Overseas Filipinos: Migrant Workers and Global Labor Markets [Archive] - Page 21

NTprime

November 23rd, 2010, 03:42 AM

I think so...Pinoys can easily blend with any other culture. I read before a study about assimilation of Pinoys with other cultures....Filipinos accepted a Western religion, proud of colonial history, etc. so basically there was no antagonism against foreigners. Fact is: we easily patronize foreign sounding restaurants. Out of curiousity or just plain colonial mentality?

The Pinoy is generally an open and accepting society, forgiving at that, too. While we do have a number of derogatory terms for undesirable nationalities (I leave it to the imagination), I think it is out of curiosity that Pinoys try out novelties (and of course, to be able to brag to the others who haven't been there or tried it yet). Which is why fads come and go in the Philippines. Sooner or later, you'll see a lot of restaurant or food copycats (complete with spoofs) of successful brands, only later on to oversaturate the market and then go out of business (examples that come into mind...lechon manok except for the established brands, Zagu and other similar drinks, purified water stations, etc.). What we need is sustainability and strong branding. Jollibee is a perfect example of a foreign concept further refined and sustained by a Filipino company.

In addition to the Philippines, I think Vietnam would have been a relatively open society if not for the time communism took over. Sure, they're still socialist oriented, but they love a lot of western trends. Vietnam was "colonized" not by one, but at least 2 western cultures (French and the Americans although technically they were never a colony of the USA).

xxxriainxxx

November 23rd, 2010, 04:03 AM

hmm, how do we know you're not fengrun...??:sly::D

Mukhang paranoid ka na. :lol::lol::lol:

hindi sya yun:D

mamaya pag nag away sila ni mwg siya na yun:D:lol::lol::lol:

Tuwa mo lang ulet pag magka flame war dito..
:lol::lol::lol:

Hmmm...probably because Hanoi is the vestige of communist (ooops, socialist) Vietnam? Some Pinoys still think of VC when Vietnam is mentioned.

In Saigon they have a Chinatown. I remember it's called Cholon located in District 5 which is southwest of the major hotels and tourist attractions in District 1.

That is true... Medyo iffish pa ang mga Pinoy, but sige lang. :) I know that we are being watched closely here. I think the stability that the VN govt offers make it attractive to investors. Napagsabihan na kami esp yung mga malalapit sa tagaEmbahada, I wish we have their stability. Sometimes medyo off tangent ang mga sagot ko dito kaya, read between the lines na lang. ;)

Is he back yet??:lol::lol: Correction please, he hates me and NTprime. Hindi kase gumaya si fengrun sa iyo amigo, naging business owner kahit malayo sa degree na tinapos mo. Tignan mo? Mas successful ka pa duon kaya hindi ka bitter.... Ikaw sana ang best sample ko ulit sa kanya kase nag po-provide ka ng trabaho sa kapwa. Ewan ko lang kung kinu-corrupt mo ang mga ibang cliente mo na pogi...:lol::lol::lol: PEACE!!

Hehehe, si amigo mukhang matulis yan eh. :D :lol::lol:

Wow, seriously? There are Jollibee stores in Vietnam? That is a very good news alright. I wonder how I can franchise Jollibee so we can introduce it here in the midwest. I can probably start one at the mall since pinoys love going to the mall.

Check mo yung Jollibee website, I think they are still bullish on expanding in the US, as per their advisory on the website, naka on hold muna ang franchising sa APAC region last time I checked.

Here are the store locations in Vietnam-

Dong Nai Province (2 branches)
Hanoi (1 branch)
HCMC (11 branches)
Nha Trang (1 branch)
Mekong Delta Region (4 branches)

With only abour 3,500-4,000 Filipinos in Vietnam, I think the majority of the customers are non-Pinoys.

Yeah, sometimes no thrill without an antagonist. However fengrun doesn't do justice to the term antagonist, there are far more appropriate words to describe fengrun:lol:

Anyway, since fengrun was claiming that he could spend far less here in the Philippines and still make a decent living, let's try and understand how OFWs budget their expenses from their wages.

What percentage of an OFW's wage is sent back to their families in the Philippines?

And how much do they spend for their own personal needs while working abroad?

Some qualifiers...OFW in this case means someone who is working on contract abroad and has left his/her family behind. For those OFWs who are single, they can include siblings and parents as family.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think more than half of the OFW's take home pay is sent back to family. Of course, the ratio gets smaller as income gets proportionately larger, but unless the OFW is an uber-flashpacker I don't think they will spend as much for themselves compared to sending back home or keeping extra funds aside for savings.

Any insights? xxxriainxxx, I'm looking forward to input from you on this one.

Interestingly, I came across in my studies before about the percentage of OFW salaries sent over to their relatives in the Philippines. Basically there are two types, one who sends small amounts monthly (say 100USD) and the one who sends bigger sums of money every so few months a year. I believe there is a study on this. I wish I can find it now and post it here..

As per my observation here with my Pinoy colleagues, they send at least 200-300USD a month. Do not take my word for it, the Pinoys I work with are more or less middle class back home and the families back home do not really depend on the money sent by my colleagues. My family are self-sufficient back home so I do not necessarily have to send money, save for treats like free plane tickets for my parents and my sister for trips that I pay for.

As for personal expense whilst living abroad, it really depends where the OFW lives. In Hanoi for example, a weekly grocery for me and another colleague costs about 1M VND (just over 50 USD), daily commute costs about 2-3 dollars, housing is provided, utilities are shared, and our salaries tax free.

Most of our expenses go to food and every few or so months, a trip overseas. I have started saving here as well. In the future, I'd like to invest in the Philippines and in Australia.

amigo32

November 23rd, 2010, 04:07 AM

Tuwa mo lang ulet pag magka flame war dito..
:lol::lol::lol:

.

okay lang kasi may away dito, wala namng naoospital, :D maliban na lang kung may alta presyon:lol: at masyadong dinibdib ang usapan:lol:

iamwatching

November 23rd, 2010, 04:36 AM

Anyway, since fengrun was claiming that he could spend far less here in the Philippines and still make a decent living, let's try and understand how OFWs budget their expenses from their wages.

Allow me to answer since my spending style would probably be the norm among OFW's here in SG :D (Or at least its about the same as that of my friends)

What percentage of an OFW's wage is sent back to their families in the Philippines?

And how much do they spend for their own personal needs while working abroad?

Some qualifiers...OFW in this case means someone who is working on contract abroad and has left his/her family behind. For those OFWs who are single, they can include siblings and parents as family.
.

To start with, Me and my wife are working here in SG (So the figures and percentages I will share is the combination of our income), we have no kids yet and we are renting a flat along with our friends. Our share is higher though as we opted to get the master bedroom so the rent is around S$760 (or roughly P25,000) plus around S$150 for utilities (internet,cable,phone, electricity, water and gas)

For percentage of income sent to the Philippines (for parent's allowance), we send around 10% to my parents and 10% to her parents (sometimes we send more for special needs/occasions which we take out from our monthly expenses allowance)

We typically save about 30% of our combined income for savings while the rest is for housing/utilities (20%), monthly expenses ( food, transportation, entertainment) (30%)

I say savings is typical because that is the basic set amount that we save each month but we top it up with what is left with our monthly expenses allowance (usually we only use about 60% of the monthly allowance (or about 20% of our income)especially in months when we are too lazy to go shopping or night outs.)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think more than half of the OFW's take home pay is sent back to family. Of course, the ratio gets smaller as income gets proportionately larger, but unless the OFW is an uber-flashpacker I don't think they will spend as much for themselves compared to sending back home or keeping extra funds aside for savings.
.

The S$500 allowance we send to my parents and my wife's parents (total of S$1000) may not seem much but thats because its just a supplement to their income..My wife's parents still have their business running while mine are still employed...Plus we're not exactly big time earners lol.I guess other OFWs send higher but from my observation, my friends who send money to their parent send about the same amount too (Most of my friends are either single or are here with their spouses though)

to sum it up here is the breakdown of our expenses..

housing and utilities ----> 20%
money sent to Phil ------>20%
savings ---------------> 30%
monthly expenses -------> 30%

NTprime

November 23rd, 2010, 06:13 AM

Check mo yung Jollibee website, I think they are still bullish on expanding in the US, as per their advisory on the website, naka on hold muna ang franchising sa APAC region last time I checked.

Here are the store locations in Vietnam-

Dong Nai Province (2 branches)
Hanoi (1 branch)
HCMC (11 branches)
Nha Trang (1 branch)
Mekong Delta Region (4 branches)

With only abour 3,500-4,000 Filipinos in Vietnam, I think the majority of the customers are non-Pinoys.

Wow, 11 branches in Saigon? That is some progress! I presume these have mushroomed in the last 2 years since I haven't been back to Saigon since 2008. But then again, why look for Jollibee (unless in dire need of comfort food) where there are countless restaurants offering Phở and Chả giò at a much cheaper price?

Interestingly, I came across in my studies before about the percentage of OFW salaries sent over to their relatives in the Philippines. Basically there are two types, one who sends small amounts monthly (say 100USD) and the one who sends bigger sums of money every so few months a year. I believe there is a study on this. I wish I can find it now and post it here..

As per my observation here with my Pinoy colleagues, they send at least 200-300USD a month. Do not take my word for it, the Pinoys I work with are more or less middle class back home and the families back home do not really depend on the money sent by my colleagues. My family are self-sufficient back home so I do not necessarily have to send money, save for treats like free plane tickets for my parents and my sister for trips that I pay for.

As for personal expense whilst living abroad, it really depends where the OFW lives. In Hanoi for example, a weekly grocery for me and another colleague costs about 1M VND (just over 50 USD), daily commute costs about 2-3 dollars, housing is provided, utilities are shared, and our salaries tax free.

Most of our expenses go to food and every few or so months, a trip overseas. I have started saving here as well. In the future, I'd like to invest in the Philippines and in Australia.

Allow me to answer since my spending style would probably be the norm among OFW's here in SG :D (Or at least its about the same as that of my friends)

To start with, Me and my wife are working here in SG (So the figures and percentages I will share is the combination of our income), we have no kids yet and we are renting a flat along with our friends. Our share is higher though as we opted to get the master bedroom so the rent is around S$760 (or roughly P25,000) plus around S$150 for utilities (internet,cable,phone, electricity, water and gas)

For percentage of income sent to the Philippines (for parent's allowance), we send around 10% to my parents and 10% to her parents (sometimes we send more for special needs/occasions which we take out from our monthly expenses allowance)

We typically save about 30% of our combined income for savings while the rest is for housing/utilities (20%), monthly expenses ( food, transportation, entertainment) (30%)

I say savings is typical because that is the basic set amount that we save each month but we top it up with what is left with our monthly expenses allowance (usually we only use about 60% of the monthly allowance (or about 20% of our income)especially in months when we are too lazy to go shopping or night outs.)

The S$500 allowance we send to my parents and my wife's parents (total of S$1000) may not seem much but thats because its just a supplement to their income..My wife's parents still have their business running while mine are still employed...Plus we're not exactly big time earners lol.I guess other OFWs send higher but from my observation, my friends who send money to their parent send about the same amount too (Most of my friends are either single or are here with their spouses though)

to sum it up here is the breakdown of our expenses..

housing and utilities ----> 20%
money sent to Phil ------>20%
savings ---------------> 30%
monthly expenses -------> 30%

Thanks xxxriainxxx and iamwatching for sharing examples of how OFWs budget their expenses. If fengrun were part of this discussion he would probably get a better idea that OFWs span a whole range of professions and occupations in different countries, hence he would not be generalizing and be prejudiced.

After going through the percentages of what you say are your budgets, I am a bit envious in the SAVINGS department. Here in Manila you can earn big bucks but your expenses are also tops, especially if you have school age kids.

Of course we are all different, I have mortgages (no rent) and cars (my understanding is that many OFWs don't have cars yet except for those already well established), and have other bills to pay (utilities, insurance and the like). And the biggest differentiator are DEPENDENTS (i.e. children). Kids like take out easily one third of your budget, whether infants or grade school kids, or college kids (more so with college kids since you're paying for their dates and the like). So in the end savings are minimal. However, we have a house of our own to look forward to, etc. etc.

Again, each to his or her own. One thing I realized is that many married OFWs who leave their kids behind (unless they are expats who are on family status) have to send a larger percentage of their income back to the Philippines (which is why I said half in a previous post). So they end up sacrificing their personal needs, and depending on how big their family is back home, can either be generous or stingy if comparisons were allowed. It is then when money becomes an issue, whether too much or too little (more usually the latter)...too much and the spouse who gets left behind might start fooling around; too little and the other family members will also complain. There's no generalized answer. But then I can probably say with certainty that the reason was more because they wanted to improve the livelihood of their families, otherwise they would end up as "istambays" here in the Philippines.

Does anyone by chance have a breakdown of the classifications of OFWs based on their earnings? Like those below USD 400 (maids and the like), up to USD1000 (blue collar workers), USD 1000 - 2000 (professionals) and USD 2000 and up (expatriates, country heads, etc.)? It would be interesting to note how the budget is broken down depending on the earning capacity.

iamwatching

November 23rd, 2010, 06:39 AM

Does anyone by chance have a breakdown of the classifications of OFWs based on their earnings? Like those below USD 400 (maids and the like), up to USD1000 (blue collar workers), USD 1000 - 2000 (professionals) and USD 2000 and up (expatriates, country heads, etc.)? It would be interesting to note how the budget is broken down depending on the earning capacity.

For OFWs in Singapore (except for maids) the salary range is quite broad.

I know people who earn as low as S$1600 (most likely their salary declared during pass application was S$1800) but I've also heard of pinoys earning as high as S$10,000 (IT execs)

For OFWs in my sector (construction) and experience bracket (4-6 years) salary would range from S$1800 to as high as S$3500.

Average salary for Pinoy professionals would probably be S$2200-S$2700.

youngblood

November 23rd, 2010, 07:36 AM

Sa amin naman dito sa Canada(alberta) compared sa ibang province medyo mas malaki ang salary dahil mas maliit ang tax and mataas ang basic salary.

OFW's working as Food Service Attendant nasa CAD$ 1600- CAD$ 2100 tangal na dyan lahat ng tax.

Yun mga immigrants naman po dun na nagkakaiba-iba. Ang pinakamagandang sahuran dito yung mga sa oil field. Starting pay nila nasa CAD$40,000. But kung ticket or Journeyman na naglalaro sa CAD$50,000-60,000. Mga in-demand work pa rin dito ang Welders, pipe-fitters, plumbers etc.

Doon naman po sa mga caregivers, LPN and nurses wala ako gaano idea.

pi_malejana

November 23rd, 2010, 07:42 AM

dito for RN's mga $2000 every 15 days (~$4000 monthly before taxes pa ata) syempre depende na rin kung may overtime, holiday, etc...:)

we only send around $200 monthly to the Philippines; may mga trabaho naman kasi ung mga tita/tito ko dun plus ung pension ng grandparents...:)

:cheers:

xxxriainxxx

November 23rd, 2010, 07:44 AM

Wow, 11 branches in Saigon? That is some progress! I presume these have mushroomed in the last 2 years since I haven't been back to Saigon since 2008. But then again, why look for Jollibee (unless in dire need of comfort food) where there are countless restaurants offering Phở and Chả giò at a much cheaper price?

The problem that many of us encounter here is the availability of clean, hygienically prepared food. The reason why my groceries are a bit expensive is because I cook at home most of the time. Iwas disease and it's cheaper. I am not a big fan of eating pho outside after having to deal with a bum tummy for two weeks after I got here. I wanted to have that 'authentic' feel of the place so I tried roughing it up but my tummy begs to disagree. Also I arrived in the middle of a sweltering summer with frequent blackouts that cholera outbreaks were reported in some parts of the city.

As for the classification of workers according to income brackets, you can't really tell their profession from their income. It also depends upon the location. 1,000 USD for example is an average here for professionals (even for other non-Pinoys on the same profession).

tchitz

November 23rd, 2010, 08:32 AM

It is not uncommon for an Engineer in Alberta Canada, working for an oil and gas company (or related field) to earn $120,000-$160,000. And some oil and gas companies even pay bonuses to their employees. I know someone in management category whose total remuneration last year (pay and bonuses) reached $250,000.

victorlachica

November 23rd, 2010, 08:48 AM

Engineer sa Australia A$200k

tchitz

November 23rd, 2010, 09:05 AM

Although we used to send funds to my wife’s siblings on a regular basis, but now that they are all settled with jobs or with business, we don’t anymore on a regular basis. We still do occasionally if for instance any of their children got hospitalized, or they are short of funds and needs help to enroll their kids to school, or needs additional funds to augment their car down payment or start-up capital for a business.

We however support 10 disadvantage students (not related to us) for their schooling. We pay for their education and send money on a regular basis. They are 5 elementary kids (2 in Payatas, 3 in Gawad Calinga Ancop), 3 in colleges or Universities, and 2 seminarians. We haven’t seen these students except for the 2 in Payatas.

tchitz

November 23rd, 2010, 09:11 AM

Engineer sa Australia A$200k

Naku, baka mag-apply na si Fengrun pumunta sa Australia kapag makita niya ito. he he he. Diyan na lang siya kaysa dito sa Canada. ha ha ha :lol:

NTprime

November 23rd, 2010, 09:23 AM

xxxriainxxx

November 23rd, 2010, 10:31 AM

Wow, this is getting to be a more interesting thread with fengrun not around:lol:

Thanks are in order for iamwatching, xxxriainxxx, youngblood, pi_malejana, victorlachica and tchitz for contributing to the thread. Mwg12a, thanks as well (you've contributed more statistics on OFW earnings even before I asked this at post no. 351).

It seems your replies are quite diverse, which dispels the prejudicial whinings of the infamous fengrun. We probably don't have entry level OFWs frequenting SSC as much so we can't really get a good idea of how much is sent back to the Philippines. But based on your posts, work for OFWs in SSC looks like it's really for the betterment of themselves and their families. And the reasons for leaving the country (while not expounded by everyone who replied so far) are not because OFWs are desperate or misguided, as what fengrun has been claiming all along.

Now another question...having worked abroad, what do you miss back home that you can't do there?

A lot.

1. Food. Good food. Good clean food. And good, clean food delivered 24/7.

2. Back in the Philippines, there are alot of beautiful places I can go to without breaking the bank.

Our beaches, mountainscapes are unbeatable and there is always something new to discover every trip.

3. The Philippines is more multicultural and more diverse than VN. I love my cosmopolitan Philippine cities.

4. Great shopping.

5. Roofdeck pool parties. I missed that. I can buy a bottle of Tanduay and coke and chill out at a roofkdeck jacuzzi with good friends.

6. Good cinemas. The 'best' cinema here sucks. The sound is very defective too and sometimes you can hear someone drilling the wall during a movie.

7. Wide cable TV selection.

8. Better hospitals and health clinics.

9. Cheaper airline flights to anywhere.

10. Public transport.

Marami pang iba. Hehehe.

amigo32

November 23rd, 2010, 10:52 AM

puede:D bumalik ka na lang sa Pinas:D

Koreano na lang turuan mo ng maling english para makaganti ka:D j/k

xxxriainxxx

November 23rd, 2010, 11:08 AM

puede:D bumalik ka na lang sa Pinas:D

Koreano na lang turuan mo ng maling english para makaganti ka:D j/k

Hehehehehe. Ayaw, naku lalong dadami ang mga Koreano dyan! Kasi bobombahin na yata sila ulit. Hayz, I hope wag sundan ng bomba ang mga Koreano pupunta sa Pinas. Damay tayo.:ohno::ohno:

Yan ang di ko namiss. Puro Koreano everywhere, kala ko ba nasa Pilipinas ako. :lol::lol:

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 11:30 AM

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 11:32 AM

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 11:33 AM

Engineer sa Australia A$200k

wow!!! taas naman....mahirap bang magmigrate diyan sa australia?

amigo32

November 23rd, 2010, 11:52 AM

wow!!! taas naman....mahirap bang magmigrate diyan sa australia?

madali lang, kailangan nila bantay ng mga kangaroo sa desierto:D j/k

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 11:56 AM

madali lang, kailangan nila bantay ng mga kangaroo sa desierto:D j/k

hahaha...ganoon ba as in care giver ng mga joey

xxxriainxxx

November 23rd, 2010, 12:09 PM

hahaha...ganoon ba as in care giver ng mga joey

Mahirap yan, at baka masipa ka sa kwan. :lol::lol:

b_two

November 23rd, 2010, 12:13 PM

ang namimiss ko sa pinas ay ang flow ng pang araw-araw na buhay... Magaan at masaya.

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 12:17 PM

bakit ganoon wala akong nami-miss sa pinas hehehe

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 12:19 PM

youngblood

November 23rd, 2010, 12:26 PM

hi there... hanggang ngayon ba ganyan pa ring kataas ang sinasahod ng mga food attendant diyan sa alberta. sobrang taas naman? hindi sa hindi ako naniniwala pero hindi kaya malugi ang mga fast food diyan sa lugar ninyo.

Basic salary ng mga food attendant yan dito. Starting pay nila is between 9-14 CAD$ per hour. Most people in this area is in the oilfield Kaya maraming vacancy in hotels and restaurant.

just look at this job listings

http://alberta.kijiji.ca/f-food-attendant-jobs-W0QQCatIdZ45QQKeywordZfoodQ20attendant

Suggestion ko lang sa mga gustong mag apply as immigrant or as contract worker consult an immigration representative, either an immigration lawyer or agencies that's a member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants.
Para iwas illegal recruiter.

iamwatching

November 23rd, 2010, 12:27 PM

Engineer sa Australia A$200k

wow! is that applicable to Filipino engineers too? Here in SG "foreign talent" rate is typically lower than that of a local. Mataas na para sa Pinoy if nasa S$3500-S$4000 ka unless very senior ka na sa position mo. Usually sa mga kilala ko na nasa high-side ang sweldo nasa S$2500-3K lang

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 12:33 PM

Basic salary ng mga food attendant yan dito. Starting pay nila is between 9-14 CAD$ per hour. Most people in this area is in the oilfield Kaya maraming vacancy in hotels and restaurant.

just look at this job listings

http://alberta.kijiji.ca/f-food-attendant-jobs-W0QQCatIdZ45QQKeywordZfoodQ20attendant

Suggestion ko lang sa mga gustong mag apply as immigrant or as contract worker consult an immigration representative, either an immigration lawyer or agencies that's a member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants.
Para iwas illegal recruiter.

many thanks...makapunta nga diyan at makapagfood attendant. pero saan naman sa alberta. ito ba ay sa mga big city nila tulad ng edmonton at calgary. musta naman ang klima diyan saka na ring ang mga taong local diyan ?

youngblood

November 23rd, 2010, 12:36 PM

xxxriainxxx

November 23rd, 2010, 12:39 PM

bakit ganoon wala akong nami-miss sa pinas hehehe

meron. pupunta ka ba dito sa mga Pinoy forums kung di mo namimiss na kausap ang mga kapwa mo Pinoy? :cheers:

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 12:42 PM

meron. pupunta ka ba dito sa mga Pinoy forums kung di mo namimiss na kausap ang mga kapwa mo Pinoy? :cheers:

tama ka bro...siguro nga ang namimiss ko sa pinas ay iyong makadaupangpalad ang kapwa Filipino at makakwentuhan na rin sa king mga kababayan:)

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 12:47 PM

xxxriainxxx

November 23rd, 2010, 12:58 PM

tama ka bro...siguro nga ang namimiss ko sa pinas ay iyong makadaupangpalad ang kapwa Filipino at makakwentuhan na rin sa king mga kababayan:)

diba? :lol::lol:

apir!

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 01:06 PM

diba? :lol::lol:

apir!

cheers:cheers:

youngblood

November 23rd, 2010, 01:09 PM

how's the cost of living there in alberta? is it comparable to other major cities in canada? you've said 1600 - 2200 is the salary of a food attendant...is it good enough to have a decent life there in alberta?

weather in alberta is not that great. Extreme, when its cold its freezing cold ngayon lang -25 ang temp dito. Summer is hot, dry and scorching.

