ESensus and the LGU Rip off

I have always mixed reactions whenever I need to do anything with any government office.  It's usually a mix of frustration, anger, confusion, and I always end up going through the different stages of grief.

Let's talk about the different legal ways the government is screwing us from our hard earned money. For one, why the heck do we always need a new copy of birth certificates?  The info doesn't change, it's still the same security paper, just a different agency requesting for it.

I also already pay 32% income tax, 12 % vat on everything, tax on my imports, tax on my house, my land, whenever I travel etc. No wonder people are mad.

So getting a new copy of NSO certified papers should be an easy thing right? You can order copies from SM, LBC, travel agencies etc. You can also get it from ESensus service centers where you can get a copy in less than 2-3 hours.

So that's convenient right? You can get it right away. But there's a catch. Especially if you're getting it at the Pasig office. What's the catch?  You have to get a Cedula. That's right. That little small paper that only exists to create money for the LGU.  Why do you need one if you're only getting a birth certificate or death certificate?  As per the employees "Yan ang process eh."

Please also take note that they do not provide pens for you to fill out the required forms with.  You have to buy one.  Take note, you have to buy a pen, from someone conveniently selling pens right at the door.

So they will make you fill out a form and ask you for your monthly salary. Nothing less, nothing more.  The computation is salary x 1.35%~.  Imagine you already pay 32% tax and now they're asking you to pay more because you need to transact with them.  Hypothetically let's say you earn p100,000 per month. I don't earn that much per month but the lady at the counter looked at me like I was an alien. She said, Tama ba yan sinulat mo?  Makes you think how much they are earning if they think my measly salary is large.

P100,000x1.35 %= p1350

P1350!!! Imagine that. They ask you to pay that much so you can get a birth certificate which you also have to pay for. Granted, most people earn 10,000-20,000 per month but imagine the burden this additional cost is for low wage earners?  It's outrageous!  That's an additional p200-300 for someone who is probably earning that much per day.

And get this, when I refused to pay that amount the lady behind the counter said Sige babaan na lng natin. Gawin natin p55,000 per month sweldo mo. Whaaaat? Pwede pala Un?  But that's still p750, which in no way I will pay.  So you say why not just put down a salary of 10k per month?  I guess you could. They won't check.  But we already have so much dishonesty in our country I can't get myself to do it.  I'm raised that way.

So until we can get rid of the Cedula and close off any venues for corruption we'll have to put up with this system.  Or, just prepare in advance and just go to SM service center or LBC.

Family Fun: GUAM, USA

Guam, USA

I haven’t written in a while as I’ve been busy with school and work.  As writing goes and as any writer knows, there are times that you just can’t write and at other times you must write.  This is one of those times that my brain just wants to write something.  So here it goes.

We recently had our yearly out of the country family vacation.  For this year, we decided to go to Guam, USA.  For those who don’t know, it’s a small island in the Pacific Ocean that is a US territory.  It’s about a four-hour flight from Manila.  We got our plane tickets quite cheap as Cebu Pacific had one of those sales.  It was about P3000+ each person back and forth.  Plus taxes and everything it came to about P5000+.  Please do note we purchased these tickets one year in advance and planning for the trip took a few months too.  Remember, a good and fun family trip always needs to be planned.  Otherwise you’ll run into tricky situations and it’ll be a disaster.

Also, Guam has a large Filipino presence so don’t be surprised if you run into a lot of locals who speak Tagalog.

Anyways, things you should consider for this trip:

1.       Rent a car.  It’s a must.  For a 7 day stay it cost us $273 for the whole week.  Plus $33 for a full tank of gas.  That’s about P15,000 only and you get to see the entire island of Guam on your own time.  There are several car rental places you can check out but the most affordable one I found was Ace Car Rental services.  They have a website so you can check them out.

2.       Make sure you have lots of $ for shopping, souvenirs, and of course food.

3.       If you’re travelling with children, make sure you bring your own car seat.  Unless you don’t want the hassle and have the $ to pay for the daily charge of renting a car seat.

4.       Swimming attire and water shoes.

After weeks of scouring and looking at hotels we settled on staying at the Hotel Santa Fe.  It’s a locally managed hotel and was quite affordable.  It’s a bit old, room décor was a bit odd, but location wise was great.  It was facing the sunset, had a pool, and was right next to the beach.  Not good for swimming but the view of the sunset was great.

