General Info

This might affect several of the longer-staying people in the Philippines.

[URL]http://www.rappler.com/nation/86662-bureau-immigration-foreigners-clearance?utm_content=buffer7ad73&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer[/URL]

In summary, you need an ECC if you are:

Holders of temporary visitor visas (tourist visa) who have stayed in the Philippines for 6 months or more.

Holders of expired or downgraded immigrant or non-immigrant visas.

Holders of valid immigrant or non-immigrant visas who are leaving for good.

Philippine-born foreign nationals who will depart the Philippines for the first time.

Holders of tourist visas with order to leave.

Seafarers who have stayed in the Philippines for 30 days or more.

Thanks for the responses. I was in Manila for 3-4 weeks last January and started look at some of the various classified sites. It looked like there were plenty of apartments in my price range and I decided to stop looking since my move was 50-50 and a few months out.

I'm open to other areas outside of Makati, but most likely will put an emphasis on safety of the neighborhood, some shops (coffee, grocery) within reasonable walking distance and the amenities of the building.

Will give an update if I decide to take the plunge.

[QUOTE=RedKilt;1692878]Sorry if >>>SNIP<<<<
Anyway, as I said, I hope he tells us what he ends up doing re accommodation as economics here changes all the time. Given the plethora of condo dwellings going up all over the metro I am sure there must be some owners desperate to get some turnover and cash flow going.

XMan. I think my "good standard" is higher than yours (smiley here) but for sure I agree with you that the Gramercy is a very nice option at that price. Personally I doubt I could live in a hotel suite for a year but I guess others could.[/QUOTE]If I could stay for one year in the Philippines, I'd cut off a left arm. RK, that would be your left arm, sorry. X.

[QUOTE=Random99;1695259]I'm open to other areas outside of Makati, but most likely will put an emphasis on safety of the neighborhood, some shops (coffee, grocery) within reasonable walking distance and the amenities of the building.
[/QUOTE]It's a bit of a balance between neighbourhood security and convenience. In Makati you can live in one of the many the secured walled gardens such as the villages of Bel Air, Magallanes, Dasmarinas or Palm Village near Rockwell, but it's kind of cut off and isolated. If you're lazy like me and prefer to have a girl come directly to your place rather than meeting in a mall then being behind the wall is less convenient for her. And, more importantly, you.

In Makati I lived in Baragay Pio Del Pilar, [URL]https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pio+del+Pilar,+Makati,+1230+Metro+Manila,+Philippines/at14.5537061,121.0105551,16z/data=!3m1!4 b1!4 m2!3 m1!1s0x3397c90d4b58d64f:0xaa203a2a94965d64[/url]. This is a mixed area that's roughly lower middle class in houses and apartments and middle class in condos. The squatters camp across the street from Makati Med is long gone. For someone who's accustomed to more conspicuous and assuring affluence in the West this barangay would appear to be a bit rough and off putting, yet it is quite safe. A great thing about Makati is the large number of call centres; I recall reading there are almost 200 here. My very first Craigslist "casual encounters" fubu worked next door to my condo. Convenient. She'd finish her night shift and come over for a romp. There are many Mickey Mouse colleges in the area, and of course there are the malls that pull in the girls to do little else but wander around. Since there are so many hotels I've met girls who came into town to meet some other guy, it went wrong, and they were looking for a meeting. Okie dokie, c'mon over.

By my being close to Buendia (Gil Puyat Ave on the map) allowed a girl in Manila, Pasay, Novatas, and Caloocan to take the LRT to Gil Puyat station, exit, hop a bus or jeep, and arrive near my place quite easily. If she lived in BGC she could just cross EDSA and come down Buendia. By my being close to Pasong Tamo (Chino Roces Ave on the map) allowed a girl in QC, Mandaluyong, Pasay, or Pasig to take the MRT to Magallanes Station, exit, and hop a jeep to arrive right in front of my place. By being near Osmena Highway girls from Taguig, Paranaque, Las Pinas, Alabang and further south could conveniently reach my place. And by being near the Skyway I was minutes away from NAIA terminal 3. I've had girls fly in and taxi easily to my place. I was close enough to Greenbelt that I could walk it when traffic was heavy. I could hop a jeep to go to Burgos. Two major bus depots, one serving northern Luzon and the other the south, are close if you want to bring in girls from further afield or travel yourself.