Cost of living, well depende din kung saan part ka ng Alberta. A typical house with 3 bedrooms usually cost around 1000-1200 plus 300 utilities(cable, water, electricity etc.) In the case of contract workers, this expenses are usually divided by 4-8 people.

If your household income is between 60,000-80,000(the average household income in Alberta) i think you can have decent life in Alberta.

onilian2727

November 23rd, 2010, 01:19 PM

weather in alberta is not that great. Extreme, when its cold its freezing cold ngayon lang -25 ang temp dito. Summer is hot, dry and scorching.

Cost of living, well depende din kung saan part ka ng Alberta. A typical house with 3 bedrooms usually cost around 1000-1200 plus 300 utilities(cable, water, electricity etc.) In the case of contract workers, this expenses are usually divided by 4-8 people.

If your household income is between 60,000-80,000(the average household income in Alberta) i think you can have decent life in Alberta.

hmmm ...big thanks!!!!!:)

GodIsNotGreat

November 23rd, 2010, 03:03 PM

Suggestion ko lang sa mga gustong mag apply as immigrant or as contract worker consult an immigration representative, either an immigration lawyer or agencies that's a member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants.
Para iwas illegal recruiter.

Peace Brother, but I am taking the contrarian view.

If you are planning to immigrate to Canada, you do not need to employ the services of an immigration consultancy firm. The procedures for immigrating are straightforward and above board. Canada has streamlined processes that most literate, educated professional in the Philippines can understand and follow. Consultancy firms can neither fasttrack your application nor make it more preferable to other applications submitted individually by other Filipinos. It will just set you back 100 grand, more or less.

The government bureaucracy is extremely competent and incorruptible, and they have protocols and norms that they follow. They do not give preference to immigration consultancy firms.

The website that deals with Canadian immigration is this:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp

All the information that you need are here, and the forms can be downloaded. Read up and carefully determine if you are qualified to immigrate. If you think you are, download the forms, submit them together with the requirements, and off you go.

The waiting time though is 4-5 years. But you can have your merry way of enjoying what you are doing in the Philippines while putting your application at the back of your mind.
Time flies and before you know it, the Embassy has some response to your application.

You can even fancy sojourning in another country as a contract worker while your application grounds along. This is what other Filipinos do. A few Filipinos in the Middle East take this tack. The thing that complicates this though is that the Embassy requires that you get a police clearance from countries that you have been to. This could be a bureaucratic problem in some countries.

As for contract workers going to Canada this is another thing. I believe that the POEA can better inform you with regards to the accredited agencies.

xxxriainxxx

November 23rd, 2010, 05:22 PM

AFAIK, there are about 60,000 Filipinos living right now in South Korea.

tchitz

November 23rd, 2010, 05:33 PM

...Now another question...having worked abroad, what do you miss back home that you can't do there?

The weather, because when its winter here, it can get extremely cold. I hibernate when its winter in Alberta(expression lang). He he he. It’s -30 degrees centigrade this morning in Calgary.

Filipino foods and cheap to eat out in the Philippines when converting our dollars to pesos. He he he.

We missed a lot of things in the Philippines, so much so that we just recently bought a pre-selling condo unit in BGC that we can use when we go on vacations in the Philippines, and perhaps even a place for our future abode (second home) at least half of the year when we take up early retirement. But we will probably end up travelling back and forth as we now have families and roots here abroad and I am a dual citizen (Canada and the U.S.) and will soon restore my Philippine citizenship.

tchitz

November 23rd, 2010, 05:39 PM

hindi ba mahirap mag-upgrade ang mga engineer diyan sa alberta.

Yap, sabi nila mahirap. Sorry I’m not an engineer so I can’t give you a personal experience on that one. Here is the website to read information to upgrade foreign credentials http://www.apegga.org/Applicants/IEG/toc.html . Most pinoy engineers take jobs in related engineering fields though to start with. Ok na rin yon. Nakakabili na sila ng bahay sa ganong trabaho.

tchitz

November 23rd, 2010, 06:16 PM

Peace Brother, but I am taking the contrarian view.

If you are planning to immigrate to Canada, you do not need to employ the services of an immigration consultancy firm. The procedures for immigrating are straightforward and above board. Canada has streamlined processes that most literate, educated professional in the Philippines can understand and follow. Consultancy firms can neither fasttrack your application nor make it more preferable to other applications submitted individually by other Filipinos. It will just set you back 100 grand, more or less.

The government bureaucracy is extremely competent and incorruptible, and they have protocols and norms that they follow. They do not give preference to immigration consultancy firms.

The website that deals with Canadian immigration is this:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp

All the information that you need are here, and the forms can be downloaded. Read up and carefully determine if you are qualified to immigrate. If you think you are, download the forms, submit them together with the requirements, and off you go.

The waiting time though is 4-5 years. But you can have your merry way of enjoying what you are doing in the Philippines while putting your application at the back of your mind.
Time flies and before you know it, the Embassy has some response to your application.

You can even fancy sojourning in another country as a contract worker while your application grounds along. This is what other Filipinos do. A few Filipinos in the Middle East take this tack. The thing that complicates this though is that the Embassy requires that you get a police clearance from countries that you have been to. This could be a bureaucratic problem in some countries.

As for contract workers going to Canada this is another thing. I believe that the POEA can better inform you with regards to the accredited agencies.

I saw this forum http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=245 that interested prospective immigrants can participate in and ask quetions.

mwg12a

November 23rd, 2010, 06:22 PM

Thanks xxxriainxxx and iamwatching for sharing examples of how OFWs budget their expenses. If fengrun were part of this discussion he would probably get a better idea that OFWs span a whole range of professions and occupations in different countries, hence he would not be generalizing and be prejudiced.

You can't change someoone who is close/narrow-minded and arrogant, they will just keep on pushing and imposing their twisted view and perception.

youngblood

November 23rd, 2010, 06:33 PM

GodIsNotGreat

November 23rd, 2010, 06:53 PM

I saw this forum http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=245 that interested prospective immigrants can participate in and ask quetions.

This is a nice find. This site and other fora in the 'Net can help in informing would be migrants.

Another thing that seems to be a prevalent belief is that Filipinos without relatives in Canada would have trouble relocating. This is not so, although all other things being equal, the applicant with a relative would have an easier time of settling.

What some Filipinos do is that the husband or wife would fly in first and find suitable accomodation for the rest of the family who will follow a few months later.

There are immigration personnel at Pearson airport in Toronto that will assist newly landed migrants in finding suitable temporary accomodation.

Nobody should think that immigrating/relocating is a big fuss. It is a drawn-out lengthy process, for sure.

ninja kid

November 23rd, 2010, 07:48 PM

hindi ba mahirap mag-upgrade ang mga engineer diyan sa alberta.

Medyo mahabang proceso ... but then there's a lot of Pinoy P.Eng here in Alberta ... see APEGGA (http://www.apegga.org/)'s webpage ...

Basic salary ng mga food attendant yan dito. Starting pay nila is between 9-14 CAD$ per hour. Most people in this area is in the oilfield Kaya maraming vacancy in hotels and restaurant.

just look at this job listings

http://alberta.kijiji.ca/f-food-attendant-jobs-W0QQCatIdZ45QQKeywordZfoodQ20attendant

Suggestion ko lang sa mga gustong mag apply as immigrant or as contract worker consult an immigration representative, either an immigration lawyer or agencies that's a member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants.
Para iwas illegal recruiter.

Tama ka. Pero pwede din ang suggestion ni @GodisnotGreat ... mahabang proceso ... but if you're willing to migrate, you have to be patient ...

The weather, because when its winter here, it can get extremely cold. I hibernate when its winter in Alberta(expression lang). He he he. It’s -30 degrees centigrade this morning in Calgary.

Filipino foods and cheap to eat out in the Philippines when converting our dollars to pesos. He he he.

We missed a lot of things in the Philippines, so much so that we just recently bought a pre-selling condo unit in BGC that we can use when we go on vacations in the Philippines, and perhaps even a place for our future abode (second home) at least half of the year when we take up early retirement. But we will probably end up travelling back and forth as we now have families and roots here abroad and I am a dual citizen (Canada and the U.S.) and will soon restore my Philippine citizenship.

Nice idea @tchitz ... where's BGC by the way?

Weather lang kalaban dito sa Calgary & Edmonton ... the rest, tingin ko okay naman ... tiis nga lang sa -41 degC na windchill .. :ohno:
sa 3 years ko dito ... as Work Permit holder and later as Permanent Resident, eh kuntento naman ako sa pamamalakad ng Canada ...

btw, I am into Oil & Gas (Engineering & Design) so pag me tanong kayo about it ... I can share my views ... ayos! :okay:

ninja kid

November 23rd, 2010, 07:56 PM

This is a nice find. This site and other fora in the 'Net can help in informing would be migrants.

Another thing that seems to be a prevalent belief is that Filipinos without relatives in Canada would have trouble relocating. This is not so, although all other things being equal, the applicant with a relative would have an easier time of settling.

What some Filipinos do is that the husband or wife would fly in first and find suitable accomodation for the rest of the family who will follow a few months later.

There are immigration personnel at Pearson airport in Toronto that will assist newly landed migrants in finding suitable temporary accomodation.

Nobody should think that immigrating/relocating is a big fuss. It is a drawn-out lengthy process, for sure.

You're right ... mas magandang mauna muna ang husband or wife to settle kapag wala kang relatives dito ...
In my case, nag-settle muna ako sa sarili kong apartment before I fetched my wife & daughter ...:)

Importante dito, me mapapasukan kang work kahit odd jobs muna ...
Then pag me bala pa, mag-upgrade ka ng kurso mo ... para makahanap ka ng work sa linya mo ...
Una kasing tanong madalas eh, "Do you have Canadian experience?"
Pag wala, medyo mahihirapan ka unless you have Personal Work References ... :)

tchitz

November 23rd, 2010, 08:01 PM

...Nice idea @tchitz ... where's BGC by the way?

BGC = Bonifacio Global City also know as The Fort in Taguig. Kumuha kami ng 2 bedroom condo unit sa '8 Forbestown Road'.

ninja kid

November 23rd, 2010, 08:10 PM

BGC = Bonifacio Global City also know as The Fort in Taguig. Kumuha kami ng 2 bedroom condo unit sa '8 Forbestown Road'.

Wow! Good investment ... :okay:

Meet kayo ni @NTPrime dun sa BGC ... :)

Tagal ka na siguro dito sa Calgary ... kami eh nagsisimula pa lang ... :nuts:

vishaya

November 23rd, 2010, 08:16 PM

Engineer sa Australia A$200k

what position? manager? i think that's too high even for a senior engineer. might be possible if that figure includes overtime + allowances but doubtful for a base salary.

here's some figures for engineer's salaries in australia. in comparison to canada the numbers does not differ significantly. the big difference i think is the 'take home' pay (after taxes) less the cost of living expenses which of course is dependent on the respective locations.

http://www.interec.net/salary/servlet/SkyServlet?country=Australia&specialization=Unspecified&horizontal-axis=Specialization&vertical-axis=Base+Salary+%2B+Bonus&handler=SalSurvey&submit=Submit

tchitz

November 23rd, 2010, 08:30 PM

Wow! Good investment ... :okay:

Meet kayo ni @NTPrime dun sa BGC ... :)

Tagal ka na siguro dito sa Calgary ... kami eh nagsisimula pa lang ... :nuts:

Yes, medyo matagal na rin. Actually came here as a teenager on account of my parents immigrating to Canada, then to the U.S. Hence, I eventually became a citizen of both countries, having lived in both, at one time or another, and will eventually get back my lost Philippine citizenship kung mapapadalas na kaming pumunta sa Pinas sometime in the near future.

ninja kid

November 23rd, 2010, 08:57 PM

tchitz

November 23rd, 2010, 09:22 PM

Memorize mo pa ba ang Lupang Hinirang?
Siyempre naman, kaya ko pang kantahin, basta sa banyo lamang at walang nakakarinig. He he he.

Kami din ganun gagawin namin ... dual citizenship ...:)
In your case, you will not lose your Philippine citizenship should you decide in the future to take up Canadian citizenship because of the provisions of the Republic Act 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003. In my case, since I obtain Canadian citizenship before 2003, I lost my Philippine citizenship, kaya magbabayad pa kami (to apply) para maibalik lamang.

Mas masarap pa ring manirahan sa bayang sinilangan 'ika nga ... :okay:
OO naman. Sa tingin ko masmasarap sa Pinas, kaya duon kami magreretiro in the future, para sag ganon multiplied by 43 kaagad yung Canadian dollars namen. He he he.

mwg12a

November 24th, 2010, 01:46 AM

many thanks...makapunta nga diyan at makapagfood attendant. pero saan naman sa alberta. ito ba ay sa mga big city nila tulad ng edmonton at calgary. musta naman ang klima diyan saka na ring ang mga taong local diyan ?

Naku, kung pupunta ka na rin lang ng ibang bansa, siguraduhin mo na may maganda kang trabaho na makukuha (no offense to some, food attendant is also a decent job). Kung basic pay lang, mahihirapan ka din kaya check mo muna ang cost of living 1200.00 to 2000.00 Canadian dollars might look alot for alot of filipino who has not lived in Canada yet , even Australia or USA, you'd be struggling with your finances, unlike if you come over with a good profession. Filipino dependents or petitioned by their relatives usually had to go through these unless they went to school in Canada to get a much better paying job. Although, if you are really living comfortably in the Philippines, they why move to where you will have to start over again? You can always come for a nice long vacation to experience the life in the countries you visited in, especially if you have relatives there.

Linguine

November 24th, 2010, 06:45 AM

Recruiters want review of migrant workers' law
By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star) Updated November 24, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (1) View comments

MANILA, Philippines – To prevent the possible closure of many foreign markets and eventual death of the country’s overseas employment, local recruiters yesterday called on Congress to review the newly amended Migrant Workers Law.

Victor Fernandez, Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI) president, said certain provisions of the law could negatively affect the deployment of Filipino workers abroad.

Fernandez identified the two most critical issues as the requirement for certification among host countries and the compulsory insurance coverage for agency-hired workers at such exorbitant and prohibitive premiums.

According to Fernandez, the Philippine government, particularly the governing board of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), must exercise prudence by keeping as confidential and not publicizing the country certifications submitted to the body by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“Keeping the certifications confidential is one way for the Philippines to preserve its friendly relations with and to prevent potential diplomatic backlash from host countries, in case a negative certification is made public,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez said the non-publication of certified countries would not diminish the power and authority of the POEA to exercise its mandate in barring or blacklisting erring foreign employers from participating in the overseas employment program and from recruiting and hiring Filipino workers.

“Instead of categorizing host countries as favorable or unfavorable, the POEA should blacklist errant employers and not host countries receiving our Filipino workers,” Fernandez said.

Concerning the compulsory insurance coverage for agency-hired workers, Fernandez said the recruitment industry believes the rates imposed by the National Insurance Commission were totally “unconscionable.”

He then appealed to Congress to consider making the insurance coverage for agency-hired workers be on a voluntary basis.

NTprime

November 24th, 2010, 07:22 AM

Yes, medyo matagal na rin. Actually came here as a teenager on account of my parents immigrating to Canada, then to the U.S. Hence, I eventually became a citizen of both countries, having lived in both, at one time or another, and will eventually get back my lost Philippine citizenship kung mapapadalas na kaming pumunta sa Pinas sometime in the near future.

Wow! Good investment ... :okay:

Meet kayo ni @NTPrime dun sa BGC ... :)

Tagal ka na siguro dito sa Calgary ... kami eh nagsisimula pa lang ... :nuts:

Siyempre naman, kaya ko pang kantahin, basta sa banyo lamang at walang nakakarinig. He he he.

In your case, you will not lose your Philippine citizenship should you decide in the future to take up Canadian citizenship because of the provisions of the Republic Act 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003. In my case, since I obtain Canadian citizenship before 2003, I lost my Philippine citizenship, kaya magbabayad pa kami (to apply) para maibalik lamang.

OO naman. Sa tingin ko masmasarap sa Pinas, kaya duon kami magreretiro in the future, para sag ganon multiplied by 43 kaagad yung Canadian dollars namen. He he he.

Thanks folks for sharing your experiences in Calgary. I visited Calgary more than a decade ago, that was in March and I missed out on the 20 below zero weather not counting the windchill:lol: Back then the oil industry wasn't as big as it is nowadays, I even see companies promoting land developments in smaller cities of AB here in the Philippines!

Tchitz, you have good options being a dual citizen of the US and Canada. I have friends who migrated to Toronto and eventually moved to the US East Coast because the opportunities were there. I also know of some people who were planning to migrate to the US from Canada for some time until the financial crisis hit, in which case they decided to stay put in Canada for the time being and forego their petition for a US green card.

With near parity between the US and Canadian dollars, one of the major challenges living up north is the weather. While I hear the cold in AB is something, I understand it gets even wetter in places like Winnipeg during winter. That's like in the middle of Canada, with your nearest ocean hours away! My preference would be Vancouver, the weather is good, and access to Asia is easier compared to Toronto or even Calgary/Edmonton.

Are there other professions that are in demand aside from those in the oil and gas industry? Hows tourism doing over there?

tchitz

November 24th, 2010, 09:29 AM

Tchitz, you have good options being a dual citizen of the US and Canada. I have friends who migrated to Toronto and eventually moved to the US East Coast because the opportunities were there. I also know of some people who were planning to migrate to the US from Canada for some time until the financial crisis hit, in which case they decided to stay put in Canada for the time being and forego their petition for a US green card.

I would have preferred settling in the U.S. too before the financial crisis hit us, but not now. Canada is looking a lot rosier now than the U.S. in terms of the economy, prospects for weathering the economic storm, jobs, real estate prize stability, obtaining credit/loan from the banks, and we have a lot of raw materials that the world needs from oil & gas, minerals, lumber, potash, etc. For a prospective immigrant raising a family, my preference is Canada over the U.S. There is universality of health care (meaning everyone is covered), educational tuition fees till High School is free in most provinces, be it in public or Catholic schools. I’m not sure now in B.C. because the last time I lived there in the late 80’s, it was only 50% subsidized. And the Canadian society is more tolerant of diversity, so they have a more welcoming attitude toward immigrants.

With near parity between the US and Canadian dollars, one of the major challenges living up north is the weather. While I hear the cold in AB is something, I understand it gets even wetter in places like Winnipeg during winter. That's like in the middle of Canada, with your nearest ocean hours away! My preference would be Vancouver, the weather is good, and access to Asia is easier compared to Toronto or even Calgary/Edmonton.

For a would be immigrant coming to Canada, the chances of finding a job sooner is much better in Alberta, especially if your field of work is needed in the Oil and Gas sector, like engineers. Vancouver’s climate is more suited to us Filipinos because their winter is milder. It hardly snows over there, and the population mix is more varied with a lot more Asian immigrants flocking there than any place else in Canada. (I like the weather there so much so that we purchased a condo unit in Victoria City, the capital of British Columbia, in Vancouver Island, across a ferry ride from Vancouver.)

Are there other professions that are in demand aside from those in the oil and gas industry? Hows tourism doing over there?

Yes, I would rate architects as next in line in terms of demand followed by accountants. Tourism only accounts for 3.8 percent of Alberta’s GDP ( http://www.albertacanada.com/about-alberta/economic-results.html ), hence negligible, but tourism is higher in British Columbia province.

xxxriainxxx

November 24th, 2010, 10:53 AM

PH ready to evacuate all OFWs from Korea (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20101124-305056/PH-ready-to-evacuate-all-OFWs-from-Korea)
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 13:43:00 11/24/2010

MANILA, Philippines – The government is prepared to “evacuate all” 60,000 Filipinos in South Korea “if and when needed,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos said Wednesday.

“Everything is in place. We have an updated plan that addresses the security contingent arising in Korea. We will evacuate all if and when needed,” he said in a phone interview with INQUIRER.net.

The constant tension in the Korean Peninsula starting with the North Korea’s nuclear testing about two years ago prompted the Philippine government to draw up a plan that includes mobilizing its “extensive network” of Filipino community leaders in dangerous situations, Conejos said.

The plan is regularly updated and the last update was on June 9, he said.

“Right now, the Philippine embassy in Seoul has raised alert level 1, which means heightened security for our nationals,” Conejos said. The plan involves four alert levels.

In his phone conversation with Philippine Ambassador to Seoul Luis Cruz, Conejos said the situation as of posting time was “quiet.”

“There have been no new [artillery] exchanges,” he said.

Asked if the Filipinos in South Korea were feeling anxious, Conejos said they were “concerned about the situation, hoping that it would de-escalate soon.”

The DFA official also said that he has not received any report of an unusually high number of OFW departures from South Korea.

“We have the usual number of returns,” Conejos said.

“Right now, they are always free to come home; coming home is an individual decision. But we will enforce compulsory evacuation if we reach alert level 3,” he added.

President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs and other agencies concerned with migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos to ensure their safety.

“We are closely monitoring it and I have tasked the relevant agencies to review their plans concerning the safety of our citizens there,” the chief executive said.

Conejos said the plan involved a two-step movement. “In case of escalation, we will move our people out of harm’s way from the danger zone to converge halfway in relocation sites. If the security situation deteriorates, we move them to evacuation centers, from where we will airlift them to safety,” he said.

The DFA official, who has been in charge of overseas Filipino workers in dangerous situations as in Somalia and Iraq, said Philippine military planes and ships, as well as commercial vessels, would be used in case of an evacuation.

Most of the 60,000 Filipinos in South Korea work in factories or as service workers deployed through the government-to-government Employment Placement System. Conejos pointed out that the same system puts the responsibility of repatriation on the employer.

youngblood

November 24th, 2010, 05:01 PM

Naku, kung pupunta ka na rin lang ng ibang bansa, siguraduhin mo na may maganda kang trabaho na makukuha (no offense to some, food attendant is also a decent job). Kung basic pay lang, mahihirapan ka din kaya check mo muna ang cost of living 1200.00 to 2000.00 Canadian dollars might look alot for alot of filipino who has not lived in Canada yet , even Australia or USA, you'd be struggling with your finances, unlike if you come over with a good profession. Filipino dependents or petitioned by their relatives usually had to go through these unless they went to school in Canada to get a much better paying job. Although, if you are really living comfortably in the Philippines, they why move to where you will have to start over again? You can always come for a nice long vacation to experience the life in the countries you visited in, especially if you have relatives there.

Totally agree... I give the same advice to my friends. They're all doing good, nice stable job, owns a business, if your earning Php60000 a month in the Phil and your single I think it's much better to stay than migrate.

Isa pang bagay ang dapat i-consider, napansing ko lang na masyado nilang pinapahalagahan ang mga may Canadian Education. Napanuod ko rin sa TFC to na in- terms of educational attainment mas mahirap makakuha ng work sa Canada if di ka grad ng colleges nila. but then again, mabilis din lang naman makakuha ng grant, bursary or kahit student loan. Another way is mag apprentice ka muna.

mwg12a

November 24th, 2010, 05:25 PM

Isa pang bagay ang dapat i-consider, napansing ko lang na masyado nilang pinapahalagahan ang mga may Canadian Education. Napanuod ko rin sa TFC to na in- terms of educational attainment mas mahirap makakuha ng work sa Canada if di ka grad ng colleges nila. but then again, mabilis din lang naman makakuha ng grant, bursary or kahit student loan. Another way is mag apprentice ka muna.

Yes, this is true in most instances. I only knew of atleast one or two professions that are credited and recognized in Canada, it's the Veterinary Medicine and partly MDs, other professions including nurses are having tough jobs finding a job in that country.

ninja kid

November 24th, 2010, 05:25 PM

Totally agree... I give the same advice to my friends. They're all doing good, nice stable job, owns a business, if your earning Php60000 a month in the Phil and your single I think it's much better to stay than migrate.

Isa pang bagay ang dapat i-consider, napansing ko lang na masyado nilang pinapahalagahan ang mga may Canadian Education. Napanuod ko rin sa TFC to na in- terms of educational attainment mas mahirap makakuha ng work sa Canada if di ka grad ng colleges nila. but then again, mabilis din lang naman makakuha ng grant, bursary or kahit student loan. Another way is mag apprentice ka muna.