Another great thing about the location was that it was right next to Shirley’s.  It’s a US diner type of restaurant with great food.  You should try the Chamorro sausages.  Bit spicy but quite tasty.  They also have a drink called Chamorro Punch.  Well, it’s basically Hawaiian Punch rebranded, same great taste though.

Driving on Guam

Man!  Driving on Guam was really fun!  I mean,  here in Manila I rarely get to drive because it’s way easier to just hail an Uber or Grab car.  There’s a bit of traffic on the main road but it’s nowhere near Manila traffic so it was fine. 

By driving your own car you can get around the whole island by yourself on your own time.  Nothing better than driving your own car to the beach.  You can probably get around the whole island in a day too.  Driving from the hotel to the very south of the island took about one hour.

Do note that on Guam, there are no street signs.  Or you will rarely see any street signs.  Now this frustrated the hell out of me because I never knew where I was because I’m old school and rely on physical markers and maps.  I had a GPS/map app on my phone but for some reason it didn’t work all the time and maps weren’t updated.  But it was useful so you should get one if you’re really bad with directions.  After driving for a day or two I finally figured out that from Marine Drive you can get to anywhere on the island.  And the fact that I’ve memorized most of the tourist spots and how to get there by looking at the maps and markers.

I had to Google why there was a lack of street signs.  Apparently, it was due to heavy typhoons always knocking around the street signs and breaking them.  Was easier and cheaper to not replace them anymore.

Downside to driving?  One night, while we were driving home to the hotel I could see a cop car way in the distance getting behind us.  And I was thinking, “I hope those lights don’t start flashing.”  And lo and behold!  The sirens go off and the lights flash!  My wife had a panic attack.  Frankly speaking so did I because I was pretty sure I didn’t do anything wrong.  So my wife looks at me and I look at her, and we were like, are we getting pulled over?  The lights keep flashing, cop car still behind us not moving past us so we figured we were being pulled over.  I moved to the side to get ready to talk to the police officer only for the car to zoom past us.  Crisis averted but wife still angry at me.  Go figure.

Places to Visit

Now, I’m just going to list some of the places we visited since I’m travelling with my family.  We didn’t visit hard to reach places since it wasn’t feasible with a pregnant wife and 5 year old.  So the places I will list below will be family friendly.  There are plenty of other beaches on Guam, other places to visit, but below are the family friendly places we visited.  (It’s also budget friendly, so places below have no entrance fees or have minimal entrance fees.)

The Beaches:

Ypao Beach:  A public beach and park with lots of parking space.  From the hotel it was an 8 minute drive and the beach had fine white sand.  Perfect for the family to sunbathe and get wet.  I would suggest the area further from the big hotel as it has less rocks

Inarajan Pools:  Not really a beach but a natural pool.  Great for kids to just kinda bathe in and for you to snorkel.  It’s a bit of a drive to the south of the island.  About an hour drive.

Ritidian Point:  A super nice beach with fine white sand.  A definite must visit.  It’s a bit of an adventure getting there (about a 2-hour drive) on semi-rough, unpaved roads.  It’s a government controlled area so you must leave before 4pm or they lock the gates.  You’ll also be driving next to a security fence for a while.  But the adventure of getting there and seeing the beach is all worth it.  My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the beach.  It was clean and the water was a crystal blue.

Go Shopping and eating:

You must visit all the malls.  Small and large.  It’s a small island so you’ll have plenty of time visiting all the malls.  The food courts also have all the affordable food so if you’re on a tight budget, the mall is the place to go.

The malls are also a short drive away only.  Go ahead and visit the Micronesia Mall, Tumon Sands Plaza, and Guam Premier Outlets.  Either way, if you’re going to the tourist spots, you’ll drive by a mall so might as well visit them too.

Go visit ROSS -  It’s one of those big discount stores with really cheap stuff.  I was able to buy shoes for $20 that are probably going to cost me P4000 in Manila.

Go visit Chuck E. Cheese on Guam.  I know, I know.  But if you have kids this is the place to go.  It’s kinda like TimeZone with pizza.  You can have pizza while the kids play.  It was actually quite fun.  If you don’t want to eat and just want to play, the cheapest package was $10 and you get a bunch of tokens for the games.

Two Lover’s Point – It’s near Micronesia mall.  So you can visit the mall, have lunch.  And after drive to this area.  It has a great view of the ocean.  It was a bit hard to find because of a small sign but the drive there was nice.  You can either go to the viewing area and pay $3+ or go to the restaurant and pay $3+ for a coffee and get the same great view.  I would suggest the restaurant since you get the same view and get coffee/juice to boot.

