My Personal Safety Tips

I thought about writing this short safety related blog because I was speaking to an office mate earlier today and about  how she was pick pocketed inside of the groceries.  It was a learning experience for her and a definite reminder to me that there are people out there who will take advantage of you if they can.

I've lived in Manila long enough to understand that it can be dangerous if you don't pay enough attention to your surroundings.  Manila offers many things to watch out for such as snatchers, pick pockets, and even the random machete wielding person. Yes, I've experienced all of that and more.  Come to think of it, I've also experienced a Samurai sword wielding person.  But before you read on:  I am no expert in security.  But I do have some common sense and its kept me pretty safe so far.

I hope the few simple tips I list below will help you stay safe.

1.  I like to see hands.  By that I mean whenever I ride in a jeep, FX, or a bus I like to see where the hands of my fellow passengers are.  If you can see them, then they aren't doing something else.

2.  Personal space.  Everybody loves their personal space.  If somebody violates your personal space make sure to move away if possible to regain it.  Imagine you're riding in a jeep that only has a few passengers.  Then all of a sudden a stranger sits right next to you even though there is plenty of space to sit somewhere else.  Be alarmed.  Because either you're going to get robbed, pick pocketed, or molested. A normal person would try to keep their own personal space intact unless there is no choice (like a full jeep).

3.  Bring only the essentials.  This is pretty self explanatory.  Bring only the stuff you need to bring with you.  Leave the gold necklaces and non-essential gadgets at home.  No need to show it off too.  The less stuff you have with you the less stuff you have to pay attention to.

4.  Pay attention to your surroundings.  A lot of people fail to do this one.  I do too sometimes but I try not to do it often.  Always be alert and ready for anything.  Not paying attention usually gets you into trouble and makes you a bigger target for thieves and bad people in general.

5.  Know where you're going and how to get there.  Before leaving the house make sure you know where you're going and how you're going to get there.  This generally keeps you out of a lot of trouble.  Try to also keep plenty of change with you.  It just makes travelling a lot easier when you're not waiting for the driver or conductor to give you your change.

6.   Be assertive and look assertive.  The more assertive you look the better your chances are of not being picked to be a victim by thieves.  They'd rather go for the easier score.

7.  Control your situation.  As much as possible stay out of trouble.  Don't place yourself (and others) in situations and places that could be dangerous.  Withdrawing from an ATM?  Don't do it in a dark and desolate place.  Use your common sense and stay away from possible bad situations.

Your own safety should be a top priority in Manila and pretty much everywhere you go.  People like me, who commute daily to and from work must put up with a lot of different hazards on the street.  We have to put up with pollution, bad drivers, long lines, and other things but we can at least control some aspects of our own safety.

But the trick is to keep safe while still enjoying a happy fruitful life.  Keep safe everybody!

Travel Clearance for Minors (DSWD)

Travelling with children is always fun.  A bit of work if they are very young and you don’t have any help.  But their excitement makes it all worthwhile.

So why do we need to secure a travel clearance for minors?  To safeguard our children from human trafficking and because of RA 7610, which is otherwise known as the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.  Read more about it here. 

And who needs a travel clearance?  Basically anyone below 18 years of age and travelling alone or with anyone other than their parent/legal guardian.

• A minor traveling alone to a foreign country;
• A minor traveling to a foreign country accompanied by a person other than his or her parents.

Below I’ve listed some of the basic requirements that you would need.

• Duly accomplished application form. Click here for the form.
• Original (and photocopy) NSO birth certificate of the minor. 
• Passport of minor (and photocopy of the page with details and back page)
• Two colored passport size photos of the minor (taken within the last six months).
• Passport of travel companion (if not travelling alone).  Don’t forget the photocopy.
• A written consent of both parents (solo parent/legal guardian) wherein the travel details are laid out.  Meaning the travel dates, who is accompanying the minor, where they plan on staying in the foreign country.  Be as detailed as you can. 
• NSO copy of the marriage certificate of the parents.  They may not ask for it but might as well have it if they ask for it.