Yup, they prefer Canadian Education as much as possible. A Grade 12 graduate can directly go to work after graduation unless you go for a university degree, etc.

Maraming new immigrants ang na-a-upgrade pa to catch up ... but then, dahil mahusay ang mga Pinoy, mas madaling makaka-adapt at makakuha ng trabaho pagkatapos mag-aral ... madiskarte kasi tayo sa trabaho ... :okay:

youngblood

November 24th, 2010, 05:28 PM

Yup, they prefer Canadian Education as much as possible. A Grade 12 graduate can directly go to work after graduation unless you go for a university degree, etc.

Maraming new immigrants ang na-a-upgrade pa to catch up ... but then, dahil mahusay ang mga Pinoy, mas madaling makaka-adapt at makakuha ng trabaho pagkatapos mag-aral ... madiskarte kasi tayo sa trabaho ... :okay:

Marami akong kilalang Pilipino sa Nait peanuts na peanut sakanila un mga subject especially math. :banana: kasi engineer sila sa Pilipinas :lol:
Kadalasan sakanila nasa trades.

mwg12a

November 24th, 2010, 05:32 PM

Marami akong kilalang Pilipino sa Nait peanuts na peanut sakanila un mga subject especially math. :banana: kasi engineer sila sa Pilipinas :lol:
Kadalasan sakanila nasa trades.

Its just a matter of taking courses in addition to your existing credentials. Its just like engineers in the US, Philippine grads are not recognized but if you take few courses that the Philippine engineers didn't have in their Philippine corriculums once you finished, you'd be eligible to take the licensure examination. Once you passed which is not hard to do when you are already an engineering grad, you'd get a good paying job rather easily .

youngblood

November 24th, 2010, 05:46 PM

b_two

November 24th, 2010, 05:56 PM

^^^^

imo real estate in the philippines has a better foundation compared to the us. :)

296619

November 24th, 2010, 05:57 PM

Maiba po ako ng topic, are you guys starting to invest in Philippines? I'm a lil skeptical pa at this point kasi parang yung housing bubble sa Pilipinas may pagkakahalintulad sa USA. Parang anytime it'll just burst. This is just me.

Naku hindi ako aware sa housing bubble n yan... meron ba yan sa Pinas?.... ibig mo bang sabihin sa housing bubble yung pagtayo ng mga real estate developers ng mga condo at town house unit na sobrang dami pero hindi na mabnta dahil saturated na ang market? tama ba? ty...:)

youngblood

November 24th, 2010, 06:09 PM

Naku hindi ako aware sa housing bubble n yan... meron ba yan sa Pinas?.... ibig mo bang sabihin sa housing bubble yung pagtayo ng mga real estate developers ng mga condo at town house unit na sobrang dami pero hindi na mabnta dahil saturated na ang market? tama ba? ty...:)

Ganun na nga. Im really confuse, sabi nila mahirap daw ang Pilipinas. Pero sa dami sobra ng mga property na parang mga kaboteng nagsulputan di ko na alam kung ano nga ba ang dapat kong isipin.

Im taking my time anyway. Bata pa naman. Won't be retiring anytime soon. 40 yrs from now siguro. :lol:

b_two

November 24th, 2010, 06:53 PM

^^^^

sabi nga... invest while you're young.:cheers:

youngblood

November 24th, 2010, 07:03 PM

mwg12a

November 24th, 2010, 07:41 PM

Maiba po ako ng topic, are you guys starting to invest in Philippines? I'm a lil skeptical pa at this point kasi parang yung housing bubble sa Pilipinas may pagkakahalintulad sa USA. Parang anytime it'll just burst. This is just me.

^^^^

imo real estate in the philippines has a better foundation compared to the us. :)

Nope, that is a recipe for disaster, it's not about the foundation. It's those who gave credit for those who can't really afford a house beyond their finances. They were given lower monthly payments not knowing they are signed in a balloon payment where they had to give a lumpsum or something in the end as long as the client would give down payment. This is what is being corrected in the US, the lenders abused the system that was left unchecked for years because it wasn't really something illegal. They just didn't stipulate a much stricter rule

youngblood

November 24th, 2010, 08:17 PM

Nope, that is a recipe for disaster, it's not about the foundation. It's those who gave credit for those who can't really afford a house beyond their finances. They were given lower monthly payments not knowing they are signed in a balloon payment where they had to give a lumpsum or something in the end as long as the client would give down payment. This is what is being corrected in the US, the lenders abused the system that was left unchecked for years because it wasn't really something illegal. They just didn't stipulate a much stricter rule

so in your opinion sir/mam, is it worth investing in the Phil right now?

mwg12a

November 24th, 2010, 08:29 PM

so in your opinion sir/mam, is it worth investing in the Phil right now?

Why not? just do your own research and don't get yourself in a bad contract.

tchitz

November 24th, 2010, 09:12 PM

Maiba po ako ng topic, are you guys starting to invest in Philippines? I'm a lil skeptical pa at this point kasi parang yung housing bubble sa Pilipinas may pagkakahalintulad sa USA. Parang anytime it'll just burst. This is just me.

Yes, with caution. We signed up to purchase a pre-selling unit at The Fort whose delivery date is still 3.5 years away. There are a variety of reasons why we did this as follows.

1. So that we have our own place to stay when we travel to the Philippines.

2. It can serve as our future second home when we decide to take up residence there at least half of the year. We still have our roots and properties in Canada and the U.S. so we’ll travel back & forth.

3. Since the delivery date is still 3.5 years away, the timing is perfect for us. That is close to the time frame we would like to take up partial residence in the Philippines.

4. We were enticed by the location (8 Forbesetown Road) and its view fronting the Manila Golf and Country Club, the last piece of property to be built adjacent to the golf course at Bonifacio Global City. The view is fantastic and no obstruction.

5. Is there a property bubble right now in the Philippines? In my opinion, there isn’t. The prizes is where it’s supposed to be. Bear in mind that the property bubble collapsed in the west started to occur in the 4th quarter of 2008. The prizes in the Philippines remained stagnant around 2009 continuing on to first half of 2010. It did not collapse. We have seen the bottom and the trend is on an uptake now and we are still far from topping off.

6. The demographics of property investors consisting of OFWs and specially expats (those that immigrated abroad on a more permanent basis), in my opinion will grow even more. Let me rephrase that, exponentially. This is the main cause now why the prizes remained stable the last 2 years and did not experience a collapse. If you take away these OFWs & Expats money pouring in to real estate the last 2 years, the prizes would have experienced a collapsed. There are many expats that immigrated to the U.S., Canada & elsewhere in the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s that are now approaching retirement age, and are contemplating of retiring in the Philippines, bringing with them their savings and pensions; and what will this do to property demand? This will ignite the construction boom even more. As the expression goes, ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’.

Ephesus29

November 24th, 2010, 10:56 PM

Ang namiss ko sa Pilipinas, quality doctors! Family doctors here work same hours as the bankers. And they're not even available on holidays or weekends. If you go to the ER be ready to be in the waiting line for hours!

Aside sa weather, ito lang siguro yung major problem ng Alberta. Some people find it boring pero for me it's ok na rin, less labas less gastos! hehe

The weather really is sometimes a pitts in the winter not only in AB but all of Canada, however, there are winter activities that everyone can engaged in. (ie; skating, skiing, snowshoeing, sleding and snowboarding).

Or shopping in the mall till you drop.:lol:

AB specially Calgary is the investment hub in Canada, because of the tarsand.

B.C. on the otherhand is mostly tourism, natural gas, and forestry.

By the way it is snowing here in the westcoast right now. We consider it a winter blast :nuts: although nothing compared to the prairrie.

Ephesus29

November 24th, 2010, 11:09 PM

You're absolutely right. Catholic shools here in B.C. are not fully subsidized by the Province, only Public shools like in every provinces in Canada.

NTprime

November 25th, 2010, 01:06 AM

Maiba po ako ng topic, are you guys starting to invest in Philippines? I'm a lil skeptical pa at this point kasi parang yung housing bubble sa Pilipinas may pagkakahalintulad sa USA. Parang anytime it'll just burst. This is just me.

Without going into the fundamentals of economics, I would advise overseas Filipinos to invest in real estate back in the Philippines, provided you choose the developer well. Many years ago FilEstate was the top developer but look where they are now. Even further back Luke Roxas' ASB Holdings had the highest condominium (ASB Tower beside ADB) and the project got shelved just a few months before they completed it.

@tchitz - 8 Forbestown Road is a good investment. Nice view of Manila Golf, and for sure the property will appreciate over the long term. Plus the area is not as crowded as the condominiums behind Bonifacio Stopover, which gives for more privacy. Plus you can use it when you come back to the Philippines for vacation. Many condominium owners who own properties in Eastwood City and Bonifacio Global City rent out their places for short term, and then use them when they come home for vacation. Or of course, rent them on an annual or longer basis to expats. You can't go wrong there.

Finally, real estate in the Philippines will almost appreciate for sure. This is because there will be more Filipinos who will need decent housing when they prosper and land is limited since they hardly reclaim from the sea. So by the law of supply and demand, you'll see prices continue to go up in the near term.

Juan Pilgrim

November 25th, 2010, 01:49 AM

Linguine

November 25th, 2010, 03:35 AM

50,000 Filipinos in ROK put on Alert Level 1

By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:20:00 11/25/2010

Filed Under: Armed conflict, Overseas Employment

SEOUL—Filipinos in the Republic of Korea (ROK) have been put on alert for possible evacuation in case tension in the restive Korean Peninsula escalates, the Philippine Embassy in Seoul said yesterday.

Consul General Sylvia Marasigan told the Inquirer that Filipinos in the country had been notified that they were on alert following North Korea’s artillery attacks on Yeonpyeong Island that killed two South Korean soldiers and two civilians, and wounded 18 others.

“We are on heightened alert. We are advising Filipinos to be informed of news and to be aware of their personal documents,” Marasigan said.

Alert Level 1 is the lowest of a three-tiered signal established by the embassy for Filipino nationals in South Korea. Filipinos are advised to restrict their movements under Alert Level 2, while Alert Level 3 means relocation.

No travel advisory

In Manila, spokesperson Eduardo Malaya of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said there were no Filipinos on Yeonpyeong and that the department saw no need to issue an advisory against travel to South Korea.

“We’re hoping tensions are temporary in nature. We’re not suspending any programs or services. Those who are supposed to visit South Korea or work there can proceed to do so, taking into account that they have an informed decision,” Malaya said.

He said that the Philippine Ambassador in Seoul, Luis Cruz, reported to Manila yesterday that “all is quiet at this time.”

The DFA said in Manila that it was prepared to implement contingency plans for evacuation in coordination with other government agencies.

“Everything is in place. We have an updated plan,” said Undersecretary Esteban Conejos in a phone interview with INQUIRER.net. “We will evacuate all if and when needed.”

50,000 Filipinos

Around 50,000 Filipinos are in South Korea, most of them in the major cities and working in manufacturing companies, Marasigan said.

The embassy is prepared to relocate them if necessary, she said, and has established three pick-up points—in Seoul, Busan and Daegu—since July following the sinking of a South Korean warship allegedly carried out by Pyongyang.

Since Filipinos are difficult to reach, the embassy coordinates with local church groups, migrant organizations and the local police to notify them of developments, Marasigan said.

“We have updated a contingency plan since July, including updated layers of contacts in case of conflict,” she said. So far, the Philippine Embassy does not see the need to raise the alert level, although officials have been monitoring the news.

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific announced yesterday that flights between Manila and Seoul and Busan remained normal. With reports in Manila from DJ Yap, Paolo G. Montecillo, Jerome Aning and Veronica Uy, INQUIRER.net

RonnieR

November 25th, 2010, 04:10 AM

^^ I hope it won't escalate into war.

32 runaway Filipinos detained in Alkhobar

By RODOLFO ESTIMO JR. | ARAB NEWS

Published: Nov 25, 2010 00:13 Updated: Nov 25, 2010 00:13

RIYADH: Police have detained 32 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the Eastern Province after conducting early morning raids on various villas and flats in the Thuqba area, Alkhobar, on Wednesday.

“We are closely coordinating with authorities in the Eastern Province and finding out what charges will be filed against them. We’ll do our best to help them,” said Philippine Embassy Charge d'Affaires Ezzedin H. Tago.

He added that the embassy would work on their repatriation so that they can go home to rejoin their families in the Philippines.

Of the 32 OFWs, 26 were women. “There's really no concerted campaign to crack down on OFWs who have run away from their employers,” a source told Arab News on Wednesday. “The police conducted the raid after a tipoff from other OFWs who allegedly had differences with those detained.”

John Leonard Monterona, Middle East regional coordinator for Philippine support group Migrante, told Arab News that he received a report from his organization’s chapter in Alkhobar, saying on Wednesday morning police swooped on the villas and apartments of the runaway OFWs.

“We appeal to the Saudi government to respect the rights of undocumented migrants in its campaign to root out illegal residents like runaway OFWs,” he said in an e-mail to Arab News.

He also called on the Philippine Embassy to make the same appeal to the Saudi government and properly represent the detained OFWs.

He urged Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay and the Department of Foreign Affairs to lobby the Kingdom’s government for the legalization of all undocumented OFWs.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article199724.ece

mwg12a

November 25th, 2010, 05:10 AM

^^ "friends, real estate and the stock market" are what my father would say
"the best way to invest in for the long term."

there is just something about making the right connections, owning a piece of land
and being a part owner of a solid company that our people seemly would die for.

I think all OFWs should invest in the Philippines!

:horse:

Stock Market can also be volatile so you have to be very careful in venturing here, it's like gambling sometimes, although for most part, you'd be on a winning end, but there always a big chance it will fail. You won't go wrong with real state and jewelry investments as their value does not go down. Friendship?? That remains questionable most of the time although the more friends you have the more support system you'd have unless they just like you because they think you have alot of money too, you know? Social climbers... Investments anywhere in the world is always good.

Igsuonnimo

November 25th, 2010, 06:12 AM

^^ I'am... I do have money invested in mutual funds through my TFSA. Im not yet comfortable investing in stocks. Gotta read first and try to understand everything.

Pinag-iisapan ko bumili ng property sa nuvali, but can't decide which one yet. gaya na rin ng nabangit ko skeptical pa ako, I dunno if tataas ba ang value ng property sa Pinas or mag depreciate ...

And Im planning to continue my education pa. So right now, magulo pa ang lahat. dami iniisip :nuts::nuts::nuts::nuts:

Maganda rin talaga ang mag invest sa education.

Nuong 90's, MBA's/MA's or any graduate studies patok na sa mga yuppies.
Pagkatapos ng Y2K(year 2000), double degrees na ang trend.

Pero ngayon tumambay ka lang sa mga forums eh madami ka matututunan.

Nuon nga gagawa ka pa ng thesis para lang maiparating kung anong mensahe ang gusto mo sabihin sa academic community. Sa ngayon lang makipag connect ka lang sa mga ka-forums mo(social networking much better), madali ng makapag unawaan.

Sa palagay ko, bumaba ngayon ang negosyo ng diploma mill sa graduate studies dahil sa mga forums at social networking sites :nuts:

NTprime

November 25th, 2010, 06:28 AM

Maganda rin talaga ang mag invest sa education.

Nuong 90's, MBA's/MA's or any graduate studies patok na sa mga yuppies.
Pagkatapos ng Y2K(year 2000), double degrees na ang trend.

Pero ngayon tumambay ka lang sa mga forums eh madami ka matututunan.

Nuon nga gagawa ka pa ng thesis para lang maiparating kung anong mensahe ang gusto mo sabihin sa academic community. Sa ngayon lang makipag connect ka lang sa mga ka-forums mo(social networking much better), madali ng makapag unawaan.

Sa palagay ko, bumaba ngayon ang negosyo ng diploma mill sa graduate studies dahil sa mga forums at social networking sites :nuts:

A diploma is a certification or proof that one has gone through the necessary requirements and credits, not just a piece of paper for sale like it is in Recto. Sad to say there are too many "colleges" in the Philippines whose graduates don't even come close to HS graduates in other developed countries, or even HS grads of the top schools in the Philippines. Especially when it comes to communication skills, especially in English which is an imperative in the BPO industry (exception of course those working for local BPOs that handle Globe, Smart and Sun cellular phone prepaid subscribers).

While you do learn from social networking sites, the knowledge is not enough compared to taking a formal course or even an online or distance learning course. So much trash is all over the internet that sometimes it's difficult to verify which ones are telling the truth.

Diplomas are still a good gauge of the academic level of the person, but they don't necessarily reveal the street smart skills, among others.

What's important is people know how to discern which is right from wrong, which is truth and fiction, especially in forums like this. A number of trolls abound in SSC and all they bring is trash...

onilian2727

November 25th, 2010, 08:06 AM

Yes, this is true in most instances. I only knew of atleast one or two professions that are credited and recognized in Canada, it's the Veterinary Medicine and partly MDs, other professions including nurses are having tough jobs finding a job in that country.

I would say Canadian government does't give reciprocity to all foriegn trained professionals however,they (canadian gov't) give credits for what they(foriegn graduates ) have done and studied back home.In addition,all foriegn grads should be assessed and evaluated their education and work experiences by a certain evaluating body before they can write their licensure exam.of course they have to pass the licensure exam before they can be acknowledged and recognized in their chosen field of professions.

I believe it is so disappointing for somebody who has good education back home and ends up less than nothing once they land in this part of the world.
For me to upgrade your craft all over again is not an easy task. It needs a lot of sacifices:your time,time away from your family and assets....your self-esteem I mean:ohno:.I believe there are programs for all immigrants who migrate to Canada but the problem is these programs are not supportive enough likewise the protocols are not concrete as they should be..:ohno:
I think it is much easier to upgrade your profession in the USA than in Canada.(straight forward sa USA unlike in Canada,it so tedious and expensive don't worry guys this is only my opinion:)).

Anyway, Canada is a great place to live in...I guess:)....Probably if i will migrate to Canada someday, I will not expect too much and set my mind that I have to start back to square one.I know it is hard to accept but what can I do....that's the reality....apparently:)

onilian2727

November 25th, 2010, 08:41 AM

[QUOTE=NTprime;67754865] Sad to say there are too many "colleges" in the Philippines whose graduates don't even come close to HS graduates in other developed countries, or even HS grads of the top schools in the Philippines. Especially when it comes to communication skills, especially in English .

Brod para sa akin ang wikang Ingles ang isa sa mga wikang mahirap pag-aralan :).Pero sa aking palagay at nalaman; hindi naman talaga pahuhuli ang mga pinoy pagdating sa pakikipagtalastasan sa wikang Ingles. sa aking mga nakasalamuhang mga ibang lahi tulad ng mula sa hilaga,timog,silangan,kanluran at maging sa lahi na mula sa gitnang asya masasabi ko na mas magaling pa rin ang mga Filipino na makipag-usap sa wikang Ingles.kahit nga ang mga lahi na mula sa Hilagang Amerika medyo may kamalian pa rin ang kanilang gramar kung iyong pagmumuni-muniin ang bawat salita na mamumutawi sa kanila.ito ay hindi kurokuro kundi ito ay aking nasasaksihan hanggang sa kasalukuyan :)

tchitz

November 25th, 2010, 10:08 AM

Maiba po ako ng topic, are you guys starting to invest in Philippines? I'm a lil skeptical pa at this point kasi parang yung housing bubble sa Pilipinas may pagkakahalintulad sa USA. Parang anytime it'll just burst. This is just me.

I noticed in the last 2 years or so, among friends of mine in Canada and the U.S. that have resided abroad for a long time now, that more and more of them have bought condominiums in the Philippine (Metro Manila in general); whereas I did not notice this more than 5 years ago. And I think this trend is growing.

Ephesus29

November 25th, 2010, 10:18 AM

Without going into the fundamentals of economics, I would advise overseas Filipinos to invest in real estate back in the Philippines, provided you choose the developer well. Many years ago FilEstate was the top developer but look where they are now. Even further back Luke Roxas' ASB Holdings had the highest condominium (ASB Tower beside ADB) and the project got shelved just a few months before they completed it.

@tchitz - 8 Forbestown Road is a good investment. Nice view of Manila Golf, and for sure the property will appreciate over the long term. Plus the area is not as crowded as the condominiums behind Bonifacio Stopover, which gives for more privacy. Plus you can use it when you come back to the Philippines for vacation. Many condominium owners who own properties in Eastwood City and Bonifacio Global City rent out their places for short term, and then use them when they come home for vacation. Or of course, rent them on an annual or longer basis to expats. You can't go wrong there.

Finally, real estate in the Philippines will almost appreciate for sure. This is because there will be more Filipinos who will need decent housing when they prosper and land is limited since they hardly reclaim from the sea. So by the law of supply and demand, you'll see prices continue to go up in the near term.

If I would pick BGC to invest in condo (ie; 2br) how much would i be looking at? When it comes to aminities, would like to know the locations and accessesibility. I don't have any patience when it comes to traffic jams, would this be a problem or at least tolerable.

I am an outdoor kind of guy....any place to hike or just for a walk ie; trails in the woods, or hilltop? cycling or water skiing? I am presently residing in one of the most beautiful place on earth and I am quite picky when it comes to place to stay. (Natural landscape that is)

I agree with you fully that real state appreciate (true in every country given the economic environment) but I am more geared towards quality than just for the return of my investment .

I have properties in Isabela, agricultural and residential, which I've been tending to for the past several years, and I intend to keep it for now anyways.

Ephesus29

November 25th, 2010, 10:31 AM

I would say Canadian government does't give reciprocity to all foriegn trained professionals however,they (canadian gov't) give credits for what they(foriegn graduates ) have done and studied back home.In addition,all foriegn grads should be assessed and evaluated their education and work experiences by a certain evaluating body before they can write their licensure exam.of course they have to pass the licensure exam before they can be acknowledged and recognized in their chosen field of profession.

I believe it is so disappointing for somebody who has good education back home and ends up less than nothing once they land in this part of the world.
For me to upgrade your craft all over again is not an easy task. It needs a lot of sacifices:your time,time away from your family and assets....your self-esteem I mean:ohno:.I believe there are programs for all immigrants who migrate to Canada but the problem is these programs are not supportive enough likewise the protocols are not concrete as they should be..:ohno:
I think it is much easier to upgrade your profession in the USA than in Canada.(straight forward sa USA unlike in Canada,it so tedious and expensive don't worry guys this is only my opinion:)).

Anyway, Canada is a great place to live in...I guess:)....Probably if i will migrate to Canada someday, I will not expect too much and set my mind that I have to start back to square one.I know it is hard to accept but what can I do....that's the reality....apparently:)

Not to worry too much about Philippine credentials. There is an agency now commisioned by the Federal Government to look at the education of all professionals coming from the Philippines. Their job is to asses, help and guide anybody with skills and educations get the jobs appropriate to their credentials and training.

Canada being a great place to live? you couldn't have said it better. :)

mwg12a

November 25th, 2010, 11:01 AM

I believe it is so disappointing for somebody who has good education back home and ends up less than nothing once they land in this part of the world.
For me to upgrade your craft all over again is not an easy task. It needs a lot of sacifices:your time,time away from your family and assets....your self-esteem I mean:ohno:.I believe there are programs for all immigrants who migrate to Canada but the problem is these programs are not supportive enough likewise the protocols are not concrete as they should be..:ohno:
I think it is much easier to upgrade your profession in the USA than in Canada.(straight forward sa USA unlike in Canada,it so tedious and expensive don't worry guys this is only my opinion:)).

Anyway, Canada is a great place to live in...I guess:)....Probably if i will migrate to Canada someday, I will not expect too much and set my mind that I have to start back to square one.I know it is hard to accept but what can I do....that's the reality....apparently:)

Yep, this is true about the US and Canada. However, in the US. It depends on what profession you are in and if your school is accredited by for instance world federation and American agency recognized. Most health professions are recognized, however, in engineer, accountants etc are usually not recognized unless they take certain levels of courses to be eligible for a National and state licensure since each states has their own credentialing agencies.

