public Employment Service Office
Dumaguete Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Office
City Economic Enterprise (Public Market)
City Agriculture Office
Dumaguete City Traffic Management Office
Dumaguete City Social Welfare and Development Office (DSWD)
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
Dumaguete Water District

 

Too much politics and religion, God haters and Trump haters. The old forum used to have rules preventing extremism. Just my less than humble opinion.

 

A smartphone app that I kind of learned about late in my stay in the Philippines probably would have saved me a whole lot more money if I would have known about it sooner. I'm glad I used it when I did though because it still saved me quite a bit in fare going back to NAIA homeward. I was at Wanderers Guest house in Malate, because we were on a tight budget, very tight, because of a problem with my bank not liking my purchases in the Philippines even though I had notified them of my trip ahead of time. (OT, and another story) The night we came to Wanderers from NAIA, a taxi driver picked us out of a line of people at the airport and offered to drive us to our hotel. Jhing was negotiating with the driver and the driver's wife was with them. She asked how much to go to Malate, and he first said 450 php, and after we got in the car, he told her 550 php. She looked at me. I had no idea what to expect what the rate would be, because I didn't know how far it was. So, we paid 550 from NAIA to the Guesthouse. Seemed like it took quite a while too.
On the day I was to go back to NAIA, we were worried about our money situation, as we were extremely limited on cash by that point and 550 php again was going to be a big stretch, so I started looking for cheaper options including jeepneys, which, with a 50lb. suitcase was going to be interesting across 3 jeepney rides. So, I asked the hotel desk what my cheapest options were for getting to the airport. He said to get a taxi, preferably a yellow one and have them run the meter. He said there is also an app called Grab that you can DL on google play that's like UBER, but he liked it better than UBER. It tells what to expect it to cost based on what the available drivers nearby are willing to accept. Some were as low as 139-160 pesos. I found a yellow cab nearby that quoted 160-250 pesos and I chose that one. Within a few minutes, our cab was there, and for less than half what we paid to get from the airport before, we were able to get there with change to spare for her ride home. I don't know how well the app works in Dumaguete, but in Manila, I think it will be my go-to from now on. Just in case anyone else may need to know. I really didn't know what to expect fare wise on anything, and apparently, since my fiance doesn't use the taxis that much, she didn't either. Hope this helps someone else though.

 

Had a 6am Saturday 8 April flight from NAIA Terminal 1, did not open check in until 3am and people started queuing at 2:15. I waited slightly more comfortable in a chair until 4:30 and stood in line for 10 minutes to check my bag. Several immigration lanes were open, was 4th in line so took about 5 minutes.

Return flight arrived NAIA Terminal 1 at 12:30am Thursday 20 April, made it to immigration and was about 5th in line. Would have been less than 5 minutes this time but I asked for 59 day Tourist Visa as I was handing over my passport. 15 minutes later I had a 59 day Visa, cost just under p3,000, immigration queue was empty by then, walked over to the carousel and quickly found my luggage as there was only 6 or so other pieces besides mine.

Leaving and returning through NAIA Terminal 1 I found no issues at all with immigration. Only real irritation was waiting for the airline to open check in to check my bag and the resulting herd of passengers swarming the queue (didn't mention airline as they were all doing the same thing).

Onward ticket to Hong Kong in 54 days was again purchased on Expedia at my return flight originating airport (in this case Saint Louis, Missouri) before checking in. A couple hours later, layover in Chicago, Illinois), I canceled the ticket (taking advantage of Expedia's free cancellation within 24 hours policy) after clearing 'docs check' at the gate for the Beijing portion of my trip. In Manila immigration only asked me about my departure date because I asked for a 59 day Visa. Apparently I answered '54 days' fast enough they didn't even verify by asking to see the ticket (I would have showed the booked email, not the cancellation email of course).

 

We have all had ex-pat friends die here and have heard tales of woe from their wives, girlfriends and families.

This posting attempts to explain what happens after you are gone so you can plan ahead to avoid and reduce the pit falls those you leave behind will experience. The old navy adage, "loose lips sink ships" may apply here.

A. Pay the Hospital and Obtain the Death Certificate


B. Notifying the Embassy

The embassy has to be notified of your death. There are a lot of expenses to be paid so you need to arrange your financials so your next of kin will have money to pay them.

Death of a U.S. Citizen | U.S. Embassy in the Philippines

It may take several days or weeks to receive authorization from the embassy to allow the funeral home or crematorium to dispose of your body and there is generally a storage fee while waiting on this authorization.

If you have children or relatives in the States, make a list to assist the embassy in contacting them perhaps to speed things up. Your filipina wife may need to show your marriage license to prove her standing in your affairs when dealing with different agencies.

C. Local Banking Arrangement and Withdrawal

Central Bank regulations require banks to freeze single and joint accounts when a depositor dies and the person withdrawing on those accounts casually or unintentionally says that you have died. The accounts are frozen until BIR notifies them taxes have been paid by that estate. If you have single accounts or local investments, it is likely that money will never find its way to your next of kin when they need it. With FATCA the U.S. IRS may have an interest in your bank accounts also.

SGV & Co. Philippines | Ernst & Young | Accounting Firm

Joint bank accounts

D. You may have lots of stuff but your Filipina wife owns it.

Inheriting can be tough without a will and take time and money.

Inheritance tax and law

shakey