TIP:  I always make a checklist of the things that I need, especially when I’m filling out papers for visa applications and complicated transactions.  This way I don’t forget anything important.

There are other papers needed depending on the child’s situation.  If you have any special questions, you may check out the DSWD website using these links: PROCESS and FAQ.

Once you have the paperwork completed, decide on which DSWD office you need to visit.  Usually, it’s the nearest office near your home.  For us, we went to the main office at the corner of Legarda Street in Sampaloc, Manila.   You can find the office addresses in the FAQ site.

How much does it cost?

The processing fee is as below:

• P300 with validity of one (1) year. 
• P600 with validity of two (2) years.

Make sure to get your receipt.

When do I get the clearance?

It takes 3 working days.  So make sure to apply early and not a week before you need to travel.  The DSWD personnel may ask you for other paperwork that you can’t get ASAP.

How to get there

If you’re heading to the main office it’s quite easy getting there.  If you’re coming from Taguig, Pasig, or Ortigas, you can simply take a jeep/FX going to Quiapo and get off right across the street from the DSWD building.  If you’re not sure, you can simply ask the driver to drop you off there.  It’s just past Mendiola where they usually hold the rallies.  As for the cost, it’s not more than P50 per person one way if you’re coming from Pasig.

Before you go

Make sure you have all the papers ready and that you have all the original NSO copies, photocopies, and pretty much all papers with you.  You’ll need your money of course.  And go early.  I cannot reiterate enough that you have to go early.  If you arrive 9am prepare to stay there the whole day.  If possible arrive at 7:45 with all your papers ready to be handed over.  Does the minor have to come with you?  No, not really.  But I think it made my application easier when the social worker saw the minor with me.

My Experience at DSWD

I recently had to get a travel clearance for my sister in law who will be travelling with me and my wife to Malaysia.  Since we aren’t her parents or legal guardians we had to secure a travel clearance for her.  Not having the travel clearance is quite a hassle especially when you’re already at the airport.  This happened to me once with my younger brother and they are very strict about this.  No travel clearance, no travel.  So just go on ahead and get that travel clearance.

We arrived early at round 7:40 and went straight to the Travel Clearance section, which is on the 2^nd floor of the building.  Just take the stairs up and it is the first door on the right. 

Amazing enough we were the 3^rd to arrive but the two before us already had gotten the process done.  The social worker asked us to sign their registration form.  We waited for about 3 minutes before the social worker called us again.  There are plenty of seats so that you can sit down but the Clearance section is facing East so that means the rising sun would pummel you until 12 noon.  Not fun especially because the area is not air conditioned. 

The social worker reviewed the application form and took the photocopies from me.  The DSWD personnel are quite thorough with their work.  Every small detail of the presented paperwork was reviewed and when she saw some discrepancies she asked me about it.  Pretty impressive and I commend the DSWD personnel. 

The whole process took about 15 minutes and she gave me a claim slip.  But she advised that before I could claim the clearance I would need to present an Affidavit of Discrepancy because the middle name of the minor and the mother are not the same due to a typographical error.  (Note:  It cost me P200 to get a notarized Affidavit of Discrepancy from my lawyer.)  She asked us to come back in 3 days.  It was a Monday so we had to come back Wednesday.

My Experience at DSWD:  Day 2

We again arrived early for the travel clearance pick up at around 8:00am.  We were the 2^nd in line but it took over 3 hours before we got our travel clearance.  Apparently the signatory didn’t arrive so we had to wait for the person.  Once the signatory arrived the process went quickly.  We paid the P300 at the cashier.  The cashier is located at the bottom of the stairs and once paid we showed the receipt to the DSWD personnel and they gave us the travel clearance.

TIP:  Before you leave make sure you check the travel clearance for spelling mistakes.  This is very important because any issues or misspelling you will get held up at the airport.