I love Canada as well, I thought about moving there, the only thing is that I only have one relative there and that the idea of starting anew discouraged me each time.

ADDED: I guess Mr Ephesus29 answered you already, i just noticed it.

onilian2727

November 25th, 2010, 12:51 PM

[QUOTE=Ephesus29;67761461]Not to worry too much about Philippine credentials. There is an agency now commisioned by the Federal Government to look at the education of all professionals coming from the Philippines. Their job is to asses, help and guide anybody with skills and educations get the jobs appropriate to their credentials and training.

But the thing is these agencies are not consistent when it comes to the implementation of thier policies,protocols and procedures.They keep on changing them.:ohno:it is so absurd, isn't it?:lol:

youngblood

November 25th, 2010, 05:13 PM

Thank you so much for all your inputs. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you! :cheers:

Ephesus29

November 25th, 2010, 09:23 PM

Ephesus29

November 25th, 2010, 09:39 PM

NTprime

November 26th, 2010, 03:02 AM

If I would pick BGC to invest in condo (ie; 2br) how much would i be looking at? When it comes to aminities, would like to know the locations and accessesibility. I don't have any patience when it comes to traffic jams, would this be a problem or at least tolerable.

I am an outdoor kind of guy....any place to hike or just for a walk ie; trails in the woods, or hilltop? cycling or water skiing? I am presently residing in one of the most beautiful place on earth and I am quite picky when it comes to place to stay. (Natural landscape that is)

I agree with you fully that real state appreciate (true in every country given the economic environment) but I am more geared towards quality than just for the return of my investment .

I have properties in Isabela, agricultural and residential, which I've been tending to for the past several years, and I intend to keep it for now anyways.

You can check this website for an idea of what the properties look and how much they cost. http://fortbonifacioproperties.com/index.html

A two bedroom unit with balcony at 8 Forbestown Road with floor area of 88.3 sq.m - 114.2 sq.m costs anywhere from PHP8.9 - 13.7 million. The top of the line 3 bedroom unit (174 sq.m.) costs P22 million.

There are more websites you can choose from but in general the cost is like PHP100,000 upwards per sq.m.

If you're an outdoor person, then Bonifacio Global City may not be the place to settle down unless you want it as a halfway house, there are a lot of property developments in the Tagaytay and Laguna areas that have wide lots. Not too far from Metro Manila (Isabela is like 10-12 hours drive away). Or you can choose from the other provinces in the country, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao. They're not as affected during the monsoon season compared to the eastern provinces of Luzon.

xxxriainxxx

November 26th, 2010, 03:02 AM

It's getting a little bit cooler in Hanoi... 18c na dito... Mahirap na lumabas sa balcony na nakaboxers lang. :lol:

What's the temperature where you are right now?

onilian2727

November 26th, 2010, 04:26 AM

[QUOTE=onilian2727;67766899]

I understand where you're coming from. In what way does the implementation of such rules and policies inconsistent and changes all the time? Fill me on this one please. TY

I can't elaborate it here unfortunately.likewise you'll not understand what i am talking about unless you're in the medical prefession and have undergone the process (evaluation/ assessment ).....tell you man it's hard and tedious....

but I understand and can't blame them ( canadian gov't) because they have their own grads.

onilian2727

November 26th, 2010, 04:32 AM

It's getting a little bit cooler in Hanoi... 18c na dito... Mahirap na lumabas sa balcony na nakaboxers lang. :lol:

What's the temperature where you are right now?

hmm...temp ? ...it's pretty cold here...i guess as of now it's 3C...so boxers are totally out of the question :lol:

NTprime

November 26th, 2010, 04:54 AM

Gone through some of the discussions that I missed while I was away from this forum, and I thought was quite interesting.:)

fengrung is quite a character:) he has some points though, however he's just like an adult having a tantrum when responding. The cursing and the name calling is just beyond me:lol:

I thought he can't just think and respond outside the box. He always look at the mirror and never look at the window. He could have responded more civilly and maturely. There would have been an intelligent discussion with him.

You handled it nicely, mate. You did great and laid your card quite admirably.:cheers:

I think we're done with fengrun. This thread has become far more interesting and active after the second time he was banned. And I agree with you, mwg12a was very composed and patiently argued using anecdotal as well as hard evidence.

I for one, believe that experience is indeed the key to a rich outlook in life. Sometimes people pass off their "knowledge" because of vicarious experiences, or even quote from research and so on, but it doesn't make complete sense unless one has actually lived through whatever circumstances he/she is talking about.

For one, I haven't worked as an OFW in all of my career. But I've worked with more than a dozen different nationalities in the same span of time. These nationalities go from one extreme -- too liberal to the opposite -- too conservative. Each person has his or her own paradigm based on the experiences from childhood to work and other areas...so they can be narrow minded or as broad minded and willing to try anything. But to really engage in a fulfilling discussion, one also has to listen, not do all the talking. In forums like SSC, listening is done by reading others' replies at least twice before finally deciding to reply from the first person point of view.

One thing that OFWs have that many others who haven't worked abroad is the gift of TRAVEL. Sure, it may be just a simple plane ride in crowded economy class once a year or two, but they are transported to another world, complete with its own culture, religious beliefs, historical and modern sights, and so on.

So it would always be unfair for people like fengrun to make such sweeping statements without smelling first how the grass (or flowers) is on the other side. That is called prejudice. To some extent, you can also add Weltschmerz as well.

In order to reduce prejudice and bias against others, my solution is to travel and experience events from the others' point of view. Which brings me to a couple of my favorite quotations:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

mwg12a

November 26th, 2010, 08:39 AM

Gone through some of the discussions that I missed while I was away from this forum, and I thought was quite interesting.:)

fengrung is quite a character:) he has some points though, however he's just like an adult having a tantrum when responding. The cursing and the name calling is just beyond me:lol:

I thought he can't just think and respond outside the box. He always look at the mirror and never look at the window. He could have responded more civilly and maturely. There would have been an intelligent discussion with him.

You handled it nicely, mate. You did great and laid your card quite admirably.:cheers:

Wow, thanks! I did agree with him a time or two. He had some good points especially on why there are filipinos who would rather work overseas and especially migrating to US, Canada and Australia even if they have good life in the Philippines. I knew of several people that did these, most were business owners before, one of which is a famous flower shop I can't remember the store name anymore. I've met the owner, i also knew the family that owns Headzone in Greenbelt together with a couple braches or so that were all located in prestigeous hotels in Manila, they spent hundreds of thousands of pesos( probably millions in todays value) to send their daughter to the US who had to do TNT until she finally met someone to marry her and get petitioned together with her parents, they sold out their businesses and all moved to the US. Those kind of things. You're right, fengrun could of offered a very intellectual discussions, sadly, he chose to go through another route , he let his emotion and irrational thinking take over his being. I guess when he can't handle the truth, his only way of dealing with it is to be violent through verbal abuse.

Btw, NTprime did really well also, you should give him a pat on his shoulder. I have this great admiration on his knowledge of facts as well as level headedness inspite of all the attacks on him by fengrun.

xxxriainxxx

November 26th, 2010, 09:31 AM

Aquino: Govt ready to evacuate Pinoys in Korea
11/26/2010 | 03:41 PM
JAM L. SISANTE, GMANews.TV
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BAGUIO CITY — The government is prepared to evacuate some 50,000 Filipinos in South Korea should tensions in the Korean peninsula escalate, President Benigno Aquino III said Friday.

"I asked the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to make sure that they do test runs kung saka-sakaling kelangang i-evacuate. I asked the DFA also to talk to the Japanese government, to their ambassador, dahil yung closest point ng evacuation is about 50 kilometers, sa Japan," Aquino said in an interview here.

Aquino said the United Nations has assured them that it will secure the safety of nine Filipinos in North Korea, five of whom are working for the UN and four who are working for an international tobacco company.

On Thursday, Aquino presided over a meeting of the Cabinet's security cluster in Malacañang, where the current tension between the two Koreas was discussed.

Also on Friday, Malacañang issued a statement condemning North Korea's artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong which is near their disputed sea border.

Four people, including two South Korean marines, were killed in the attack, which prompted South Korea to return fire.

"The Philippines condemns the artillery attack by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Yeonpyeong Island, and is gravely concerned over the resulting rise in tensions in the Korean Peninsula. The attack constitutes a clear and flagrant violation of international law," a Palace statement read.

"The Philippines commends the Republic of Korea for having demonstrated extraordinary restraint in the wake of the attack on the corvette ROKS Cheonan on 26 March 2010, and again in the wake of this unprovoked and overt attack. We call for the continued exercise of restraint," it added.

The Philippine government also called on North Korea to abide by its obligations under international law and the UN Charter, and to adhere to the Armistice Agreement of 1953, the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement of 1991, and the Declaration on the Advancement of South-North Korean Relations, Peace and Prosperity of Oct. 4, 2007.

Assessment

In the interview with reporters, Aquino said the possibility of tension escalating between the two Korean states is unlikely based on security and foreign officials' assessment, but he said the Philippine government is preparing to evacuate Filipinos in South Korea anyway in case evacuation becomes necessary.

Aside from ordering the DFA to coordinate with the Japanese government, Aquino said he has also asked the Armed Forces to prepare the C-130 plane and LSS ship in case they are needed for transportation.

He said the government has also talked to Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to make sure that additional carriers are ready in case evacuation is needed.

"The budget is being prepared in case it's needed but as of this time I just wanted them to make sure we are able to reach out to all of the people that we have there," Aquino said.

PAL said in a statement Friday that it is ready to mount emergency flights in case there will be a full-blown conflict between North and South Korea.

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/206953/aquino-govt-ready-to-evacuate-pinoys-in-korea?utm_source=GMANews.TV&utm_medium=twitter

b_two

November 26th, 2010, 11:47 AM

just imagine evacuating 50,000 filipinos... hope it doesn't come to this point.

NTprime

November 26th, 2010, 12:18 PM

^^If and when war breaks out in the Korean peninsula, there won't be any time to evacuate more than a thousand or so Philippine nationals in a day. The best that they can hope for is to move as far away from the 38th parallel into southern towns that won't be targets of the North Korean invaders (if the North decides to invade).

Seoul is within range of North Korean artillery, their army doesn't even have to budge a bit in order to exact damage on the south's major economic and population center. Which is why the scenarios are for a preemptive strike by the US and South Korea, and quite quick and decisive at that. But then of course most people would prefer an avoidance of any military conflict, simply because the implications are far reaching to the world economy with a possible humanitarian crisis, among others.

My guess is that they (both Koreas) will continue the saber rattling or it will die down. But then we'll see first what will happen between the US and South Korean military and naval exercises this weekend. Hopefully neither side provokes the other.

xxxriainxxx

November 26th, 2010, 01:59 PM

youngblood

November 26th, 2010, 06:35 PM

It's getting a little bit cooler in Hanoi... 18c na dito... Mahirap na lumabas sa balcony na nakaboxers lang. :lol:

What's the temperature where you are right now?

this week is really cold lowest is -25C with -30Cwindchill, today is a lot better. just -2C.

xxxriainxxx

November 27th, 2010, 03:25 AM

this week is really cold lowest is -25C with -30Cwindchill, today is a lot better. just -2C.

yak ang ginaw!!!

Linguine

November 27th, 2010, 07:29 AM

Filipina governess forced to become maid returns to Philippines
By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 07:57:00 11/25/2010 Filed Under: Overseas Employment

MANILA, Philippines—An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who was deployed to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as governess, but was forced by her employer to also perform grueling domestic work, has returned to the country after the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) intervened and rescued her from her abusive employer.

In a statement, the Department of Labor and Employment said Sharon Baltao, 33, arrived in the country on Nov. 16 safe and without traces of abuse from the traumatic and exploitative experience she went through in her job as tutor and household service worker in Jeddah.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, who learned about Baltao’s case through the media, told reporters that the OFW has recovered from the trauma she suffered, and was radiant when she visited the DOLE office on Tuesday.

The Secretary earlier directed POLO-Jeddah to find and rescue Baltao quickly.

Baltao was an English teacher in the Philippines prior to her deployment to Saudi Arabia last August.

Her dreams of gaining overseas experience and earning higher income as tutor, however, did not materialize as her employer violated the contract she signed. Instead of giving her tutorial work, her employer ordered her to do back-breaking household chores.

“Pagod na pagod ako sa pagtratrabaho ko sa Jeddah. Wala akong pahinga (I was too tired and didn’t get to rest),” the OFW said, adding that she was initially not paid her salary when she was working.

Baltao said she only received the salary due her for three months through the intervention and assistance of labor attaché Vicente Cabe, who had also compelled her employer to buy her plane ticket for her return to the Philippines.

“Labor attaché Cabe’s timely intervention has saved Sharon from further abuse and exploitation,” Baldoz said, adding that the OFW’s employer would be blacklisted for apparently violating the rules and regulations of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

Baltao wants to be with her family and rest for a while. She said she has been planning to seek another teaching job in local schools next year but is no longer interested in working overseas.

“Natatakot na akong mag-abroad. Dito na lang ako sa Pilipinas. (I’m now afraid to go abroad. I’m staying in the Philippines),” she said.

pi_malejana

November 27th, 2010, 07:47 AM

Govt suspends OFW deployment to SKorea
11/27/2010 | 11:53 AM (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/207023/govt-suspends-ofw-deployment-to-skorea)

As tension remains high in the Korean Peninsula, the deployment of Filipino workers to South Korea has been put on hold, government-run radio reported Saturday.

DzRB reported Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos Jr. gave the order after discussing the situation with labor officials.

The report also quoted deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte as saying the decision stemmed from the positions of the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Labor and Employment, as well as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Valte said President Benigno Aquino III had ordered the concerned agencies to “assess the situation and take corresponding action."

She also cited updated government records showing there are around 46,000 Filipinos, including undocumented ones in South Korea.

In an earlier interview on dwIZ radio, Conejos cited labor records indicating some 1,000 Filipino workers are due to be deployed to Korea up to December.

Tension in Korea is expected to heighten this weekend with the holding of joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea.

Meanwhile, Valte maintained government is ready to implement its contingency measures if the situation worsens.

Still, she said the government is hoping tensions will ease up after last weeks' exchange of artillery fires between the two Koreas.

“Hopefully ‘di natin kakailanganin (Hopefully we will not need to implement the contingency plans)," she said.

Valte added President Aquino’s order to test-run the contingency plans does not mean the Philippines expects the situation to escalate.

“He is taking the more prudent way in making sure and he wants to make sure na kung sakali handa tayo (that we are ready if the need arises)," she said.

“We are hoping di ito mangyari. Mas mabuti on the side of government to be prepared for any eventuality (We are still hoping this will not happen but it will be best on the side of government if this will not happen)," she added. — LBG, GMANews.TV

amigo32

November 28th, 2010, 11:24 AM

:D

kumusta:D

malamig dito ngayon sa bundok, lamig na di na kailangan mag suot ng winter clothes at gumamit ng heater sa bahay:D

Nasa Pinas pala ako ngayon:D

xxxriainxxx

November 28th, 2010, 02:35 PM

youngblood

November 28th, 2010, 05:15 PM

and you are proud being abroad because of that? most Filpinos are enjoying a comfortable climate in the Philippines while you are spending miseries there only to enjoy it when you grow old? It does not make sense. :cheers:

Welcome back fengrun!

Sinabi ko bang miserable ang buhay ko dito dahil sa panahon? Please don't put words in my mouth.

Hindi ko sinasabing masarap buhay dito, ganun din sa Pilipinas para sakin kahit saan man ako mapadpad at dalhin ng tadhana masaya na ako. I have my reasons kung bakit ako nandito ngayon. :cheers:

ninja kid

November 28th, 2010, 05:34 PM

It's getting a little bit cooler in Hanoi... 18c na dito... Mahirap na lumabas sa balcony na nakaboxers lang. :lol:

What's the temperature where you are right now?

-6 degC with the windchill ... :ohno:

and you are proud being abroad because of that? most Filpinos are enjoying a comfortable climate in the Philippines while you are spending miseries there only to enjoy it when you grow old? It does not make sense. :cheers:

that's part of life here in Canada ... but it makes sense to us ... and it's our choice to live here ... :D

Welcome back fengrun!

Sinabi ko bang miserable ang buhay ko dito dahil sa panahon? Please don't put words in my mouth.

Hindi ko sinasabing masarap buhay dito, ganun din sa Pilipinas para sakin kahit saan man ako mapadpad at dalhin ng tadhana masaya na ako. I have my reasons kung bakit ako nandito ngayon. :cheers:

+1 ... :okay:

mwg12a

November 28th, 2010, 09:13 PM

:D

kumusta:D

malamig dito ngayon sa bundok, lamig na di na kailangan mag suot ng winter clothes at gumamit ng heater sa bahay:D

Nasa Pinas pala ako ngayon:D

Mayroon yata na hindi makatiis at nagngingitgnit

Welcome back .fengrun papalit palit ng pwesto ang tuldok ah. :D

Welcome back fengrun!

Sinabi ko bang miserable ang buhay ko dito dahil sa panahon? Please don't put words in my mouth.

Hindi ko sinasabing masarap buhay dito, ganun din sa Pilipinas para sakin kahit saan man ako mapadpad at dalhin ng tadhana masaya na ako. I have my reasons kung bakit ako nandito ngayon. :cheers:

:lol::lol::lol:

Ang ikasasarap ng buhay ng tao ay nasasa may tao na. Obviously, there are good things you can do while the weather is warm, the same thing goes in cold weather. That the depends on how our body's natural physiology dictates it. In the US, there are places like Fl, part of Tx, La, and part of Cali that do not experience the extreme weather. Young individuals can easily be acclaimated to its environment so even in colder environment you can even find activities that would suit you. This is the problem with individuals who has not experienced traveling even just for leisure purposes. Their concept of their facts are all subjective and no hands on experience of their own facts. I for one, is very used in a much colder climate. This is why I never bother to move down in florida inspite of the facts that we have a lot of relatives living in that area.

Your reason for being in the country you are in is on the area of professional growth and your adventurous nature. There is nothing wrong with that.

jpdm

November 29th, 2010, 12:15 AM

Ano ba yan, nilalamig lang yung isang tao inintriga pa.toinks!:lol:

amigo32

November 29th, 2010, 01:39 AM

Ano ba yan, nilalamig lang yung isang tao inintriga pa.toinks!:lol:

siempre ganun talaga sa showbiz:D

boobs nga pinapansin yan pa nilalamig:D ang pasko:D tulad ni Noy na walang Liz Uy:D

NTprime

November 29th, 2010, 05:08 AM

and you are proud being abroad because of that? most Filpinos are enjoying a comfortable climate in the Philippines while you are spending miseries there only to enjoy it when you grow old? It does not make sense. :cheers:

Philippine climate is not always the best. There are other places in the world that have far better climates. You just haven't traveled there which is why your prejudice gets in the way.

The Philippines doesn't have the distinction of being the best placed country, climate wise. For one, it's located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, hence the volcanoes and earthquakes. Second, it's along the monsoon path so that's why the country is visited by an average of 22 typhoons yearly. And third, it's a few degrees above the equator so that's why it's hot and humid during summer.

One of my worries is that the Philippines, especially Manila, will be easily affected by climate change and the rise in ocean levels. Manila is only like 10 meters above sea level on the average, that's worrisome.

There's no country with perfect weather, it's how its residents adopt to the changes that matters.

Welcome back fengrun!

Sinabi ko bang miserable ang buhay ko dito dahil sa panahon? Please don't put words in my mouth.

Hindi ko sinasabing masarap buhay dito, ganun din sa Pilipinas para sakin kahit saan man ako mapadpad at dalhin ng tadhana masaya na ako. I have my reasons kung bakit ako nandito ngayon. :cheers:

Correct. I didn't see any hint of why youngblood would imply that life abroad is miserable for him.

Mayroon yata na hindi makatiis at nagngingitgnit

:lol::lol::lol:

Ang ikasasarap ng buhay ng tao ay nasasa may tao na. Obviously, there are good things you can do while the weather is warm, the same thing goes in cold weather. That the depends on how our body's natural physiology dictates it. In the US, there are places like Fl, part of Tx, La, and part of Cali that do not experience the extreme weather. Young individuals can easily be acclaimated to its environment so even in colder environment you can even find activities that would suit you. This is the problem with individuals who has not experienced traveling even just for leisure purposes. Their concept of their facts are all subjective and no hands on experience of their own facts. I for one, is very used in a much colder climate. This is why I never bother to move down in florida inspite of the facts that we have a lot of relatives living in that area.

Your reason for being in the country you are in is on the area of professional growth and your adventurous nature. There is nothing wrong with that.

I believe that with 4 seasons, people are forced to be more industrious. Remember, Jose Rizal wrote about the laziness of the Filipinos because of the hot weather (I posted it in one of the threads a few months back). If you have only hot and wet weather to worry about, you don't get to prepare and harvest crops within the time frame given. How come farmers in China can maximize their rice crops even if they have harsh winters while here in the Philippines farmers can only manage at the most 2 crops?

Weather forces people to adopt, which can also be a good thing for people in temperate countries. There are even some places where they have "4 seasons" in a day...which means more preparedness.

ninja kid

November 29th, 2010, 06:08 AM

Obviously there are people here who don't walk their talk ... :ohno:
Largest producer daw .. eh ano ito (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energy)? I-google mo kaya? :D

@NTPrime ... tama ka, kung makaka-adapt ka naman sa klima ng bansang patutunguhan mo eh mas mainam ...
Pasaan pa at sa katagalan eh maa-acclimatize ka rin naman ... gaya ni @Youngblood ...
He's happy where he is now and i also don't see a tad of regret in his post ... :)

Ephesus29

November 29th, 2010, 06:23 AM

Welcomeback.....how about flying to Vancouver and I ll take you up Grouse Mountain for a great skiing at night while enjoying the city lights of Vancouver.. Or I could drive you all the way up to Whistler for a wonderful 12 minutes gondola ride from Whistler mountain peak to Blackcomb mountain peak and have the experience of a life time. :)

Ephesus29

November 29th, 2010, 06:46 AM

I think we're done with fengrun. This thread has become far more interesting and active after the second time he was banned. And I agree with you, mwg12a was very composed and patiently argued using anecdotal as well as hard evidence.

I for one, believe that experience is indeed the key to a rich outlook in life. Sometimes people pass off their "knowledge" because of vicarious experiences, or even quote from research and so on, but it doesn't make complete sense unless one has actually lived through whatever circumstances he/she is talking about.

For one, I haven't worked as an OFW in all of my career. But I've worked with more than a dozen different nationalities in the same span of time. These nationalities go from one extreme -- too liberal to the opposite -- too conservative. Each person has his or her own paradigm based on the experiences from childhood to work and other areas...so they can be narrow minded or as broad minded and willing to try anything. But to really engage in a fulfilling discussion, one also has to listen, not do all the talking. In forums like SSC, listening is done by reading others' replies at least twice before finally deciding to reply from the first person point of view.

One thing that OFWs have that many others who haven't worked abroad is the gift of TRAVEL. Sure, it may be just a simple plane ride in crowded economy class once a year or two, but they are transported to another world, complete with its own culture, religious beliefs, historical and modern sights, and so on.

So it would always be unfair for people like fengrun to make such sweeping statements without smelling first how the grass (or flowers) is on the other side. That is called prejudice. To some extent, you can also add Weltschmerz as well.

In order to reduce prejudice and bias against others, my solution is to travel and experience events from the others' point of view. Which brings me to a couple of my favorite quotations:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

I absoultely agree with you. If I didn't move to Canada, I couldn't have done the things that I thought I could do. "Travelling".

OFW's have the opportunity to travel and earn decent life while seeing and enjoying life while abroad.
The possibilities of seeing other countries is also emminent.

Arts, history, culture and the exquisite foods that a traveller can indulge in are just priceless.