Chamorro Village -  They have a bunch of small caterers here so you can try out all the local Chamorro food.  They also have the Wednesday night market with locals dancing and souvenir shops all over the place.  Be prepared to go early if you want to visit the night market since parking is hard to find.  Worth a visit if you’re into culture and want some good chow.

Guam Pacific War Museum – It’s a very small private collection of WWII memorabilia.  It has an entrance fee/donation of $3 each if I remember correctly.  Small kids get in for free.  It’s worth it if you like history and the island has lots of history.

The Plaza -  Well, I listed it here again because I’m not sure what the area is really called.  But it’s the area with all the fancy hotels and shopping malls on the Pale San Vitores Road.  It’s a tourist spot but worth a visit especially at night.  It’s the fancy place to be at on Guam.

Places to eat:

Wendy’s – I know!  We have Wendy’s here in the Philippines.  But Wendy’s Philippines doesn’t even come close to the real Wendy’s in the USA.  Try the burgers as they are juicy and large.  Not the bricks of “meat” we have here.  And it’s only around $7+ for a set meal.

Applebee’s – Again, I know.  We have it here in the Philippines.  But yet again, it’s not the same and the menu is way better.  My wife had a lemon chicken thing that she also had here in Manila but she said the one on Guam was way better.   Remember, free softdrink refills.  Drink until you burst.

Panda Express – LOL.  Guilty pleasure.  Man, that orange chicken and fried rice combo is so good.

Jamaican Grill Tumon – Sit outside for the view.  Street view but you could glimpse the beach far way and the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  The food was tasty and service was great.

PROA – The one near Ypao Beach.  It’s a small place with lots of tourists.  Worth a visit.  It’s a bit expensive and for dinner and lunch there is a waiting list but good.

So these are just a few things you can actually do on Guam.  There are a lot of other places to visit like the submarine ride and other war museums etc.  But with a minimal amount of cash and time, these are places you can consider on your own trip to Guam.

I have more pictures stashed away but I think Guam should be experienced and this is just a taste of island life.  And as you can tell I have a lot of food pictures posted. LOL.  

If you have any questions on budget, hotels, etc, please do feel free to send me a message.

Enjoy life and keep travelling!

Taking the IELTS in Manila

So here's the procedure and what to expect when taking the IELTS exam here in Manila.  Although I know that I already speak English fluently, we as Filipino's still have to take it regardless.  For things such as work and migration to different English speaking countries etc.  It's a reality we have to face and it's a somewhat costly one.

So the big question is: How much is it?

It's P9, 400 if taken with the British Council Philippines.  You can find their website here:  https://www.britishcouncil.ph/.  Their main office is located in Ortigas near that infamous BPI Julia Vargas Branch.

Are there cheaper options for the IELTS?  I personally didn’t find any other testing centers that where cheaper.  But I did find one that was more expensive at around P10, 000.

If you have other questions such as what to study, how to study etc., that information you can find online.  There's plenty of review material for you to take.  Generally Google and YouTube will be your best friend for this.

So the first step is to realize that you need to take this exam.  Then, go to their website and sign up.  Fill out some personal information and make sure your name is spelled correctly and that the government ID you provide has the same name with signature.  And make sure that your ID is valid as you will need to bring this exact same ID with you to the testing center.  If you lose this ID or it becomes invalid before you take the exam you will need to either reschedule your exam or you may not be able to take your exam at all.

Please note that there are several different IELTS versions, so you'll need to know which one you need to take before applying.  If you take the wrong one your results might not be recognized by the school/country/work you're applying to.

If you're going to the UK for work/immigration there is a separate exam so please read up on the website.  For the rest, such as for immigration to Australia, UK, and Canada you have two options:

General Exam

Academic Exam

Generally speaking if you want to immigrate: take the General Exam.  But if you want to go to school/take up a master’s degree or such:  take the Academic Exam.  If in doubt, check with the requirements.

What's the difference?  Not too much of a difference between the two exams really.  The speaking and listening part are the same.  The main difference is in the writing and reading part.  For the Academic exam it is more science oriented since that type of English is what you're most likely be encountering in school.

So if you want it a bit easier, take the General Exam if you can.

When you sign up for the exam make sure you’re on the right website because the website can be a bit confusing.  They will show you a bunch of dates and times you can take the exam on.  But there’s a tiny link on the top that shows you what type of exam it is for.  Make sure it’s for General or Academic, whichever you need before choosing a time.  You can then proceed to payment.  It’s cash or credit card.  There’s even an option for PayPal if I remember correctly.