I mention this because I'm the president of the Barangay Pio Del Pilar rah-rah booster club. ;) I actually mention this because the biggest hassle in Metro Manila is transportation. This cannot be emphasised enough. The more of it you can offload on a girl (hahahaha) the higher your quality of life and hapenis will be.

There are certainly much nicer areas in Makati, but I found being west of Ayala Ave to be the ideal location. BGC is a much nicer, much posher place, but public transportation there sucks. To me that's a huge demerit. Another very nice area is Alabang, but it's so far away from everything else. Same is true for Eastwood. That being said, a guy could reside there and be busy enough with the women who live or work in those areas that he would never need to look to Makati or Manila. Though I haven't lived there I think another acceptable area is Ortigas, near SM Mega Mall. Good transportation links and many call centres nearby. There are a lot of places for rent near Mall of Asia in Pasay, but it's a bit far from the LRT and MRT. Personally I wouldn't want to live in Ermita or Malate.

And its a short trip.

For the previous 2 days, I was trying to book a Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to the province. Getting to the screen where I enter my personal info, there was a red error message which stopped me in my tracks (please try later or contact the airline blah blah).

Today, after entering flight cities and dates on the home page, I get this (see pic): a blank page (no flights listed). Does not matter what dates I enter, or what cities.

Attempting to call the phone numbers listed on the website for both Manila and Cebu results in: dropped calls, calls that don't go through at all, or one of several recordings (long hold time sorry po, or worse the dreaded: "For Cebu Pacific press 1, for Tiger Air press 2" where pressing either 1 or 2 does absolutely nothing).

Did they just up and go out of biz? How do they stay in biz? Anyone else having a joyous time with CP right now?

I reached them on the phone. Five minutes on hold (not too bad maybe), and the nice lady (stupid me, didn't catch her name) informed me that the website has been going thru some changes. She agreed to book my flight over the phone and she did so, boringly confirming most things I said to her by spelling them out military style: "Your first name is Bravo Lima Alpha blah blah". I was convinced she was simply going as slow as she could to keep me on an overseas phone call as long as she could. "Your credit card number is blah blah". Correct hun. "Let me repeat that sir its blah blah". Correct again, hun.

Then, 28 minutes into the phone call, she asked if my Visa was issued from a Phils bank. No hun, do I sound pinoy? Its the same card I purchased a ticket on your website just a few weeks ago. "Oh. No sir. That cannot be. We do not accept credit cards from outside philippines. " Really. "Yes sir". You could have mentioned that before you spent 20+ minutes with me selling me an airline ticket where you cannot accept my credit card.

"So?" Did you just say SO to me? "Yes. How am I to know you don't have credit card from philippine bank? Our computers are not accepting credit cards from outside philippines just now. You try back later maybe?" Wow. Can I speak to your supervisor? "Why?" Because this is an overseas phone call, and it will run me 1000-2000 pesos just for the phone call. How do I get my money back from your company for that?

CLICK. She disconnected the call. I showed her! I tried calling back, only to run into (again) the recordings and calls that won't go thru.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;1696140]I reached them on the phone. Five minutes on hold (not too bad maybe), and the nice lady (stupid me, didn't catch her name) informed me that the website has been going thru some changes. She agreed to book my flight over the phone and she did so, boringly confirming most things I said to her by spelling them out military style: "Your first name is Bravo Lima Alpha blah blah". I was convinced she was simply going as slow as she could to keep me on an overseas phone call as long as she could. "Your credit card number is blah blah". Correct hun. "Let me repeat that sir its blah blah". Correct again, hun.

Then, 28 minutes into the phone call, she asked if my Visa was issued from a Phils bank. No hun, do I sound pinoy? Its the same card I purchased a ticket on your website just a few weeks ago. "Oh. No sir. That cannot be. We do not accept credit cards from outside philippines. " Really. "Yes sir". You could have mentioned that before you spent 20+ minutes with me selling me an airline ticket where you cannot accept my credit card.

"So?" Did you just say SO to me? "Yes. How am I to know you don't have credit card from philippine bank? Our computers are not accepting credit cards from outside philippines just now. You try back later maybe?" Wow. Can I speak to your supervisor? "Why?" Because this is an overseas phone call, and it will run me 1000-2000 pesos just for the phone call. How do I get my money back from your company for that?

CLICK. She disconnected the call. I showed her! I tried calling back, only to run into (again) the recordings and calls that won't go thru.[/QUOTE]Not sure if this will help you. But over a year ago I had the same problems with CP using overseas CC. I joined as a member and have my CC on file. Since then I have not had a problem with them. I automaticly hit CC on file.