Meeting people on a trip, learning their culture, engaging in almost animated conversations are great experience in a life time. I'd say very informative and educational.:)

I know there are some sacrifices that has to be made, while working abroad, but "Pinoys" are quite resillient and can easily adapt to any circumstances that life brings.

Yeah.....things I miss in the Philippines:

Christmas at its best with family and freinds....and yeah..lechon...hmmm

New Year's eve dance till the wee hours. drunk!!!!!like a skunk:bash:

The lush and verdant rice field in the valley with its golden/brown hued grains.
With its sweeping beauty as I gazed at the rising sun in the East. Gently kissing the sillouette of the purple sierra madre range. The mauve and orange ball that edging up from the horizon to the blue sky....what a sight indeed.
For a young lad full of dreams. ahh those were the days...makes me glacie and nostalgic.

BTW...you did well partner in handling a bit of capaple.:cheers:

NTprime

November 29th, 2010, 06:54 AM

Pacific Ring of fire? Volcanoes are blessing for the Philippines. It is a source of renewable energy. Other countries don't have this much renewable energy source like the Philippines. The Philippines is in fact the world's largest producer of geothermal energy. This is also the reason why the Philippines is classified as the top 20 economies of the 21st century.
I'm not disputing the fact that the Philippines is the SECOND largest producer of geothermal energy, but your original pretext was that:

and you are proud being abroad because of that? most Filpinos are enjoying a comfortable climate in the Philippines while you are spending miseries there only to enjoy it when you grow old? It does not make sense. :cheers:

and so I answered it. Don't divert the discussion when you haven't even properly refuted the last rebuttal to your original nonsense.

And now to digress to your diversion, do you really see the Philippines maximizing the potential for geothermal energy when most of the power generated is from petroleum and coal sources, which are fossil fuels? See percentage of power production from sources below (I only posted the link as the original image file is too large):

http://www.iea.org/stats/pdf_graphs/PHTPES.pdf
Note that in the graph geothermal/solar/wind are all lumped into one..

It's all potential, it would be good if the government put its money in developing such. But that's not happening (nor is it on the PPP listing of PNoy's admin) so that is best left for a discussion when it will be nearing reality. No money right now, they have to get foreign companies to invest in order to develop this. I know because I have a friend who works for the IPP which is in charge of one of the hydroelectric plants.

And even if you had the energy sources, where do your environmental, petroleum and other engineers go for work? Many of them are OFWs. I know a few in fact, and maybe a handful who are still here in the Philippines doing consulting because there is far more money for them to be made as a consultant than an employee of a government agency.

The thing with this countries like say Canada, is it is a big country, but the livable, fertile area are smaller compared to the Philippines. It is a barren ,cold wasteland. It is just marketed in a way how big time real estate agencies market a dumpsite. This is also the same with Australia, which is on the other end, a hot, dry, deserted land with basically little energy source, like oil, geothermal energy, hydroelectric etc.

It is a joke. The government of these countries market these lands as if it is heaven when in fact its a miserable place to live. I see lots of Canadians, and Australians moving to the Philippines and some would even get gypped on the internet while searching for wives so they could move to the much better and livable Philippines.

WAKE UP PEOPLE. USE YOUR BRAINS! :cheers:

What a baseless generalization. In the same light that OFWs are you know what and so on ... Canada is not completely barren and cold, it is one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products. The Canadian Prairies are one of the most important producers of wheat, barley, canola, and other grains. Canada has a lot of timber in their forests, and yet they don't cut them indiscriminately unlike here in the Philippines.

Here's proof to dispute your ignorance:

The Philippines even has to import wheat (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/agr_gra_whe_imp-agriculture-grains-wheat-imports) to make its own bread, even more than what Canada or the US imports:

Total
# 8 Philippines: 2,800 thousand metric tons

Per capita (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/agr_gra_whe_imp_percap-grains-wheat-imports-per-capita)
# 21 Philippines: 31.87 thousand metric tons per

Also, do you personally have Filipina friends married to Canadians? I have at least three I know quite well who met not in the circumstances you mention above, but through work (both husbands and wives are professionals who met in their line of work). And mind you, I also know their husbands.

Don't make sweeping statements unless you can back them up:bash:

And lastly, have you even been to Canada or Australia? I've been to both countries at least twice each and traveled by land from Vancouver to Calgary, as well as Brisbane to Sydney (over a thousand kms. each for both trips). I've seen the Canadian prairie and mountains up close, as well as the Australian farms and coast. Can you even claim to do that?

If I may request you, .fengrun, please analyze carefully what you say before you start typing your replies, perhaps you will be in a better discussion with the other SSC forumers. Instead of being proven wrong and ignorant.

Ephesus29

November 29th, 2010, 06:58 AM

nah.. im good and warm here in the Philippines. I am enjoying a cool weather right now. Just perfect. Freezers are for my beer. Not for me. :nuts::lol:

Enjoy living in a freezer. :cheers:

I sometimes go out for an outdoor swim during December holidays. Poor people in Canada can't do that.. :nuts::lol:

nah...that's why i have an indoor pool. Did I mention jacuzzi and a steam room too:)

xxxriainxxx

November 29th, 2010, 08:08 AM

.fengrun

Nakakamiss ka din. It's okay to disagree naman eh, wag ka lang magtawag ng names kasi pangit talaga pakinggan. :)

amigo32

November 29th, 2010, 08:28 AM

.fengrun

Nakakamiss ka din. It's okay to disagree naman eh, wag ka lang magtawag ng names kasi pangit talaga pakinggan. :)

yeah, like calling you pogi or guapo:D:lol:

fengrun na may tuldok sa unahan, kita mo na mi-miss ka rin pala.:D

si LMAO kaya miss ka rin:D

mwg12a

November 29th, 2010, 09:08 AM

nice read. This article highlights the fact that in the near future, Asian countries like the Philippines will be the destination for migrant workers. (read DESTINATION for migrant workers) . Ang pilipinas ang kukuha ng mga workers from other countries.

Migrant numbers could soar to 405-M by 2050: IOMAgence France-Presse
Posted at 11/29/2010 10:29 AM | Updated as of 11/29/2010 11:50 AM

GENEVA - The number of international migrants could soar by 68% to 405 million in 2050, the IOM said Monday, noting that emerging economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America are becoming important destinations.

"There are far more international migrants in the world today than ever previously recorded -- 214 million," said the International Organization for Migration in its annual report.

Other countries with high foreign-born populations include Russia, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Canada, France, Britain, Spain, India and Ukraine, it said.

There is a bit of an overstatement in this report. It's a nice report alright, a good find. But, knowing that the Philippines have close to 100M population, in a small country like yours would have enough manpower to fill the jobs considering atleast 70 % of the population are highly educated, it's just a matter of training them. Most OFWs in the Middleast and asia usually return to home so they can be accounted for those who can fill in the job there in the event that working overseas would render it unworthy if they would be making that same salary in the Philippines itself. Half of them would atleast bring home knowledge in new technologies if that happen. I can see foreigners being hired in the Philippines in highly skilled positions to train the filipinos of newer technologies from their country unless, the filipinos became technologically advanced where the export industry would keep the economy strong.

It is a joke. The government of these countries market these lands as if it is heaven when in fact its a miserable place to live. I see lots of Canadians, and Australians moving to the Philippines and some would even get gypped on the internet while searching for wives so they could move to the much better and livable Philippines.

WAKE UP PEOPLE. USE YOUR BRAINS! :cheers:

Seing a few foreign you see around would represent the whole populace. You would have to back up that claim with the Philippine's national statistic on the number of foreigners migrating into the Philippines, categorize them by country of origin before you make your claims. Sure, you do see several foreigners there but, do they actually live there? Ones I knew who lives in the Philippines are mostly foreign missionaries.

I don't even know why you talk the way you do when some of the people whom are having debates with lives in the Philippines just like you do. They hold good jobs. They contribute in the Philippine economy and uses their skills which probably are all an asset to the companies they are working in.

Obviously there are people here who don't walk their talk ... :ohno:
Largest producer daw .. eh ano ito (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energy)? I-google mo kaya? :D

@NTPrime ... tama ka, kung makaka-adapt ka naman sa klima ng bansang patutunguhan mo eh mas mainam ...
Pasaan pa at sa katagalan eh maa-acclimatize ka rin naman ... gaya ni @Youngblood ...
He's happy where he is now and i also don't see a tad of regret in his post ... :)

Yeah, that's the problem with fengrun, he loves to make those false claim that came from his own imagination and he wanted the people here to believe as if the truth would not surface. Why lie when you would be proven wrong, right?

mwg12a

November 29th, 2010, 09:19 AM

yeah, like calling you pogi or guapo:D:lol:

fengrun na may tuldok sa unahan, kita mo na mi-miss ka rin pala.:D

si LMAO kaya miss ka rin:D

mukhang na miss mo rin pala siya, halatang halata sa mga mata mong naglulumbay. LOL:lol:

amigo32

November 29th, 2010, 09:26 AM

sobra:D

ano ka ba, eh, nasa likod nya ako noong nag away kayo. sabi ko sige wag mo tigilan yan si LMAO:D

at pareho kaming ayaw mag abroad:D

Ady001

November 29th, 2010, 09:31 AM

This thread is going to become a joke all over again...

I'd better get out of the boat before it sinks.

mwg12a

November 29th, 2010, 09:31 AM

@ amigo BALIMBING KA TALAGA!!! :rofl:

iamwatching

November 29th, 2010, 10:58 AM

tsk..tsk..no wonder you have to work like a dog there. With all the expenses to construct and maintain those things, you really need to work hard

In the Philippines, the beach is free.. what? beaches is Canada is muddy and frozen? that sucks.. :lol::nuts:

Join the Polar bear swim dude! It's on January 1.

Inggit lang yan..sour grapes kumbaga :nuts:

xxxriainxxx

November 29th, 2010, 11:09 AM

yeah, like calling you pogi or guapo:D:lol:

fengrun na may tuldok sa unahan, kita mo na mi-miss ka rin pala.:D

si LMAO kaya miss ka rin:D

aw chus. :D

iamwatching

November 29th, 2010, 03:46 PM

^^ ok lang naman mag sourgrapes :) naiintindihan naman namin anong mga pinagdaanan mo :)

iamwatching

November 29th, 2010, 05:07 PM

mas nakakaawa nga mga nasa canada ngayon. Imagine all the hassle of wearing thick clothes when going to work. Imagine how hard it is to withdraw cash using an atm machine and get coins in your pocket wearing thick gloves. :ohno:

Imagine all the hassle of putting chains on the tires of your car so it won't slide-down the cliff.

Imagine having to keep on adjusting the heater at the middle of the night, because either it's too hot, or too cold.

Don't worry, I sympatize with you people. :baeh3:hahaha ipagpatuloy mo lang ang pag rationalize at pag sourgrapes mo.malay matin makabawas mga sa inggit na nararamdaman mo

iamwatching

November 29th, 2010, 05:09 PM

inggit lang naman talaga ang punot dulo ng pag-aalburoto mo eh :okay:

youngblood

November 29th, 2010, 05:15 PM

hahaha ipagpatuloy mo lang ang pag rationalize at pag sourgrapes mo.malay matin makabawas mga sa inggit na nararamdaman mo
:lol::lol::lol:

iba talaga ang presence ni fengrun. alam mo para mawala ang bitterness mo sa katawan, bibigyan na lang kita ng link someone that can help you process all your papers para maranasan mo mangibang bansa.That way masasabi mo na na-experience mo ang ibang bansa at umuwi ka ng Pilipinas dahil mas masarap mamuhay sa Pilipinas. Atleast my first hand experience ka hindi yung puro kuro-kuro lang. hindi ba?

youngblood

November 29th, 2010, 05:30 PM

mas nakakaawa nga mga nasa canada ngayon. Imagine all the hassle of wearing thick clothes when going to work. Imagine how hard it is to withdraw cash using an atm machine and get coins in your pocket wearing thick gloves. :ohno:

Imagine all the hassle of putting chains on the tires of your car so it won't slide-down the cliff.

Imagine having to keep on adjusting the heater at the middle of the night, because either it's too hot, or too cold.
:

Haha :lol::lol::lol: San mo nakita to sa movies? Believe me, wala akong nakitang gumamit nyan dito. Winter tires na uso ngayon eh.

Adjusting the heater? :lol::lol: :lol:

Di ko talaga alam saan mo nakukuha mga information mo. :nuts:

crappypants

November 29th, 2010, 05:37 PM

Hey Fengrun, the grass is always greener on the other side. See all the Koreans and Chinese moving in the Phils and taking advantage of the opportunities while the Filipinos are moving out. In the future the Phils will be a state divided between China and Korea.
I would agree with what you say, if Phil. govt. can somehow lessen the pollution and traffic, control the pop. growth, preserve, protect, restore the environs , lower the cost of foods by increasing food production, then indeed Phils would be a paradise and top country to live in.

Ephesus29

November 29th, 2010, 10:06 PM

Here is a great news for you:
Asia Pacific News (Vancouver Sun/Nov.29/2010 by Jonathan Manthorpe:

Call centers in Manila out-dial those in mumbai:

Latest figures on the telephone-based customer support and sales industry predict that the Philippines will notch up $5.7 billion in revenues this year, overtaking India where revenues are expected to be $5.58 billion.

At the same time, while India remains ahead in the wider BPO industry with expected revenues of $12.4 billion this year, the Philippines is gaining fast.

According to Miriam Defensor, she expect the Philippines to overtake india and become the leading BPO provider within the next five years.:cheers:

^^just an excerpt:

amigo32

November 29th, 2010, 10:09 PM

^ agree. And the indians too are moving into the Philippines. They are making a killing with the lending business. Something stupid Filipinos, i mean OFW's, cannot see.

I once saw a news about pinoys getting gypped of work in Haiti. Some of them have even paid 500,000 pesos! wow! How stupid can you get. If they have 500,000 pesos , why on earth do they still want to work abroad? And of all the countries, poor and ravaged HAITI!

It is also the same with these stupid Filipino immigrants to Canada, Australia, New Zealand. They have spent close to half a million in fees and consultation, only to end up in those countries having to spend another million pesos to go back to school.

sayang namn pala ang 500k. sana 100 gatasang kalabaw na yun, yayaman na sya sa pag nenegosyo sa pinas:D

Ephesus29

November 29th, 2010, 10:13 PM

sour grapes? who's suffering on mushy, wet, roads? who's suffering on slippery wet roads? who has to wear thick clothes, jackets, gloves, etc when going out?

poor people. The vendors on the streets of manila are sitting relaxed outdoors chatting comfortably and enjoying a nice weather, while you people are living life like frozen meat. :nuts::lol:

Wow...vendors sitting and relaxed along the sidewalk? Comfortable while enjoying the nice weather? Laziness, I'd say, if thats they only thing they could do. :bash: (no offense to those who are doing their best)

amigo32

November 29th, 2010, 11:08 PM

vendor?

ibig sabihin relaxing/enjoying while waiting for customers to come:D wala pa kasi ang MMDA:D

teka mga night vendors yun palagay ko, tulog sila sa umaga, trabaho sa gabi":D

xxxriainxxx

November 30th, 2010, 05:26 AM

vendor?

ibig sabihin relaxing/enjoying while waiting for customers to come:D wala pa kasi ang MMDA:D

teka mga night vendors yun palagay ko, tulog sila sa umaga, trabaho sa gabi":D

Yung mga tipong, payosi-yosi lang. :)

Heneway, masaya naman si .fengrun sa buhay nya. :banana:

anone

November 30th, 2010, 07:01 AM

Filipino maid fabricated rape charge, says embassyBy RODOLFO ESTIMO JR. | ARAB NEWS

Published: Nov 29, 2010 22:36 Updated: Nov 29, 2010 22:36
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article203767.ece
RIYADH: The Philippine Embassy expressed concern on Monday at a Filipino maid who it said had fabricated a rape story to garner sympathy. The maid — identified only as Joanna — had sought help, claiming her employer had repeatedly raped her.

However, after being removed from her employer’s home, the woman confessed to making the story up to gain sympathy and get a transfer to another employer, the embassy said in a statement.

“The embassy is concerned that she lied for her own convenience. She spun tales as if she were telling the truth without regard for the consequences. We stopped working on other urgent cases just to accommodate her request to be rescued,” said an embassy official.

He added that this is unfair for other OFWs who have legitimate complaints that need immediate action. “It was a weekend when she needed to be rescued. It was difficult because we could not secure the necessary permit from the governor's office to enter her sponsor's house in a private compound,” he said.

“Despite initial difficulties, the maid was rescued with the help of a recruitment agency. When interviewed by embassy officials, she expressed gratitude for getting her out. She, however, apologized for raising alarm as her allegations were untrue,” the embassy said.

Upon further clarification, she also admitted that she was told by her sister in the Philippines to fabricate the story that she was raped so that the embassy would prioritize her case over that of other distressed OFWs, the embassy said.

She said her real complaints were that she was not being given food and her salary had been delayed. She also executed an affidavit, freely and of her own will, denying the veracity of her story.

“In light of this affair, the embassy wishes to remind Filipinos in the Kingdom to be more circumspect in matters such as this, as such acts have serious consequences, including criminal liability,” the embassy added.

The embassy said it will continue to exert its best efforts to assist those who are distressed, and “untrue stories such as this, while seemingly beneficial to the person involved, work to the disadvantage of those who are truly in a difficult situation and need immediate assistance.”

The maid initially sent a text message to a Filipino community leader on Thursday that she had been repeatedly raped by her employer. The community leader forwarded the message to Arab News.

Sobbing and talking in a barely audible voice, the maid told Arab News that she had been raped five times by her employer since the start of Ramadan and begged to be rescued. When asked to speak louder, she said she could not because she might be heard by her sponsor’s wife.

Arab News sent a text message to the embassy and Vice Consul Roussel Reyes said that he had sent an embassy team to find the location of the house where the maid was working.

On Friday night, the maid repeatedly sent text messages to Arab News, begging that she be rescued because her sponsor was beating her up. Arab News forwarded the message to Ezzedin H. Tago, chargé d'affaires, who said they were trying to get her out.

Later in the night, Tago called Arab News to say that the maid was in the custody of Al-Najlain Agency, which had recruited her.

anone

November 30th, 2010, 07:16 AM

No list of OFW-friendly countries
INQUIRER.net
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20101130-306196/No-list-of-OFW-friendly-countries
First Posted 13:48:00 11/30/2010

Advertisement MANILA, Philippines—The preparation of the list of countries where overseas Filipino workers can go to is on hold as Vice President Jejomar Binay suspended for 60 days the implementation of the required certification of host countries for the deployment of OFWs.

As Presidential Adviser for Overseas Filipino Worker Concerns, Binay said that under Republic Act 10022, the new law on migrant workers, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has to issue certification whether host countries meet the criteria set by the law for deployment of OFWs.

There criteria relates to whether the destination country has signed or ratified multilateral conventions, declarations, or resolutions or concluded bilateral agreement or arrangement that promote and protect the rights and welfare of migrant workers, Binay added.

Starting24 November 2010, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration will continue to process and deploy workers even without the DFA certification.

In a meeting of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Governing Board which was attended by Binay last week, both the DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment have agreed to extend the 90-day and 120-day certification periods to give ample time to assess the compliance of the host countries to the requirement of the law.

In a related development, Binay urged the land-based recruitment agencies to seek the help of the legislature or the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to allow an equivalent insurance scheme for their workers, similar to the sea-based sector.

RA 10022 allows insurance coverage for seafarers that are issued by foreign insurance companies provided that all the risks such as accidental death, natural death, permanent total disablement, repatriation costs, and others are included.

Yre

November 30th, 2010, 07:37 AM

b_two

November 30th, 2010, 08:36 AM

mwg12a

November 30th, 2010, 08:37 AM

^^ Yeah, that can be true. On one part, it's good that there would not be any DH anymore like japayuki in Japan before, the down side is, will these DH find a decent job in the Philippines?

Banned na naman ba si fengrun?? Grabe pala talaga, walang kaalamalam itong si fengrun, kulang sa experience at walang urbanidad natutunan sa magulang at eskuwelahan. Lahat ng mga sinabi niya puro theory lang at gawagawaan sa isip niya. Kulang sa exposure, siguro nga mga kapit bahay niyan puro OFWs at natatabunan siya. Mukhang hindi dahil ayaw nitong mangibang bansa basta basta, mayroon pang ibang reason kaya sobra ang galit sa mga OFWs. Yuong mga immigrants tinitira ng malayo sa kaalaman niya at lagin palso ang sinasabi. Wala talagang kamuang muang. Malamang yan gusto mag migrate kaya lang hindi makaalis, either kulang ang qualification niya o wala talagang kamaganak na mag petition siya. Takot naman mag trabaho sa middleast. Puro kasinungalingan ang sinasabi tungkol sa sarili niya at net worth niya. Ang hindi ko maintindihan, hindi kaya niya narerealized na yuong kasinungalingan niya madaling mabuko? Kahit na nagmumukha siyang engot sa mga justifications at debate niya sige pa rin ng sige kahit nonsense na ang pinagsasabi.

Originally Posted by .fengrun
^ agree. And the indians too are moving into the Philippines. They are making a killing with the lending business. Something stupid Filipinos, i mean OFW's, cannot see.

I once saw a news about pinoys getting gypped of work in Haiti. Some of them have even paid 500,000 pesos! wow! How stupid can you get. If they have 500,000 pesos , why on earth do they still want to work abroad? And of all the countries, poor and ravaged HAITI!

It is also the same with these stupid Filipino immigrants to Canada, Australia, New Zealand. They have spent close to half a million in fees and consultation, only to end up in those countries having to spend another million pesos to go back to school

He has a good point in paragraph number two here. Those are the misfortune of some of the filipinos who are so gullible. This is what we need to really research and find out as to why there are filipinos who would spend thousands just to end up in vogus jobs overseas like Haiti, Iran, Afghanistan and other places where they end up being deported or get themselves in a harms way inspite of advisories in these countries. Why spend 500K for? They could of used that to start a small business then pay back who they owed. Some DH who spends thousands of pesos for a 250.00 US dollar monthly pay when they can earn these in call centers in the Philippines. Perhaps the prejudices in companies when it comes to age and weight? I am surprised that the Philippine government never changed this law when the Philippines is a democratic country and those acts are biases which translate into prejudism.

Fengrun's statement about indians moving into the Philippines and his assumptions that all filipinos who went to canada has to go back to school. It goes to show how he lacks exposure and enough knowledge. He sounded like he can't afford to take his wife and kids to HK for a leisure trip or perhaps just take his wife on a shopping trip to HK and Singapore. This is probably why he is bitter about alot of things connected to filipinos who travels overseas.

NTprime

November 30th, 2010, 09:26 AM

^^I think we don't know fengrun that well because he always fails to answer our questions.

For one, I don't believe he has a family of his own. Why would any woman marry such a sore loser? I'm sure there are a number of Filipinas who also dream of migrating to places like the US, Canada and Australia one day. For that alone they can kiss fengrun off their prospect list.

Re the posts he made, they're so one sided. It's like he googled every single negative issue about OFWs and then selectively cited the article. But then he's not able to back his posting with anecdotal data. And mind you, the last few comments about Canadians and winter was really uncalled for. Further proof of his ignorance was stating that it's difficult to withdraw money (he actually said coins) from ATMs with all those mittens and gloves during winter. Well, look at most ATMs, they have keys as wide as those in desktops, sometimes even wider. And ATMs don't dispense coins:lol: slot machines do:lol:

Well, trolling behavior like that got him banned a third time around. I wish he'd just go away for good, he had 3 opportunities to rectify himself, and he got banned faster than the last time it took to do the same.

Anyway, I'll carry on with your discussion above...regarding gullible Filipinos, it's a combination of many things:

1. Lack of education - most of those who get tricked or duped by illegal recruiters probably are semi-literate, or don't even read their contracts well (if they have contracts).

2. Jobs they apply for are mostly laborer type - fairly true in cases of construction where Pinoy laborers work side by side with Indians, Pakistani and Sri Lankan laborers. Probably some Indonesian laborers as well.