After paying you will need to wait for the email confirmation.  About a week before the exam they will email you the final venue for the exam.

Exam Parts

1.       Listening

2.       Reading

3.       Writing

4.       Speaking

These are the four parts that you will be tested on.  Personally, I found the listening part to always be the hardest part of the exam because they make you listen to a lot of stuff and you have to quickly pick up some information.  That would even be hard for native speakers.

Exam Venue

The speaking exam is usually held at their main office in Ortigas.  They will send you an email with the confirmation.  As for the rest, the venues are usually at hotels such as the Heritage Hotel on Roxas Blvd corner Edsa.

Be there at least 30 minutes before the time.  Because your exam will be forfeited if you arrive late and bye bye P9, 400.

You also need to be there before the exam time because there’s a security process that needs to be followed.  Since they need to maintain the credibility of the test security is of utmost importance.  They will check your name, your ID, they will take your picture, and fingerprints.  Once inside the exam venue and the exam starts you will no longer be allowed to leave.  So go to the bathroom beforehand.  Cheating will definitely get you immediately kicked out so do not try it.

Results

Results will be released 13 days after the exam date.  You can check your results online.  You can either pick up the hard copy at their Ortigas office or have it sent by mail.  On average you want to aim for a 7.0 or higher.

Hope this helps you out.

Suzhou Dimsum Mandaluyong

Anybody who knows me even for a short period of time understands that I LOVE food.  And I love to eat.  So that means I explore a lot of the places were one can find food.  Since I spend most of my time at work and in and around Manila I have to find places that interest my palate.

So I get most of my leads through my Facebook timeline (I know sad) but sometimes I get a tip from friends and family that this resto is good etc so on and so on.  And the other day someone talked about Suzhou Dimsum Mandaluyong.  Naturally I had to go check it out.  One, it's in Mandaluyong, and second, I heard that they had a great Xiao Long Bao.

This Chinese restaurant has been around for a while, practically over 10 years and is a family run business like most Chinese restaurants are.  This particular branch is located in Mandaluyong but there are other branches near you.

This branch is a bit out of the way but that doesn't stop regulars from going there.  When we arrived there were a few people there and that's already a good indicator that the food is worth it.  If there are regulars - it means the food is good enough to return to.

We immediately got our hands on the Xiao Long Bao (P135 - 4pcs).  And good thing we did because this one is really worth it.  If you're familiar with the one restaurant in Megamall that offers this same dish you won't be disappointed with this one from Suzhou.  It's a fraction of the cost and that means more Xiao Long Bao for us!  Yehey!

Xiao Long Bao

And in true family fashion the wife ordered dessert immediately.  She got the Fried Banana Nuggets (P140).  They taste like, well, Banana, fried outside, soft and tasty on the inside.

Fried Banana Nuggets

The next dish that was served was the Kuchay & Pork Dumpling (P195).  Yet again, a worthy dish to be eaten.  Just dip it into the vinegar sauce and you're all good.

And another worthy dish to add to any meal are not even meat dishes.  They are tofu!  Tasty and healthy so that's always a great combination.  Tofu with Century Egg & Pork Flakes (P220) and Salt & Pepper Fried Tofu (P135).

For a complete meal syempre, dapat meron rice and beef.  Steamed beef in Garlic (P360) & Pork and Vegetable Fried Rice (P180).  These two go great together as the rice has a mild taste while the beef dish has a very strong garlic and beef taste.  Put together they make a team.

 And when the wife wasn't looking I snuck in some more dishes.  Pancake with Spring Onions (P130), Special Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup (P255).  And the veggie dish I believe is called Suzhou-style Vegetable (P220).

I guess by this time you're saying that wow, they've eaten a lot but that's normal for my family.  We added another dish: Stir Fried Noodle Beef (P220).

At this point we were quite full already.  So I decided to check out the place.  The restaurant does some local deliveries if you're craving Chinese Food.  And they also do some catering and special events.  The restaurant offers two rooms that can be rented for special events.  Each room can take an estimated 30 persons each.

Room 1

Room 2

I try to keep my blog short and sweet but it's hard to do when you have plenty to write about.  Suzhou Dimsum has plenty to offer and I'm quite glad I got to visit and experience their food.  For now, I'll let the pictures do the talking and entice you to a good meal at Sizhou Dimsum.