Sometimes my Chase CC will not allow the charge to go thru unless I notify them that I will be out of the country in Philippines.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;1696140]I reached them on the phone. Five minutes on hold (not too bad maybe), and the nice lady (stupid me, didn't catch her name) informed me that the website has been going thru some changes. She agreed to book my flight over the phone and she did so, boringly confirming most things I said to her by spelling them out military style: "Your first name is Bravo Lima Alpha blah blah". I was convinced she was simply going as slow as she could to keep me on an overseas phone call as long as she could. "Your credit card number is blah blah". Correct hun. "Let me repeat that sir its blah blah". Correct again, hun.

Then, 28 minutes into the phone call, she asked if my Visa was issued from a Phils bank. No hun, do I sound pinoy? Its the same card I purchased a ticket on your website just a few weeks ago. "Oh. No sir. That cannot be. We do not accept credit cards from outside philippines. " Really. "Yes sir". You could have mentioned that before you spent 20+ minutes with me selling me an airline ticket where you cannot accept my credit card.

"So?" Did you just say SO to me? "Yes. How am I to know you don't have credit card from philippine bank? Our computers are not accepting credit cards from outside philippines just now. You try back later maybe?" Wow. Can I speak to your supervisor? "Why?" Because this is an overseas phone call, and it will run me 1000-2000 pesos just for the phone call. How do I get my money back from your company for that?

CLICK. She disconnected the call. I showed her! I tried calling back, only to run into (again) the recordings and calls that won't go thru.[/QUOTE]Been there and gone through their inefficiencies. The airline run by children.

My only solution once or twice previously was to wait till I got to Manila then booked a flight on CP using one of the small travel agent counters in a mall and paying cash. Seemed like the 19th century method topped their non functioning version of the 21st century. Had a ticket in 3 minutes both times especially as I knew the flight number etc.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;1696140]I reached them on the phone. [/QUOTE]Had some issues on their website last week. Not as bad though as I had with Cathay Pacific.

A day later I was able to book everything online AND pay by overseas see / see.

I guess the trick was that I registered last year or so as a 'member' and now I just log in before I select the flights with all the subsequent details.

Good luck.

[QUOTE=Avoloz;1696197]Had some issues on their website last week. Not as bad though as I had with Cathay Pacific.

A day later I was able to book everything online AND pay by overseas see / see.

I guess the trick was that I registered last year or so as a 'member' and now I just log in before I select the flights with all the subsequent details.

Good luck.[/QUOTE]I typically fly CP twice a week and, having switched about 6-8 months ago from PAL, am fairly happy with the service. The site is usually efficient, and I can buy a ticket, check in for the flight and print a boarding pass all within less than 10 minutes. It's not been any problem using US credit cards. The air transport infrastructure in the country is primitive and deteriorating which leads to interminable delays at times. The frustration associated with the lousy facilities however isn't attributable of course to the airlines, but to the indifference and general incompetence of the national government.

GE.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;1696124]And its a short trip.

For the previous 2 days, I was trying to book a Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to the province. Getting to the screen where I enter my personal info, there was a red error message which stopped me in my tracks (please try later or contact the airline blah blah).[/QUOTE]You can try it with another browser. It looks like you are using Internet Explorer. I have switched to Opera because IE gave me way too much problems, in particular the latest version IE11.

[QUOTE=WestCoast1;1696140]Then, 28 minutes into the phone call, she asked if my Visa was issued from a Phils bank. No hun, do I sound pinoy? Its the same card I purchased a ticket on your website just a few weeks ago. "Oh. No sir. That cannot be. We do not accept credit cards from outside philippines. " Really. "Yes sir". You could have mentioned that before you spent 20+ minutes with me selling me an airline ticket where you cannot accept my credit card.[/QUOTE]It's bullshit that they don't accept credit cards from outside Philippines. I never had problems with my mastercard issued in Holland.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1696214] The air transport infrastructure in the country is primitive and deteriorating which leads to interminable delays at times. The frustration associated with the lousy facilities however isn't attributable of course to the airlines, but to the indifference and general incompetence of the national government.