3. But the engineering folks who have higher posts are treated quite well - Pinoy expats are well-liked in Indonesia. I have friends who made really good money in Jakarta and other major Indonesian cities and were living a good expatriate lifestyle - good salary and perks, car service, housing is provided complete with servants, etc.

4. Many of the OFWs who get in trouble abroad have spurious documents, to begin with. They eventually get discovered and in the end, get jailed and deported, especially when crimes are committed.

I can't understand also why some people will pay hundreds of thousands of pesos to illegal recruiters when the risk is so great...most likely they were desperate to begin with. And what is dangerous are the ladies who accept "waitress" jobs...often they end up being traded into white slavery.:bash:

pi_malejana

November 30th, 2010, 09:31 AM

next time he comes back (i'm sure he'll be back), please don't entertain him anymore...:no:

manileño

November 30th, 2010, 09:55 AM

One thing that OFWs have that many others who haven't worked abroad is the gift of TRAVEL. Sure, it may be just a simple plane ride in crowded economy class once a year or two, but they are transported to another world, complete with its own culture, religious beliefs, historical and modern sights, and so on.

So it would always be unfair for people like fengrun to make such sweeping statements without smelling first how the grass (or flowers) is on the other side. That is called prejudice. To some extent, you can also add Weltschmerz as well.

In order to reduce prejudice and bias against others, my solution is to travel and experience events from the others' point of view. Which brings me to a couple of my favorite quotations:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

"Para viajar sin dinero, MARINERO.."
("To travel without money, be a seaman") :D

OFWs do have the gift and opportunity of experiencing travel and different cultures in the host country they end up in. With this in mind however, most people are under the wrong impression that the only way to experience all these is to slave it off abroad.

And this is where i agree with fengrun. I know he has this obnoxious way of addressing this wrong notion that has become somewhat of a national policy and aspiration, but i do believe this has to be tamed and curtailed by the government, the media and education. You don't have to be an OFW to experience this 'privilege' and you CAN make it in the Philippines! you can work and save money here, and with the easing of travel restrictions abroad and more affordable airfares being offered by budget airlines, you can travel with the pesos you earn. Im not taking sides with fengrun here but he does have some valid points :)

I know many people here on SSC working in Metro Manila/Cebu who are frequent travellers. That generalization of travel and the 'good life' as something that is only possible going the OFW route is REALLY something that has to be stopped because it's not cute. :)

There are jobs for those who stay. For those who choose to migrate, good luck.
But remember, that doesn't make you taller than them. :2cents:

I guess that's the whole point that fengrun was trying to make.

mwg12a

November 30th, 2010, 10:12 AM

next time he comes back (i'm sure he'll be back), please don't entertain him anymore...:no:

As if someone who has no clue about him wouldn't fall for his trap? It may not be us but surely, someone else would end up taking the beating from him... then he will get banned again, and again and again to eternity :lol::lol:

mwg12a

November 30th, 2010, 10:28 AM

"Para viajar sin dinero, MARINERO.."
("To travel without money, be a seaman") :D

OFWs do have the gift and opportunity of experiencing travel and different cultures in the host country they end up in. With this in mind however, most people are under the wrong impression that the only way to experience all these is to slave it off abroad.

And this is where i agree with fengrun. I know he has this obnoxious way of addressing this wrong notion that has become somewhat of a national policy and aspiration, but i do believe this has to be tamed and curtailed by the government, the media and education. You don't have to be an OFW to experience this 'privilege' and you CAN make it in the Philippines! you can work and save money here, and with the easing of travel restrictions abroad and more affordable airfares being offered by budget airlines, you can travel with the pesos you earn. :)

I know many people here on SSC working in Metro Manila/Cebu who are frequent travellers. That generalization of travel and the 'good life' as something that is only possible going the OFW route is REALLY something that has to be stopped because it's not cute. :)

There are jobs for those who stay. For those who choose to migrate, good luck.
But remember, that doesn't make you taller than them. :2cents:

I guess that's the whole point that fengrun was trying to make.

You're exactly right, one does not have to be an OFW to experience life outside. There are many filipino jetsetters, I've even gave my own cousin as a good example, he stayed in the Philippines all his life but travels to europe NA and the Holy Land, your own luck is how you make it. Talented or not as long as you have the will to better your life.

You're also right about your comment on OFWs since some of those jobs overseas are not worth it. But to disrespect other filipinos who are professionals who found their luck overseas is just tad wrong and very unfair, considering all his concepts about the life of filipinos in North American were purely vogus and out of this world. Considering most of the filipinos who traveled to the US are professionals who took their families with them. Majority of these professionals didn't have to go back to school to get a job in the US or Canada, if their credentials are recognized, they work there directly, some even put their own businesses here. So being slave in countries who hosted foreign immigrants and accept them as a new citizen can be considered to be of bad taste and outright disrespectful. And even if there are OFWs in the middleast and asia, we can not deny the fact that prior to all these.... there are hardly good jobs that can be found in in the Philippines until after these last 4 years that the country experienced a little bit of economic growth.

The problem with fengran is his hate, his prejudices and arrogance. Even if there is nobody here that is branding the Philippines as a poor country, he insist that the filipinos themselves are the ones telling the whole world their country is dirt poor, sadly, he didn't realize that there are foreigners who travels in the Philippines witnessed poverty in the country, especially those foreign missionaries who travels to the most rural parts of the country, the Philippines. Can we deny what they see???

See, this is why you don't want to jump into a conclusion without a full clear view of the whole picture especially the ones that transpired way way way before you caught on it my friend. Fengrun has been treated with respect, what do we get in return? foul mouth to the max.....

Ephesus29

November 30th, 2010, 10:43 AM

Just wondering if you guys have a chance to see/read the "Huge cache of cables released" by the whistleblower website Wikileaks.

The Province/Nov. 29/2010

The website apparently "unleased a damaging torrent of US diplomatic cables, detailing episodes from nuclear standoff with Pakistan to Arab leaders urging a strike on Iran"

The realease of the cables threaten to damage the US relations with foreign governments, including Canada and other American Allies............

"These cables, could compromise private discussions with foreign governments and opposition leader.......it can deeply impact not only US foreign policy interests but those of our allies and freinds around the world" Gibb said.

A number of starling revelations quickly emerged.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has urged the US on several occasions to launch military strikes against Iran to destroy their nuclear facilities.........

US intelligence believes Iran has obtained advanced missiles from North Korea capable of striking Europe......

and more.......:ohno:

NTprime

November 30th, 2010, 10:55 AM

"Para viajar sin dinero, MARINERO.."
("To travel without money, be a seaman") :D

OFWs do have the gift and opportunity of experiencing travel and different cultures in the host country they end up in. With this in mind however, most people are under the wrong impression that the only way to experience all these is to slave it off abroad.

And this is where i agree with fengrun. I know he has this obnoxious way of addressing this wrong notion that has become somewhat of a national policy and aspiration, but i do believe this has to be tamed and curtailed by the government, the media and education. You don't have to be an OFW to experience this 'privilege' and you CAN make it in the Philippines! you can work and save money here, and with the easing of travel restrictions abroad and more affordable airfares being offered by budget airlines, you can travel with the pesos you earn. Im not taking sides with fengrun here but he does have some valid points :)

I know many people here on SSC working in Metro Manila/Cebu who are frequent travellers. That generalization of travel and the 'good life' as something that is only possible going the OFW route is REALLY something that has to be stopped because it's not cute. :)

There are jobs for those who stay. For those who choose to migrate, good luck.
But remember, that doesn't make you taller than them. :2cents:

I guess that's the whole point that fengrun was trying to make.

Hmmm...care to clarify what you exactly meant by the sentences highlighted above?

You don't have to be an OFW to travel abroad and to see the world up close. The best jobs for such vary with what your work pursuits give...for some, it may be as a pilot or FA, for others, a diplomat or NGO worker, even for others, as business executives, and for most whose work doesn't involve travel, as a tourist. You don't need to slave it off abroad to be able to get these life experiences of travel, as you mentioned, travel has become affordable that many people who didn't have the opportunity to travel in the past can do so nowadays.

As for the second highlighted sentence, I think that's where fengrun's repetitions of absurdities sometimes sound as if they're real. I know you are probably sick and tired of his whining on that topic ("good life" only possible by OFW route). I for one, never thought of going the OFW route just in order to be able to travel. Most OFWs who are not fond of leisure travel will probably be content having to fly back to Manila, never mind what kind of aircraft it is or what airline they take, since they're not paying for their fare anyway. But I have friends who are OFWs and expatriates abroad who travel for leisure, even exchanging their return tickets to Manila which are given every year as part of their package for a ticket to the US, Europe, or some other place where they can travel and learn the local culture. I have one friend whose father worked in Saudi Arabia but would not come home to the Philippines because his wife and son (my friend) would travel to Saudi to meet with him and then continue their holidays or vacation in other places they've never been to before.

And I agree with your sentence "You don't have to be an OFW to experience this 'privilege' and you CAN make it in the Philippines" because it really depends on how one defines his/her success in life. For some, those privileges don't count...for others, these are a reinforcement that the hard work in the Philippines allows them to see the rest of the world up close...it really depends what one's priorities for fulfillment are.

NTprime

November 30th, 2010, 11:02 AM

As if someone who has no clue about him wouldn't fall for his trap? It may not be us but surely, someone else would end up taking the beating from him... then he will get banned again, and again and again to eternity :lol::lol:

Yeah, we'll be here to ensure that others won't fall for his trap. This thread has become interesting without him, look at the reaction of others like Ady001:

This thread is going to become a joke all over again...

I'd better get out of the boat before it sinks.

We have to protect the integrity of this thread. We were already seeing an interesting exchange by the SSCs from Canada, only to be discouraged by the troll fengrun. This thread is not about him, it's about the OFWs.

Eastern Dragon

November 30th, 2010, 11:09 AM

heated exchange pala dito ah. banned na naman ba si fengrun?

I wonder bakit parang ang tindi ng galit ni fengrun sa mga umaalis ng bansa.

clearly he has a bit of a myopic view of the world.

manileño

November 30th, 2010, 11:21 AM

Hmmm...care to clarify what you exactly meant by the sentences highlighted above?

oh nothing, im just tired of this ignorance of many filipinos overseas who upon meeting a kababayan on a plane, in an airport or downtown place would always assume you are like them, and ask who your master or boss is, where you work etc etc. :lol::lol:

or those fil-ams or whatever who would ask which state or country you are from upon knowing you're a visitor to their place, i mean can we not be filipino filipinos and simply travel. hehe! :D

See, this is why you don't want to jump into a conclusion without a full clear view of the whole picture especially the ones that transpired way way way before you caught on it my friend. Fengrun has been treated with respect, what do we get in return? foul mouth to the max.....

yea, i don't fully agree with his style and specially the language he used, but i think his message is clear and has meaning. :) I think it's a call to stop this national craze and mentality that the only way to ever improve is to work abroad. That's just the way i see it. But of course that dooesn't excuse his behaviour and the way he attacked the issue :)

xxxriainxxx

November 30th, 2010, 11:25 AM

heated exchange pala dito ah. banned na naman ba si fengrun?

I wonder bakit parang ang tindi ng galit ni fengrun sa mga umaalis ng bansa.

clearly he has a bit of a myopic view of the world.

Oo, kumakalabog ang mga malulutong na mura ni fengrun dito sa mga OFWs. Tsk tsk tsk.

Ady001

November 30th, 2010, 11:26 AM

Yeah, we'll be here to ensure that others won't fall for his trap. This thread has become interesting without him, look at the reaction of others like Ady001:

We have to protect the integrity of this thread. We were already seeing an interesting exchange by the SSCs from Canada, only to be discouraged by the troll fengrun. This thread is not about him, it's about the OFWs.

Bumuti nga eh nung nawala siya. Para atang nawawalan ng saysay yung thread nung may umepal.

Ady001

November 30th, 2010, 11:32 AM

As if someone who has no clue about him wouldn't fall for his trap? It may not be us but surely, someone else would end up taking the beating from him... then he will get banned again, and again and again to eternity :lol::lol:

For all we know sir he can place those points anywhere: f.engrun, fe.ngrun, fen.grun, feng.run, fengr.un, fengru.n, or pengrun, or peng-run, he/she can make a lot of combinations.

xxxriainxxx

November 30th, 2010, 11:32 AM

NTprime

November 30th, 2010, 12:52 PM

oh nothing, im just tired of this ignorance of many filipinos overseas who upon meeting a kababayan on a plane, in an airport or downtown place would always assume you are like them, and ask who your master or boss is, where you work etc etc. :lol::lol:

or those fil-ams or whatever who would ask which state or country you are from upon knowing you're a visitor to their place, i mean can we not be filipino filipinos and simply travel. hehe! :D

Hindi naman lahat, pero marami rami ngang ibang OFWs na napapansin ko na nagugulat pag ang mga Pinoy ay travelers lang pala not as workers. Met somebody on a ferry from Malaysia to Brunei, I got asked the same question, sabi ko well, I travel...I don't work here. :D

Meron naman yung ibang mga Pilipino dito sa Hanoi na nameet ko sa isang birthday party, heto yung convo namin:

Pinay 1: First time mo lumabas ng Pilipinas? Sino kakilala mo dito (at napasok ka sa kumpanya mo)?

(This was said in a pretty maangas way which I totally disliked.)

Me: No. In fact, while I was in the Philippines, I go out of the country to travel at least once a year. This is my nth country visited. And I don't need any connection to get me this job. I was directly hired.

I was really annoyed.

Hahaha I can relate to this. Sometime in the past I was with my GF (future wife) in Hong Kong and this DH goes up to her and asks "Kailan dumating yung barko niya?" :nuts: and to think we were not even at Chater Road:lol:

In Singapore, I try to avoid Lucky Plaza and People's Park but there was one Sunday where I decided to see for myself what it was like....and it was really like Luneta on a Sunday, all full of Pinoy DHs and seamen...I hurriedly left lest I get asked "Kailan dumating barko mo?":lol:

One thing that really shocked me on my first trip back from Singapore many years ago is that as soon as the PAL plane landed at NAIA, people started standing up and clapping like as if they were released from long term detention:lol:

I've been seated beside different folks on different flights on a number of my trips in the past. One time I had a DH beside me, she was probably "hiya" she just stared at me but didn't say a word. One other time I was with a balikbayan who was unfortunate enough to be seated in front of a rowdy kid who kept on kicking the back of his chair...and one flight from BKK to MNL I met an interesting Swedish lady scientist who I had a wonderful conversation practically the whole of the flight...and BTW, it's not limited to flights alone...traveling from Vancouver to Calgary on the Grayhound bus I sat beside a nice old lady who told me a lot of stories (one of which was that she was brought by her son and his GF to the bus terminal while they went on their way in their car)...

When traveling, try to sit beside someone (foreigners especially) you probably have little in common with. You'll be surprised to know how much more interested he or she would be than to sit with someone who you think is a "safe" bet.

anone

November 30th, 2010, 01:13 PM

One thing that really shocked me on my first trip back from Singapore many years ago is that as soon as the PAL plane landed at NAIA, people started standing up and clapping like as if they were released from long term detention:lol:.

ilang beses ko rin naranasan yan pero muntik na akong maluha dahil alam kong karamihan sa mga pumapalakpak ay sabik makita ang mahal nila sa buhay o ang iba naman ay galak dahil sa ilang taon nilang paghihirap o paghahapbuhay ay makakapag pangiha na sila.

xxxriainxxx

November 30th, 2010, 02:09 PM

amigo32

November 30th, 2010, 02:28 PM

o di ba tama si fengrun.:D

uwi ka na kasi, mag simbang gabi ka na:D sa pinas:D

Juan Pilgrim

November 30th, 2010, 02:42 PM

lahat ng pakikipagsapalaran may kaakibat na sakripisyo at pagpupunyagi. Kasama na rin dito ang katotohanang hindi lahat ng pakikipagsapalaran ay tagumpay ang kahihinatnan. May mga ofw na nagtatagumpay at meron din namang umuuwing talunan. Ang bawat pilipino ay may karapatang mag-isip at gumawa ng hakbang patungkol sa katuparan ng kanyang mga pangarap at hangarin sa buhay. Isa sa mga nakahaing pagpipilian ang pangingibang-bansa. Hindi madaling malayo sa mga mahal sa buhay ngunit kung minsan hinihingi ng pagkakataon. Ang dalangin ko lang ay ang makamit nila ang kanilang mga inaasam saan mang bansa sila naroroon at sa madaling-panahon ay muli nilang makapiling ang kanilang pamilya.
http://www.iknow2.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/nose-bleed.jpg

I agree with what you said eventhough it took me awhile to read it.

In my case, I always gravitate towards our kababayans here in the big apple
who are employed as doormen, nannies, baby nurses, companions, chauffeurs, etc...
because I find them very interesting and their stories are very unique.
And when they find out that I am also a Filipino, most of them become
very nurturing and protective of me and my family.
Siguro kasi mukha kaming gutom dahil payatot.

Hindi ko rin gustong ksama yung mga Fil-Am na hambog, bigaon at parasugid.

Kintoy

November 30th, 2010, 03:14 PM

the worst OFWs are those in the US who snitch their TNT kababayans to the INS and get paid doing it. cynical opportunism at its best.

manileño

November 30th, 2010, 04:28 PM

Hahaha I can relate to this. Sometime in the past I was with my GF (future wife) in Hong Kong and this DH goes up to her and asks "Kailan dumating yung barko niya?" :nuts: and to think we were not even at Chater Road:lol:

In Singapore, I try to avoid Lucky Plaza and People's Park but there was one Sunday where I decided to see for myself what it was like....and it was really like Luneta on a Sunday, all full of Pinoy DHs and seamen...I hurriedly left lest I get asked "Kailan dumating barko mo?":lol:

Barko? :lol: why, how old are you? :lol::lol: :D

the most okay (or should i say helpful) OFWs i have encountered have been usually those from non-english speaking places like those i met in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin (Europe in general except UK/Italy). Maybe because they're not a lot so they appreciate helping the few fellow filipinos out that they meet, and they don't have this i dunno, superiority attitude like many fil-ams have having the command of the english language with a twang however ugly it may sound sometimes haha just kidding :D but they're good in spanish, french, german, and thats when i get really enticed to chat with them (for practice hehe!). :)

crappypants

November 30th, 2010, 05:06 PM

I can say going around the threads, Feng Run is not the only one here with a filthy mouth.

mwg12a

November 30th, 2010, 05:21 PM

yea, i don't fully agree with his style and specially the language he used, but i think his message is clear and has meaning. :) I think it's a call to stop this national craze and mentality that the only way to ever improve is to work abroad. That's just the way i see it. But of course that dooesn't excuse his behaviour and the way he attacked the issue :)

I do understand his sentiments, it was what I have been advocating even before, for filipinos to learn to be enterpreneurs aside from being highly educated. I agreed a couple of times on his statements, but not when he accuse the OFWs or the expats of bad mouthing the country about being poor, he takes it down to personal level where he thinks the OFWs are saying every single filipinos are poor when the point was on just the economy. Surely, despite of the bad economy especially in the past, filipinos can still afford some form of luxury, especially if half of them rely on their family members abroad for their finances... Nobody also even mentioned anything about "only way to improve" is to work abroad. I never heard or seen any forummers here made that statement. What was discussed is about how prior to all these developments, an average filipino could not find a decent paying job, not necessarily about how hard it was to find a job, just the quality of life is at stake when the prices of comodities and gas keeps going up and the value of the peso keeps dropping down.

I can't take that fengrun blames the OFWs for the lack of manpower there in the Philippines because it is poverty that drove the Philippine government to plea for help in other countries to provide employment for the filipinos. The desire of some to migrate in the US is a whole different ballgame, because ofcourse, some of it is driven by colonial mentality and lack of proper guidance from our forefathers with the exception of some few. What about OFWs in other countries? I can't blame a public school teacher to give up her profession just to become a domestic helper in the middleast because the Philippine government can't pay them decent salaries when the competition in teaching job is high in private schools. We do need teachers in public schools as well right? So what's the need to belittle and blame these people whom where driven by the circumstances they were facing. The Philippine government has no support system for small businesses and enterpreneurs, what is there left to them? Find the easiest way out of possible starvation. Remember? it is a pain in the neck to start a business in the Philippines because of extortions from the gangs which sadly, some were supported by military or police personnel. Am I right on this one?

Barko? :lol: why, how old are you? :lol::lol: :D

the most okay (or should i say helpful) OFWs i have encountered have been usually those from non-english speaking places like those i met in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin (Europe in general except UK/Italy). Maybe because they're not a lot so they appreciate helping the few fellow filipinos out that they meet, and they don't have this i dunno, superiority attitude like many fil-ams have having the command of the english language with a twang however ugly it may sound sometimes haha just kidding :D but they're good in spanish, french, german, and thats when i get really enticed to chat with them (for practice hehe!). :)

Is why I never liked living in the state of california or anywhere in west coast where tons of pinoys are residing. In the midwest where I am at, you see another filipino, you'd be more than glad to help or be helped. They are more approachable and friendlier. Even in Toronto, I didnt enjoy being around filipinos there because they all seems too snooty and unfriendly. Pinoys in those areas of cali hawaii toronto, pinoys there have this whole new different culture and mentality. So that would depend on where in North America you encountered filipinos. This is what i've really observed with filipinos, they are "mayabang" especially towards fellow filipinos, this is why they are aloof with one another that first time pinoys would run into each other.

manileño

November 30th, 2010, 06:12 PM

mwg12a

November 30th, 2010, 06:49 PM

We can go day and night talking about filipinos in the US acting high and mighty. There are alot of sad stories to tell in this regard. This is why I don't understand fengrun's generalization and that unnecessary blame game, all of which are due to the corrupted minds of some filipinos who are obsessed with anything foreign, whom are all getting drowned by colonial mentalitism.

bitoy

November 30th, 2010, 10:52 PM

ilang beses ko rin naranasan yan pero muntik na akong maluha dahil alam kong karamihan sa mga pumapalakpak ay sabik makita ang mahal nila sa buhay o ang iba naman ay galak dahil sa ilang taon nilang paghihirap o paghahapbuhay ay makakapag pangiha na sila.

Yeah... I understand them.. maski mali.. but sabik lang talaga makaapak ulit ng bansang kinamulatan. I admitted, when I left the Philippines last May for VN, I cried buckets the moment I sat down on my seat for a PR flight to HCMC. I missed my country, my family and my friends. It dint help that the music on board was all OPM. Kaya hayun, I was quietly crying. :(

There's really nothing wrong with the passengers giving some appreciation to the crew of the flight by clapping and with teary eyes the moment the plane touch the ground on their homeland.

I've experienced the same thing twice during the x'mas holiday and while the pilot was manuevering the plane to the tarmac, to make everyone feel jolly after the passengers small way of celebrating, he announced a simple greeting for everyone;

"Maligayang pasko at manigong bagoong taon po sa inyong lahat, at para sa mga ninong at ninang, ihanda niyo na po ang inyong mga pangregalo sa inyong mga ina-anak". And that was a NW flight. :lol:

Ephesus29

December 1st, 2010, 12:04 AM

^^ you're right mwg. but even without anyone mentioning that kind of miseducation going on amongst migrant filipinos and OFWs, truth is they do happen and you hear it a lot in the media, in other filipino fora and communities.. it's a sad sad reality that there exists this preference, almost idol worship for foreign land, like everyone else who stays in the islands are left in miserable place. i heard enough badmouthing of the PI coming from migrant filipinos specially there in the US (West Coast definitely that has the greatest influence on OFW mentality due to their number).. many times, i just overhear their ignorance in the bus or trains and they would talk about how fortunate they are to have left this place.. anyway, thing is it's become prevalent among OFWs.

but fengrun should have directed his ire at the government, and not the forumers. it's the government's fault really that this miseducation exists and why there's a lack of decent jobs in the country. :cheers:

I do agree with you. There are "Pinoy" be it OFW/Immigrant sometimes think they are superior than their fellow "Pinoy", not only towards their fellow "Pinoy" in the PI but also in their host country. However, there are a lot of Pinoys too OFW's/Immigrants who are real, sincere and down to earth.:)

In regards to OFW's/Immigrants talking about how they'r fortunate to have left the Philippines should not be construed as a bad thing or belittling our "Kapwa Pinoy"

Perhaps there are extenuating circumstances that they felt fortunate to have immigrated or for OFW's, have work abroad. We should consider their unspoken other reasons, which I am quite sure they are valid. Quite frankly, there are number of things. May be the traffic, pollutions, poverty, and government corruptions. Also the education system, which needs an overhaul. For OFW's, I can't speak more than I know about their circumstances, better paying job and a chance to see the world.