GE.[/QUOTE]But if real power in the country rests with a handful of families, then government is in a sense a puppet of these elite interests. I don't know which family controls CP, but doesn't accountability ultimately come back to these families? Viewed in this way, government incompetence is a sidebar in the power relations that matter most. Government incompetence harms the economic posture of the country, and by extension even the interests of elites, but only the elites are able to change these things. Sadly, they have few clear incentives to do so, especially when conversations among them reinforce how much they like things the way they are.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2015/03/17/one-stubborn-problem-the-rising-star-philippine-economy-cant-yet-fix/

(So I did all the usual steps to make this a hotlink: hard carriage return after the end of the url, but alas no hotlink. Any suggestions what I did wrong? In the meantime, sorry, you'll have to copy and paste into your browser.)

We used to have problems booking Cebu Pacific online, more specifically using a foreign credit or debit card. This happened several times over the years and I *think* we just happened on one particular debit card that the website DID accept. However, we haven't used them for a while because we tended to book either PAL international+domestic or interline to PAL domestic.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1696214]I typically fly CP twice a week and, having switched about 6-8 months ago from PAL, am fairly happy with the service. The site is usually efficient, and I can buy a ticket, check in for the flight and print a boarding pass all within less than 10 minutes. It's not been any problem using US credit cards. The air transport infrastructure in the country is primitive and deteriorating which leads to interminable delays at times. The frustration associated with the lousy facilities however isn't attributable of course to the airlines, but to the indifference and general incompetence of the national government.

GE.[/QUOTE]I also use CP all the time as gave up using PAL a long time a go.

The online booking website was not working recently when I booked a ticket and I had to call CP customer service that Westie described is long winded, slow and useless. I had the same frustration. I used Skype and when I finally purchased the ticket using the same overseas card I have used many time before online it nearly 50 minutes. This is because they repeat everything 3 times over and then do it again before you pay.

Emirates Airlines that I use as frequently can do it all online in 5 minutes if the web site is down. Now I know there is a big difference but this is how far things have to change to be international standards IMHO.

The Gokongwei family own the airline for those interested.

As GE said the infrastructure is useless. T3 is better but the AC / aircon still horribly under powered but at least the coffee shops seems cleaner. But the terminals are run by PNoys family friends and relatives with no experience of airline / terminal management. And it shows.

I now take extremely early morning flights to Manila from Cebu as then there is less chance of congestion at NAIA causing a huge delay to departure etc. A friend's girlfriend left on the 2 pm flight to Mania from Cebu recently and arrived at 11 pm. Despite this and an average online arrival of 75% as advertised on the web site I still prefer CP to PAL any day.

[QUOTE=SkipKost;1696266]But if real power in the country rests with a handful of families, then government is in a sense a puppet of these elite interests. I don't know which family controls CP, but doesn't accountability ultimately come back to these families? Viewed in this way, government incompetence is a sidebar in the power relations that matter most. Government incompetence harms the economic posture of the country, and by extension even the interests of elites, but only the elites are able to change these things. Sadly, they have few clear incentives to do so, especially when conversations among them reinforce how much they like things the way they are.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2015/03/17/one-stubborn-problem-the-rising-star-philippine-economy-cant-yet-fix/

(So I did all the usual steps to make this a hotlink: hard carriage return after the end of the url, but alas no hotlink. Any suggestions what I did wrong? In the meantime, sorry, you'll have to copy and paste into your browser.)[/QUOTE]In theory what Skip says is true: if the oligarchs thought it would be in their interest to construct a decent air transport system, it would get done. In practice however, I'm not sure that the causal link is so strong. I say this because several months ago, San Miguel, a charter member of the oligarch club, proposed to build a new airport that it would finance. The company submitted a proposal to the government, complete with a proposed location and, I believe, a preliminary design. The proposal has disappeared into the abyss of government incompetence, to allow the former adequate time to "study" the proposal. In similar fashion, at least two consortia of large private sector interests proposed, about three years ago, to build a subway system and submitted preliminary designs and financing proposals: again, these proposals sank without a trace. I cannot explain why, if the control of the oligarchs is so absolute, both of these attempts to improve and construct much needed infrastructure would be dismissed.

Given that ASEAN economic integration is going to become a reality on the last day of 2015, and given thAT this country is woefully unprepared to compete with Thailand and Malaysia, let alone Singapore, one would think that it would be in the interests of the oligarchs to help this place become more competitive. As things currently stand, it makes nothing that the rest of the world wants, reflects the highest shipping costs in Asia and (depending on which analysis you read) has the highest or second highest power costs in Asia. No one however, seems to care.

GE.