I for one, I feel fortunate that I left the country, because I don't have to deal with corrupt government. (I used to work in a Government Engineering Office) I've seen it first hand. Appalling, and abhorrent, can't live with it.

I understand where fengrun is comming from...there are sacrifices to make to be able to get to the right direction in life. Has to work hard at times not to mention the icy cold weather the he always emphasized all along.:)

But the sacrifices being made are worth it most of the time. And the weather although uncooperative at times in the winter its not all that bad. Just like in the Philippines, there are good and bad times when it comes to weather. Infact, my family in Isabela has just gone through it in October. Devastating indeed.:ohno:

I have rice lands that are being looked after by my brothers and sisters. I support them fully financially to make a good harvest. After the devastating storm, they end up with almost no harvest. I wonder if the government in the Philippines would ever look after those affected farmers. Here in Canada, when we have a disaster like this, government will look after all the farmers.

Back to arrogant"Pinoys" as I have said early on in this forum....No offense, but the "Pinoy" that most likely guilty of these kind of behaviour are those "Pinoy" who are highly educated and are professionals. (No offense intended) When they encounter Pinoy here abroad who are in the blue collar jobs they looked down on them. (ie; janitors, dh, gardeners etc.):ohno:

Why can't we all disagree to agree without hurling insults and name calling. We should all make this forum a source of informations in the Philippines for all Pinoys abroad OWF's/Immigrant.

Honestly I miss the Philippines.... the beac, the lush verdand rice field, and the people.

NTprime

December 1st, 2010, 02:34 AM

I do agree with you. There are "Pinoy" be it OFW/Immigrant sometimes think they are superior than their fellow "Pinoy", not only towards their fellow "Pinoy" in the PI but also in their host country. However, there are a lot of Pinoys too OFW's/Immigrants who are real, sincere and down to earth.:)

In regards to OFW's/Immigrants talking about how they'r fortunate to have left the Philippines should not be construed as a bad thing or belittling our "Kapwa Pinoy"

Perhaps there are extenuating circumstances that they felt fortunate to have immigrated or for OFW's, have work abroad. We should consider their unspoken other reasons, which I am quite sure they are valid. Quite frankly, there are number of things. May be the traffic, pollutions, poverty, and government corruptions. Also the education system, which needs an overhaul. For OFW's, I can't speak more than I know about their circumstances, better paying job and a chance to see the world.

I for one, I feel fortunate that I left the country, because I don't have to deal with corrupt government. (I used to work in a Government Engineering Office) I've seen it first hand. Appalling, and abhorrent, can't live with it.

I understand where fengrun is comming from...there are sacrifices to make to be able to get to the right direction in life. Has to work hard at times not to mention the icy cold weather the he always emphasized all along.:)

But the sacrifices being made are worth it most of the time. And the weather although uncooperative at times in the winter its not all that bad. Just like in the Philippines, there are good and bad times when it comes to weather. Infact, my family in Isabela has just gone through it in October. Devastating indeed.:ohno:

I have rice lands that are being looked after by my brothers and sisters. I support them fully financially to make a good harvest. After the devastating storm, they end up with almost no harvest. I wonder if the government in the Philippines would ever look after those affected farmers. Here in Canada, when we have a disaster like this, government will look after all the farmers.

Back to arrogant"Pinoys" as I have said early on in this forum....No offense, but the "Pinoy" that most likely guilty of these kind of behaviour are those "Pinoy" who are highly educated and are professionals. (No offense intended) When they encounter Pinoy here abroad who are in the blue collar jobs they looked down on them. (ie; janitors, dh, gardeners etc.):ohno:

Why can't we all disagree to agree without hurling insults and name calling. We should all make this forum a source of informations in the Philippines for all Pinoys abroad OWF's/Immigrant.

Honestly I miss the Philippines.... the beac, the lush verdand rice field, and the people.

^^Very good points there. Each person has his or her own extenuating circumstances, as you mentioned. Many often want to improve their condition of living, others were "forced to" because their parents migrated, yet others left in search of love, or were reassigned by their employers, and so on.

With regard to the detestable behavior of overseas Pinoys who look down on Pinoys from the mainland, this probably arises as a result of bitterness (perhaps they had enemies or competitors and now they want to thumb down on them who aren't as successful financially) from the rat race, or the notion that some were "lucky" because they were able to marry a US citizen or green card holder (fastest ticket to immigration), and so on. I think those who had it easy on migrating have a stronger likelihood of looking down on those less fortunate, especially those who are not well off after they've migrated. But then again, it's a case to case basis, one cannot generalize fengrun-style.

I also agree with Ephesus29 highlighted statements above, e.g. for reasons of better education (for the children especially), better government (minimized corruption), less traffic and pollution, and so on. In other words, these are areas which have to do with a better quality of life index. Which is why most people migrate to countries with high quality of life index scores, not the other way around (except in extreme circumstances). Why would a Filipino, say want to migrate to Pakistan, or Bangladesh, for instance, unless it were required by work (maybe they work for an NGO) or because he/she married a national of those countries?

And finally, I agree that we should make this forum a source of info for all OFWs and migrants...not a name bashing and whining thread that fengrun did.

Eastern Dragon

December 1st, 2010, 04:28 AM

ang buhay ay weather weather lang. i do not begrudge peopl who leave the country, choice nila yan eh.

and in fact, if you analyze it, in the philippines, the biggest companies were founded by OFW's/migrants.

the ayalas and the aboitizes are from spain. sy/gokongwei/tan are from china. certainly, they have made their fortunes here and away from their original homelands although the newer generations are pinoys.

i certainly hope that our fellow filipinos will be as successful as them in their adopted country.

life is made interesting by the choices we make. we just need to make sure that marunong tayong lumingon sa ating pinanggalingan.

bitoy

December 1st, 2010, 04:40 AM

^^ Marami akong na meet na mga Pinoy na lingon ng lingon ... or maybe they are just shaking their heads here in the US...o kaya me sakit sa leeg... :lol:

During the 80s, maraming TNTs na nag avail ng amnesties, kahit gumastos sila ng libo libong dolyares, para maging legal lang ang kanilang pag-tratrabaho dito. Naka 4 trips kami sa Central Valley in Ca. to bring some TNTs to the farms to get some paperworks of employment as required by the immigration amnesty...ilan linggo rin silang nagtrabaho duon until naging sunog na yung balat nila....glad that all of them made it.
Yung isang Pinay nurse nga ang ganda ganda, nangitim, lalong gumanda...muntik ko nang diborsiyuhin yung asawa ko... :lol:

Eastern Dragon

December 1st, 2010, 05:10 AM

bitoy

December 1st, 2010, 05:40 AM

^^ :lol: :lol:

Ako ang madalas iwanan... :D

Eastern Dragon

December 1st, 2010, 07:40 AM

^^ :lol: :lol:

Ako ang madalas iwanan... :D

:lol::lol::lol: lagi kasi siguro nahuhuli. :lol:

manileño

December 1st, 2010, 07:52 AM

Perhaps there are extenuating circumstances that they felt fortunate to have immigrated or for OFW's, have work abroad. We should consider their unspoken other reasons, which I am quite sure they are valid. Quite frankly, there are number of things. May be the traffic, pollutions, poverty, and government corruptions. Also the education system, which needs an overhaul.

Yes, definitely. real, sincere and down to earth OFWs/Migrant Flips do exist but how often do you bump into them? not that im trying to generalize here but then, there really is a definite pattern. :D also, i think there's enough media available out there that exposes this kind of subculture within migrant filipino communities so thing has basis in reality.

Anyway, im sure traffic and pollution are not the main reasons people immigrate as more than 80% of them actually come from the poorest provinces and rural places. that explains why majority of OFWs are Ilocanos, Waray, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Bisaya, Bikol and only a few come from Metro Manila and other cities where there's traffic and pollution. You can do your own survey and asking around and you'll more or less arrive at this figure too hehe :D poverty is the overwhelming reason.. not traffic or pollution. And certainly not education, as very few actually go abroad to study. :)

xxxriainxxx

December 1st, 2010, 07:53 AM

There's really nothing wrong with the passengers giving some appreciation to the crew of the flight by clapping and with teary eyes the moment the plane touch the ground on their homeland.

I've experienced the same thing twice during the x'mas holiday and while the pilot was manuevering the plane to the tarmac, to make everyone feel jolly after the passengers small way of celebrating, he announced a simple greeting for everyone;

"Maligayang pasko at manigong bagoong taon po sa inyong lahat, at para sa mga ninong at ninang, ihanda niyo na po ang inyong mga pangregalo sa inyong mga ina-anak". And that was a NW flight. :lol:

There is no problem with the clapping, but most of them started standing while the plane is still in motion, it is dangerous and a lot of accidents happen when falling bags hit passengers.

pi_malejana

December 1st, 2010, 08:02 AM

manileño

December 1st, 2010, 08:14 AM

With regard to the detestable behavior of overseas Pinoys who look down on Pinoys from the mainland, this probably arises as a result of bitterness (perhaps they had enemies or competitors and now they want to thumb down on them who aren't as successful financially) from the rat race, or the notion that some were "lucky" because they were able to marry a US citizen or green card holder (fastest ticket to immigration), and so on. I think those who had it easy on migrating have a stronger likelihood of looking down on those less fortunate, especially those who are not well off after they've migrated. But then again, it's a case to case basis, one cannot generalize fengrun-style.

true.. and if i may add, those flips who look down on their country and badmouth it to foreigners and other people are usually those from the rural places which unfortunately account for the great majority of immigrants/OFWs and who are ignorant. if only these migrants and OFWs had experienced the luxury of living in cities like Manila, Cebu or Davao before migrating abroad then they wouldn't have been easily wowed and bought by their new environment and would all have a more pleasant memory of their country.

unfortunately, most of them got shipped straight from their slaveville in the boondocks and farmlands to civilization, with no idea that the country actually has skyscrapers :lol: again, notice how most of them come from impoverished provinces, Samar, Ilocos, Pangasinan, Zamboanga, Cagayan, Leyte. and they would describe the whole country to foreigners the way they last saw their condition in their province.

the media doesn't help to educate them either, like how often do they show Makati, Ortigas, BGC or the new Cebu on local channels and TFC? they see nothing but poverty in the news! all the pleasant stuff about progress and developments are only shown exclusively on the english cable channel ANC (and Skyscrapercity.com) which the prospective migrant has no access to, thereby leaving him ignorant for the rest of his ofw life. :)

bitoy

December 1st, 2010, 08:16 AM

There is no problem with the clapping, but most of them started standing while the plane is still in motion, it is dangerous and a lot of accidents happen when falling bags hit passengers.

lol, trademark na ata natin yan eh...:lol::nuts:

hehehe, marami akong nakita na hinahatak ng mga katabi nila para umupo uli yung gustong tumayo kaagad para kunin yung mga hand-carry nila sa upper bin. Yung iba talaga ang kukulit, pinagsasabihan na, galit pa... :lol:

But a big change recently, only a few are doing that right now... kung ako ang piloto, tapakan ko yung preno, para madala yung makukulit... :lol:

:lol::lol::lol: lagi kasi siguro nahuhuli. :lol:

Late na nga, wrong entrance pa minsan... :lol:

o' wala na talagang ibuga... :D

Eastern Dragon

December 1st, 2010, 08:49 AM

o' wala na talagang ibuga... :D

bisan dili na mobarog si manoy, basta ang dila, dili moloyloy. :lol::lol::lol:

Acer_Cyle

December 1st, 2010, 09:36 AM

(Me and wife in Abroad--we're both Zamboangueño Latino from the Latin City of Zamboanga)

i'm just a new OFW, working as an Architect and a native zamboangueño latino of Zamboanga City.

before i've decided to work here and to be with my wife, i already have work in my homeland. the only reason why i decided to work abroad is for us--husdand and wife, to be together no matter where country we are. (nauna kc syang pumunta at ako nman waiting for the my result pa sa ALE. 4months after, nakahabol narin).

now, that im here in abroad, iv been observing the situation and lifestyle of every Filipinos working here in the middle east...and later i've found out something! i guess what? "FILIPINO DESTROYING OTHER CO_EMPLOYEE FILIPINO JUST TO BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE SOMETHING", Chismez here and there, pulling people down, envy others and etc.

(relating the story by my wife to me)
and not only that, my wife experience of what we called "Tripping o trying to pull her down maybe becoz of envy". this is the story, her co-employee who is a supervisor then., now an assistant manager of a certain fast food chain.... lets begin, nang dumating lang ako dito sa abroad, dun na nagsimula yung pag-iinit sa asawa ko who is a crew/staff on that certain fast food chain. i can't figure it out but why? kahit na wala kaming pakialam sa kanila...but that person including her loyalist are really trying pull my wife down. so id just kept on reminding my wife.. its okey! dont worry.. just dont mind.... ang mahalaga ay "tayo at wala tayong inaapakan na tao para makamit natin ang gusto natin sa legal at malinis na pagsisikap, AND WELL, just keep in doing good!"
eto pa... sabay sabi sa isa sa mga loyalist nung a certain asst. manager nya.. "(parinig style) buta pa ito si -----donya na talaga.. kahit pagsamahin pa ang lahat na kinikita nila asst. manager... di parin mapapantayan sa kinikita ng asawa mo." so what's the big deal? see... kung gaano ka............ ang ilan-ilan sa mga Filipino dito sa abroad.
kaya, to avoid such situation as this, i lways telling to my wife...."it's better to live by ourselves instead of mingle with fellowmen or by making friends or close friends. di nman tayo mamatay kung wala sila... pero di nman ibig sabihin di natin tulungang yung mga sincer na nangangailangan ng tulong natin!

yan lang ang ma-share ko!

the rest kayo na po bahala mag-juzga kung bakit ganito lamang sila inspite na wala silang ka-alam alam samin. at kung sino man kame...ni isang personal detalle tungkol sa buhay-buhay namin ay wala. coz we never tel or share any stories personal about us.

a todos Forumeros, Buenasimas dia y buenasuerte na cada dia que viene! Vaya con Dios!

NTprime

December 1st, 2010, 09:38 AM

true.. and if i may add, those flips who look down on their country and badmouth it to foreigners and other people are usually those from the rural places which unfortunately account for the great majority of immigrants/OFWs and who are ignorant. if only these migrants and OFWs had experienced the luxury of living in cities like Manila, Cebu or Davao before migrating abroad then they wouldn't have been easily wowed and bought by their new environment and would all have a more pleasant memory of their country.

unfortunately, most of them got shipped straight from their slaveville in the boondocks and farmlands to civilization, with no idea that the country actually has skyscrapers :lol: again, notice how most of them come from impoverished provinces, Samar, Ilocos, Pangasinan, Zamboanga, Cagayan, Leyte. and they would describe the whole country to foreigners the way they last saw their condition in their province.

the media doesn't help to educate them either, like how often do they show Makati, Ortigas, BGC or the new Cebu on local channels and TFC? they see nothing but poverty in the news! all the pleasant stuff about progress and developments are only shown exclusively on the english cable channel ANC (and Skyscrapercity.com) which the prospective migrant has no access to, thereby leaving him ignorant for the rest of his ofw life. :)

Agree with you on this as well...many of them provincial lads and lasses get real culture shock being shipped directly to a foreign land, compare that with city folk who are probably better exposed to foreigners in their own home environment. For those who are all of a sudden faced with bright lights, big city, and green bucks they most likely get overwhelmed and then start thinking of themselves as too privileged that their kin and contemporaries back home haven't been blessed by good fortune...which explains the phenomenon you mention in your first and second paragraphs above.

Let's say they are used to bathing themselves using a tabo and balde, or even swimming in the river (and also doing their laundry there). Then bring them half a world away where there are high tech faucets with hot and cold water, automatic washing machines and dryers, and even dishwashers....won't they feel "privileged" after they've gotten over the initial culture shock? Or those who take a dump near the side of the house, then being confronted with a high tech toilet with flush, complete with weight-activated bidet? My, they'd be like curious kids seeing such contraptions for the first time:lol:

manileño

December 1st, 2010, 09:50 AM

^^ :lol::lol: there you go, i guess we have reached a consensus as to why most OFWs and Migrant Flips are the way they are.. :)

NTprime

December 1st, 2010, 10:16 AM

^^ :lol::lol: there you go, i guess we have reached a consensus as to why most OFWs and Migrant Flips are the way they are.. :)

Now, does anyone have statistics on what percentage of OFWs are from the provinces, belong to social classes C-E, and in what professions/occupations? xxxriainxxx, perhaps?

I can't really generalize because of the 8 or so million Filipinos abroad, how many fall into the categories we mentioned?

It's going to be difficult to assess unless that data comes up. But for now, I', happy to hear anecdotes from SSC forumers and their experiences whilst living abroad...

@Acer_cycle - thanks for your sharing on this thread. It seems even at assistant manager level there are still "talangkas" among Pinoys. May I ask if the asst. manager of the fastfood store where your wife works a long time resident of the place already? Or are they of a certain age, or come from a certain region? Or are they just plain jealous of the newcomers?

Ephesus29

December 1st, 2010, 10:16 AM

Yes, definitely. real, sincere and down to earth OFWs/Migrant Flips do exist but how often do you bump into them? not that im trying to generalize here but then, there really is a definite pattern. :D also, i think there's enough media available out there that exposes this kind of subculture within migrant filipino communities so thing has basis in reality.

Anyway, im sure traffic and pollution are not the main reasons people immigrate as more than 80% of them actually come from the poorest provinces and rural places. that explains why majority of OFWs are Ilocanos, Waray, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Bisaya, Bikol and only a few come from Metro Manila and other cities where there's traffic and pollution. You can do your own survey and asking around and you'll more or less arrive at this figure too hehe :D poverty is the overwhelming reason.. not traffic or pollution. And certainly not education, as very few actually go abroad to study. :)

I thought I made myself clear on this one. Neither you nor I heard the reasons why those "Pinoys" consider themselves fortunate to have left the country, you just overheard them what they were saying. And I said, " MAYBE... poverty, traffic pollution, corruption and education. Could be myriads of reasons. I did not say that its the main reason. Plus I didn't make it the main reason for OFW's, was intended for immigrants like me.

BTW...where were you when you overheard those Pinoys?

As for education... true, OFW's leave the country to make a living and not to study. Again...was intended for immigrants and not OFW's. If you please read my posting...I said " can't speak for OFW's more than what I know...and that is to work abroad and a chance to see the world.

In regards to your chances of bumping into friendly, Pinoys abroad or visitors to the Philippines, or OFW's, unfortunately I don't have any idea. I suggest you take a pause for a moment, and try to look out your window and limit yourself looking at the mirror. :)

xxxriainxxx

December 1st, 2010, 11:15 AM

hehehe, marami akong nakita na hinahatak ng mga katabi nila para umupo uli yung gustong tumayo kaagad para kunin yung mga hand-carry nila sa upper bin. Yung iba talaga ang kukulit, pinagsasabihan na, galit pa... :lol:

But a big change recently, only a few are doing that right now... kung ako ang piloto, tapakan ko yung preno, para madala yung makukulit... :lol:

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

boinks, winner!

Now, does anyone have statistics on what percentage of OFWs are from the provinces, belong to social classes C-E, and in what professions/occupations? xxxriainxxx, perhaps?

Might not exactly what you are looking for but these are what I can find at the moment.

http://www.poea.gov.ph/html/statistics.html

http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/Skills/Country_Skill_Sex/Deployment%20per%20Country,%20Skill%20and%20Sex%202009.pdf

NTprime

December 1st, 2010, 12:48 PM

Might not exactly what you are looking for but these are what I can find at the moment.

http://www.poea.gov.ph/html/statistics.html

http://www.poea.gov.ph/stats/Skills/Country_Skill_Sex/Deployment%20per%20Country,%20Skill%20and%20Sex%202009.pdf

Yes, this is something we can start on with....(pardon the formatting but I will cut and paste one table from 2009:

TABLE 12. Number of Deployed Landbased Overseas Filipino Workers by Top Occupational Category and Sex, New
hires 1/: 2009
World Region Male Female Both Sexes
All Occupational Category 156,454 175,298 331,752
1. Household Service Workers 1,888 69,669 71,557
2. Nurses Professional 1,599 11,866 13,465
3. Waiters, Bartenders and Related Workers 4,978 6,999 11,977
4. Charworkers, Cleaners and Related Workers 2,140 7,916 10,056
5. Wiremen Electrical 9,709 43 9,752
6. Caregivers and Caretakers 507 8,721 9,228
7. Laborers/Helpers General 7,105 994 8,099
8. Plumbers and Pipe Fitters 7,702 20 7,722
9. Welders and Flame-Cutters 5,870 40 5,910
10. Housekeeping and Related Service Workers 908 4,219 5,127

Look at the following:

There were almost 70,000 FEMALE MAIDS, of which almost 25,000 are in Hong Kong, 14,087 in Kuwait, 10,558 in the UAE, and 6,954 in Saudi Arabia (figures are combined male/female but male household help total only 1,888 which makes it fairly insignificant). Let me ask, where do most cases of MAID ABUSE happen? Well, obviously in those countries which have the largest maid population. Too bad there are not much stats on maids aside from those in table 13 of the report, but I don't think all of them have college degrees and the like...

If we want to prevent maid abuses then, you know what countries to avoid...

Now, aren't the top occupations that are in the list mostly blue collar jobs, hardly any white collar jobs? And what about the typical profile of the candidates for those jobs?

BTW, the table says new hires. There's another table (#11) which details landbased OFWs by occupational category, and the largest groups are service workers (138,222) and production workers (117,609). Probably the group with the lowest average monthly wages, maybe USD 400 or less.

NTprime

December 1st, 2010, 12:52 PM

I thought I made myself clear on this one. Neither you nor I heard the reasons why those "Pinoys" consider themselves fortunate to have left the country, you just overheard them what they were saying. And I said, " MAYBE... poverty, traffic pollution, corruption and education. Could be myriads of reasons. I did not say that its the main reason. Plus I didn't make it the main reason for OFW's, was intended for immigrants like me.

BTW...where were you when you overheard those Pinoys?

As for education... true, OFW's leave the country to make a living and not to study. Again...was intended for immigrants and not OFW's. If you please read my posting...I said " can't speak for OFW's more than what I know...and that is to work abroad and a chance to see the world.

In regards to your chances of bumping into friendly, Pinoys abroad or visitors to the Philippines, or OFW's, unfortunately I don't have any idea. I suggest you take a pause for a moment, and try to look out your window and limit yourself looking at the mirror. :)

I stumbled upon this article: http://filipinooverseas.org/why-filipinos-choose-to-work-abroad/. Every sentence is quite loaded...but a lot point to economics and specifically MONEY.

Why Filipinos Choose to Work Abroad?
The wobbly economic and political situation in the Philippines is one of the main reasons why most professionals and highly knowledgeable Filipinos choose to work abroad. They could not see any light from higher authorities to realize success for the country. And for the people they find more meaning giving in their skills in other countries rather that staying in a place where stability is far by reach.

Our country is governed mostly by dishonest and unserious in dealing with the country’s economic progress and growth. They are busy arguing, debating and opposing each other’s ideas and projects rather than making steps in solving the present problems of the country. There is lack of collaboration, sympathy, acceptance and consideration. They keep on complaining rather than working hard for the country.

Philippine is a rich nation because of the resources that we have. However it’s not well handled. That is why many Filipinos leave yearly to look for better opportunities abroad. Some of them prefer to work and stay there permanently. They adapt everything in their new environment. Second main reason is Poverty; some Filipinos acquire work from factories or manufacturing firms for the purpose of having experience but really don’t have any plan to stay longer in the company. The source of livelihood is not enough for the growing family, so one of the partners must decide to go abroad for the good future of the family.

Another main reason is Low Wages – College education is expensive, parents really find if hard to pay tuition and school projects. The moment they land a job in the Philippines, he does not get compensated enough to equal his investment on education. That is why most Filipino skilled workers acquire jobs abroad where wage is proportionate to education, skills, and experience. Even skilled professionals here grab the opportunity to work as maids, care giver, sales ladies, construction workers and laborers from other countries. As long as it is upright and high paying. Also, Low benefits- most of the companies here especially Filipino owned don’t have good benefits but foreign-based companies can give reasonable benefits to their workers.

Each Filipinos who opted to work abroad have their own reasons why they prefer to work abroad. Filipinos now are becoming more practical; some of us no longer value the spirit of Patriotism. Because we need MONEY that’s a necessity in order to live. Not only to live but also to live securely when it comes to daily needs such as food, clothing and shelter, the need to provide good education among children and to have a stable income for the family. To work or not to work abroad is a matter of choice, one thing remains constant, every Filipinos desire to have a decent and quality of life.

Acer_Cyle

December 1st, 2010, 03:04 PM

Now, does anyone have statistics on what percentage of OFWs are from the provinces, belong to social classes C-E, and in what professions/occupations? xxxriainxxx, perhaps?

I can't really generalize because of the 8 or so million Filipinos abroad, how many fall into the categories we mentioned?

It's going to be difficult to assess unless that data comes up. But for now, I', happy to hear anecdotes from SSC forumers and their experiences whilst living abroad...

@Acer_cycle - thanks for your sharing on this thread. It seems even at assistant manager level there are still "talangkas" among Pinoys. May I ask if the asst. manager of the fastfood store where your wife works a long time resident of the place already? Or are they of a certain age, or come from a certain region? Or are they just plain jealous of the newcomers?

Nope! thay are all pioneer to that same fast food chain.

manileño

December 1st, 2010, 09:04 PM

I thought I made myself clear on this one. Neither you nor I heard the reasons why those "Pinoys" consider themselves fortunate to have left the country, you just overheard them what they were saying. And I said, " MAYBE... poverty, traffic pollution, corruption and education. Could be myriads of reasons. I did not say that its the main reason. Plus I didn't make it the main reason for OFW's, was intended for immigrants like me.

BTW...where were you when you overheard those Pinoys?

As for education... true, OFW's leave the country to make a living and not to study. Again...was intended for immigrants and not OFW's. If you please read my posting...I said " can't speak for OFW's more than what I know...and that is to work abroad and a chance to see the world.

In regards to your chances of bumping into friendly, Pinoys abroad or visitors to the Philippines, or OFW's, unfortunately I don't have any idea. I suggest you take a pause for a moment, and try to look out your window and limit yourself looking at the mirror. :)

haha good point :)

i dunno, where was i? cos i hear it all the time from filipinos in North America, it could be in a train ride home, a filipino restaurant, bus stop.. wherever you encounter flips you always hear these.. complaints. we filos love to complain right? so it's become part of everyday conversations and you normally don't pay attention anymore but when they start complaining about PI, or even the slightest negative comment about our country, thats when i get annoyed. if it was about politics in the country then i might forgive them, but usually they'd go 'walang ganyan sa philippines' when referring to stuff they enjoy now when these guys have no clue that stuff do exist in PI or at least Manila.
and they do it deliberately, like sure, you are the most fortunate beings on earth. :lol:

i guess that makes them feel better, sometimes i think they do it to motivate themselves to keep working and aiming for status, like ok we're not really missing anything back there in the jungle haha. but thing is they do this at the expense of our people and country. :)

Yes, this is something we can start on with....(pardon the formatting but I will cut and paste one table from 2009:

Look at the following:

There were almost 70,000 FEMALE MAIDS, of which almost 25,000 are in Hong Kong, 14,087 in Kuwait, 10,558 in the UAE, and 6,954 in Saudi Arabia (figures are combined male/female but male household help total only 1,888 which makes it fairly insignificant). Let me ask, where do most cases of MAID ABUSE happen? Well, obviously in those countries which have the largest maid population. Too bad there are not much stats on maids aside from those in table 13 of the report, but I don't think all of them have college degrees and the like...

If we want to prevent maid abuses then, you know what countries to avoid...

Now, aren't the top occupations that are in the list mostly blue collar jobs, hardly any white collar jobs? And what about the typical profile of the candidates for those jobs?

BTW, the table says new hires. There's another table (#11) which details landbased OFWs by occupational category, and the largest groups are service workers (138,222) and production workers (117,609). Probably the group with the lowest average monthly wages, maybe USD 400 or less.

that table says a lot about the quality of our 'little ambassadors' overseas :)

pi_malejana

December 1st, 2010, 09:16 PM

saang lupalop ba kayo ng America napupunta?? bakit di ko naeexperience yan?!?!:lol::nuts: mayayabang, yes, pero wala pa naman akong naririnig na sinisiraan ung bansang sinilangan...:)

:cheers:

manileño

December 1st, 2010, 09:20 PM

saang lupalop ba kayo ng America napupunta?? bakit di ko naeexperience yan?!?!:lol::nuts: mayayabang, yes, pero wala pa naman akong naririnig na sinisiraan ung bansang sinilangan...:)

:cheers:

minsan kase i-off mo yung ipod mo pag sakay mo sa subway or pag kumakain ka sa Jollibee, Krystal's, Perlas or Ihawan sa Roosevelt Ave. :lol::lol:

saan ka nga pala ulit sa NYC kuya pi? :)

pi_malejana

December 1st, 2010, 09:23 PM

minsan kase i-off mo yung ipod mo pag sakay mo sa subway or pag kumakain ka sa Jollibee, Krystal's, Perlas or Ihawan sa Roosevelt. :lol::lol:

saan ka nga pala ulit sa NYC kuya pi? :)

i'm not a fan of ipods...:D malayo po kami sa NYC, mga an hour and a half by train... bihira na rin akong makabisita sa city, pagka sinipag lang akong manood ng Knicks game o kaya kung may school assignment...:D

kaya siguro wala pa akong naririnig, tahimik naman kasi mostly ang Long Island...:lol::nuts:

:cheers:

Ephesus29

December 1st, 2010, 10:28 PM

I stumbled upon this article: http://filipinooverseas.org/why-filipinos-choose-to-work-abroad/. Every sentence is quite loaded...but a lot point to economics and specifically MONEY.

You couldn't have said it better. I totally agree with you:cheers:

There is nothing wrong if i say i consider myself fortunate to have left the country and immigrated to Canada. Coming from a community of farmers in Isabela, that doesn't have running water sometimes, and almost hectare of dump area:lol: no sanitations, and other aminities.

The priveleges and other luxuries in life that only the chosen few in the Philippines enjoy; what a better place for a marginalized people like me from the remote, empoverished rural areas of the Philippines, :ohno:if not to moved to Canada. I don't looked down on "Kapwa Pinoy" nor say bad things about my birth of Place that are untrue:ohno:

ninja kid

December 1st, 2010, 10:52 PM

You couldn't have said it better. I totally agree with you:cheers:

There is nothing wrong if i say i consider myself fortunate to have left the country and immigrated to Canada. Coming from a community of farmers in Isabela, that doesn't have running water sometimes, and almost hectare of dump area:lol: no sanitations, and other aminities.

The priveleges and other luxuries in life that only the chosen few in the Philippines enjoy; what a better place for a marginalized people like me from the remote, empoverished rural areas of the Philippines, :ohno:if not to moved to Canada. I don't looked down on "Kapwa Pinoy" nor say bad things about my birth of Place that are untrue:ohno:

Tama. Nasa tao rin naman yan. Kung di maganda ang pagpapalaki sa yo, malamang na magiging masama ang tingin at pananaw mo sa buhay ... if we can correct others, let's do it in the most sympathetic way ... :)

Pero kung mahusay at maayos naman ang pagpapalaki sa yo, bakit mo ito dadalhin sa ibang bansa? Laki ako sa probinsya pero alam ko ang dapat maging asal pag nasa ibang lugar ako ... to be civil, but vigilant ... wala naman akong nakagalit na Hapon, Malaysian, Singaporean at Canadian colleague (referring to places i've worked so far) ... i just do what the Romans do .. but only the good ones ... :D

Di kasi tama ang manira at gumawa ng masama sa kapwa ... naka-karma ka ... di lang ikaw, pati pamilya mo, kaibigan mo, kapitbahay mo, etc.

Di rin maganda ang alipustahin at siraan ang iyong bansang sinilangan ... mga walang-kaluluwa lang ang gumagawa ng ganun ... marunong sana tayong tumanaw ng utang na loob ... kahit na minsan eh masama sa ating loob ... :D

I chose to work then later migrate here in Canada because of job opportunities ... pera-pera lang, para sa future ... i was just glad that i get to work sa linya ko without further studies and upgrade courses ... thanks to my 15 years of experience ... siguro naging mapalad lang ako as an OFW & later, as immigrant ... pero uuwi at magbabakasyon pa rin ako sa Pilipinas pagtanda ko ... iba kasi ang pagmamahal sa bayang sinilangan na nanalaytay sa aking mga ugat ... iba ang dulot nitong kasiyahan at galak sa aking puso't isipan ...

My dos sentimos ... bow! :D

Ph Man

December 1st, 2010, 11:52 PM

You couldn't have said it better. I totally agree with you:cheers:

There is nothing wrong if i say i consider myself fortunate to have left the country and immigrated to Canada. Coming from a community of farmers in Isabela, that doesn't have running water sometimes, and almost hectare of dump area:lol: no sanitations, and other aminities.

The priveleges and other luxuries in life that only the chosen few in the Philippines enjoy; what a better place for a marginalized people like me from the remote, empoverished rural areas of the Philippines, :ohno:if not to moved to Canada. I don't looked down on "Kapwa Pinoy" nor say bad things about my birth of Place that are untrue:ohno:

Taga Isabela rin ako. :D Well, not an OFW. Sobrang hirap nga talaga sa atin. Na kahit pa ang magiging sweldo mo abroad ay less than $500/mo. ok lang. In our place, if your daughter is working as DH in HK, or your son is an electrician in Saudi...it's like "Wow, abroad ang anak niyan." Or kung nabalitaan nilang magmmigrate na sa Australia..."Uy, mag A-australia na sila."
Kahit ano pa magiging trabaho dun. I could have the same reaction.

For some, if not for majority, going abroad has become an aspiration. For some reasons that were mentioned already on this thread. And usually, it boils down to having a "good life" for themselves and their family. A chance so slim here that only few folks who don't have impressive acad degree and long years of experience to back them up enjoy.

But then you are also right. OFW or not, your homecountry is always something you will miss. So you can't blame people who cannot contain their excitement when their plane touches down in Manila. And funny bec sometimes, even the very things you despise in this country - pollution, traffic, jeepneys, crowded MRT, laid back lifestyle - they are the very ones you will miss. :D

ilang beses ko rin naranasan yan pero muntik na akong maluha dahil alam kong karamihan sa mga pumapalakpak ay sabik makita ang mahal nila sa buhay o ang iba naman ay galak dahil sa ilang taon nilang paghihirap o paghahapbuhay ay makakapag pangiha na sila.

Nasa NAIA ako last Saturday night para sa flight sa Emirates. Maaawa ka rin sa mga Pinoy na paalis. Marami sa kanila, first time (I think) na umalis ng bansa. Siempre pa hindi naman alam na merong online check-in, di man lang sinabihan ng travel agency. Kaya hayun, hirap sa napakahabang pila. Ako naman na nakapag online check-in ay tuwang tuwa na akala mo naka business or first class. Only to be denied from boarding. Ang flight ko darating ng Nov 28 sa Africa, at ang visa valid ng Nov 29. :lol: San ka pa. Seryosong bagay pala yun. Pwede palang magmulta ang airline ng malaki or baka ako ang magmulta, or worse, ipadeport pa. Stupid, and costly mistake.

NTprime

December 2nd, 2010, 02:46 AM

Taga Isabela rin ako. :D Well, not an OFW. Sobrang hirap nga talaga sa atin. Na kahit pa ang magiging sweldo mo abroad ay less than $500/mo. ok lang. In our place, if your daughter is working as DH in HK, or your son is an electrician in Saudi...it's like "Wow, abroad ang anak niyan." Or kung nabalitaan nilang magmmigrate na sa Australia..."Uy, mag A-australia na sila."
Kahit ano pa magiging trabaho dun. I could have the same reaction.

For some, if not for majority, going abroad has become an aspiration. For some reasons that were mentioned already on this thread. And usually, it boils down to having a "good life" for themselves and their family. A chance so slim here that only few folks who don't have impressive acad degree and long years of experience to back them up enjoy.

But then you are also right. OFW or not, your homecountry is always something you will miss. So you can't blame people who cannot contain their excitement when their plane touches down in Manila. And funny bec sometimes, even the very things you despise in this country - pollution, traffic, jeepneys, crowded MRT, laid back lifestyle - they are the very ones you will miss. :D

Sorry, but I don't miss the traffic, pollution, and jeepneys here. The laid back lifestyle, yes, but a bit. The lifestyle is even more laid back in some parts of Australia or even New Zealand, but going with your paradigm that you're from Isabela, a laid back province in our country, I know you will miss this when abroad.

In Manila you generally bump into people from the provinces, and they also have their own set of challenges here. What more if in a foreign land? But I agree with the mentality you mentioned about "anak nakapag abroad"...it's probably the fondest aspiration of the elders back in the province considering that prosperity abroad means more dollar remittances back home:lol:

Every time I travel to other ASEAN capitals (e.g. BKK, SIN, KUL) I come back shaking my head because so much has improved in such a short time. Bangkok, for one, has moved to a totally new international airport in the last decade, gone through a number of prime ministers (which should be a negative), a few riots, but yet the infrastructure is very friendly for tourists and first time visitors to the metropolis. You will really get "Amazed", provided you don't get gypped by locals trying to take advantage of "farang" (foreigners). In Singapore people may not be as friendly because they're too busy, but then again, the infrastructure makes it easy to move around on your own, even if you don't have friends or relatives there. All you need is an adequate amount of money:lol:

Nasa NAIA ako last Saturday night para sa flight sa Emirates. Maaawa ka rin sa mga Pinoy na paalis. Marami sa kanila, first time (I think) na umalis ng bansa. Siempre pa hindi naman alam na merong online check-in, di man lang sinabihan ng travel agency. Kaya hayun, hirap sa napakahabang pila. Ako naman na nakapag online check-in ay tuwang tuwa na akala mo naka business or first class. Only to be denied from boarding. Ang flight ko darating ng Nov 28 sa Africa, at ang visa valid ng Nov 29. :lol: San ka pa. Seryosong bagay pala yun. Pwede palang magmulta ang airline ng malaki or baka ako ang magmulta, or worse, ipadeport pa. Stupid, and costly mistake.

Did you go through a travel agent for the visa long time ago or also applied for the visa online? If you went through a travel agent, you should replace them for lack of foresight and incompetence!

Now it's in the airline's interest to ensure that your papers are in order before they board you. Of course they will get fined heavily if you get deported at the point of entry. Good for you, you didn't have to suffer humiliation in a foreign country. Indeed, a lesson learned.

xxxriainxxx

December 2nd, 2010, 03:49 AM

that table says a lot about the quality of our 'little ambassadors' overseas :)

I hope you never said that in sarcasm. Wag nating maliitin na porke't blue collar ang trabaho ng karamihan ng mga Pilipino sa abroad, ay hindi na nila marerepresent ng maayos ang kanilang mga sarili at bansa. The reason why a lot of companies chose Filipinos was because of the quality of job done and the positive disposition in life.

I was on a "water village" tour of Bandar Seri Begawan last year and yung bangkero ko said that he used to have a Pinay maid. Gusto daw nila ang Pilipino kasi malinis at maayos magtrabaho hindi kagaya ng iba. It was a frank conversation but I did not take any offense from it.

Eastern Dragon

December 2nd, 2010, 04:04 AM

xxxriainxxx

December 2nd, 2010, 04:21 AM

what irritates me most to be honest, is that why we can't fix our damned slave mentality.

ang pilipino pag nakakakita ng foreigner, usually nanliliit and always thinks that the foreigner is superior.

even in our own lands. and even outside the country. we need to change this mindset, that filipinos can be world beaters. and stand shoulder to shoulder with other races.

we need to develop R and D so that filipinos will be creators of wealth, not just employees. entrepreneurs. SMC, SM, ayala and Smart group are doing well in trying to become regional players. tangkilikin ang productong pilipino mga pre.

I got kicked out of a trike once over 10 years ago in Kalibo when the trike driver saw a backpacking couple standing on the street. Bad trip.

Eastern Dragon

December 2nd, 2010, 04:52 AM

I got kicked out of a trike once over 10 years ago in Kalibo when the trike driver saw a backpacking couple standing on the street. Bad trip.

:lol::lol: pag nakakita ng mga puti, akala ng pilipino, parang diyos na ang dami pera.

nakakarinig nga ako kahit sa mga relatives ko nag mag asawa na lang ng kano para maahon sa hirap.

:ohno::ohno::ohno:

Ph Man

December 2nd, 2010, 05:10 AM

@ NTPrime...
Yeah, lesson learned. I applied thru the Mali embassy which is in Japan. The ticket got issued first before the visa arrived. It was an oversight in my side. Thought a 3-hr difference will not be an issue.

Was supposed to fly MNL-DXB-CDG-BKO via EK and AF. That could have been with an EK A380 to Paris, but well....

It got changed to MNL-HKG-CDG-BKO via CX and AF. And I got my tickets ~3 hrs before flight last Monday. Now I need to do some lengthy explaining to my boss. Well, I was still on time for the training here in Africa. But imagine all the hassle, unnecessary at that, of a supposedly hassle-free flight. I even bought a N D5000 in Hidalgo so I can take photos of the A380 cabin! lol...first timer. Now I only have a blurred photo of the superjumbo taxiing down the almost snowy tarmac of CDG. :ohno:
_______
Re Isabela, strange bec even after leaving the place for college (15 yrs ago) and work in Laguna then Makati, I still feel nostalgic for my hometown. The view and smell of ricefields and cornfields covering your horizon...clear water streams...ahhh...Priceless. I wish i can go home more often than twice a year.
_______
I agree on the feeling after seeing our neighbors. Our closest neighbor HK is probably one good example. Everytime you visit the place, there's a major infra that gets completed. Stonecutters is one good example. Back in 2008, you can only see the towering bridge poles from afar. Then I've seen it early 2010 when it's already opened for traffic. And also, back in 2007 in SG, you can only see cranes from afar and now of what is now Marina Bay Sands. You'd reckon how quick they get things done overseas when the Philippines was having a hard time making something like T3 operational. And when I think about the packed MRT 3 trains, which doesn't even bring you to much-needed locations like the airport, makes me wonder whatever happened to the income taxes we pay the government. :ohno:
_______
Anyway, I'm off topic now, so for something that's within the topic...
At the PH immigration, I always get these question - in this particular oder:
What's the purpose of your trip to_____?
Do you work there?
After I say no...the next question will be...
Are you a seaman? Me: No
What's your work?

Not sure if others get asked the same questions. Probably there's an impression that if you're male, you're often travelling to different places, the only logical reason is bec you're a seaman. (?) Suddenly I wanna become one. lol...But life can be tough for them too. Imagine our kababayan who were held by some pirates in Somalia and Nigeria. Well, it's not like that all the time. But I think being a seaman is a risky job. I had yellow fever vaccine at the Bureau of Quarantine last week. And I'd say over 95% of the guys there are to work as seamen. Unfortunately, the lady giving the shot was not very sympathetic. We're like piglets queueing for the shot. You're not even given a seat. Magugulat ka na lang...pag naramdaman mo ang malamig na alcohol...at ang karayom...uyy...naturukan na pala ako. (5 sec is all it takes for you to get the shot) parang wala lang. :lol: Napagalitan pa yung sinusundan ko. Kasi he submitted both forms, instead of only one. Napagalitan ka na, naturukan ka pa. Inisip na lang niya malamang..."di bale, makakasakay na ako ng barko..." :)

NTprime

December 2nd, 2010, 05:31 AM

what irritates me most to be honest, is that why we can't fix our damned slave mentality.

ang pilipino pag nakakakita ng foreigner, usually nanliliit and always thinks that the foreigner is superior.

even in our own lands. and even outside the country. we need to change this mindset, that filipinos can be world beaters. and stand shoulder to shoulder with other races.

we need to develop R and D so that filipinos will be creators of wealth, not just employees. entrepreneurs. SMC, SM, ayala and Smart group are doing well in trying to become regional players. tangkilikin ang productong pilipino mga pre.

It's the pecking order of what Pinoys who are narrow minded have. They think that the paler the skin, the more superior the race :lol: That is why up to now there are Pinoys who look down on Africans, Indians, Pakistanis, and in some cases, even Indonesians or Chinese. Some people even have "words" to describe these races...no need for me to elaborate.

NTprime

December 2nd, 2010, 06:07 AM

Nice reply...I am reading and re-reading it to understand more the various points you brought up.

@ NTPrime...
Yeah, lesson learned. I applied thru the Mali embassy which is in Japan. The ticket got issued first before the visa arrived. It was an oversight in my side. Thought a 3-hr difference will not be an issue.

Was supposed to fly MNL-DXB-CDG-BKO via EK and AF. That could have been with an EK A380 to Paris, but well....

It got changed to MNL-HKG-CDG-BKO via CX and AF. And I got my tickets ~3 hrs before flight last Monday. Now I need to do some lengthy explaining to my boss. Well, I was still on time for the training here in Africa. But imagine all the hassle, unnecessary at that, of a supposedly hassle-free flight. I even bought a N D5000 in Hidalgo so I can take photos of the A380 cabin! lol...first timer. Now I only have a blurred photo of the superjumbo taxiing down the almost snowy tarmac of CDG. :ohno:

Wow, wondering why your company chose to have training done in Bamako. Mali is one of the world's poorest countries, and what's also unique is that they are Moslem and French speaking. Lucky you, you get to come close to the far off place of Timbuktu, where one of the first universities was supposed built :lol:

I know how a rushed trip feels, I had to fly out once to South America (BUE) with only 2 days notice, with barely enough time to get a ticket and a visa (no ET back then). It was a multi-legged trip similar to what you have and I had to skirt the USA because I didn't have a US visa back then. All the routes were considered (MNL x/KUL x/JNB x/CPT EZE), (MNL x/LAX x/MIA EZE) but in the end I went MNL x/HKG x/NRT x/JFK EZE with total travel time of almost 40 hours!

That's where a good travel agent and planning pays off. Since I was familiar with the various travel options (having been in the travel industry prior), I was fairly well prepared for the trip. And yes, it does help to fly in business class:)

Re Isabela, strange bec even after leaving the place for college (15 yrs ago) and work in Laguna then Makati, I still feel nostalgic for my hometown. The view and smell of ricefields and cornfields covering your horizon...clear water streams...ahhh...Priceless. I wish i can go home more often than twice a year.

One's childhood hometown will always bring nostalgic memories. But sometimes you have to move on, especially after you get married and settle down somewhere far away. But then of course, it will always be a treat reminiscing the good times especially when you get to return for a visit.

I agree on the feeling after seeing our neighbors. Our closest neighbor HK is probably one good example. Everytime you visit the place, there's a major infra that gets completed. Stonecutters is one good example. Back in 2008, you can only see the towering bridge poles from afar. Then I've seen it early 2010 when it's already opened for traffic. And also, back in 2007 in SG, you can only see cranes from afar and now of what is now Marina Bay Sands. You'd reckon how quick they get things done overseas when the Philippines was having a hard time making something like T3 operational. And when I think about the packed MRT 3 trains, which doesn't even bring you to much-needed locations like the airport, makes me wonder whatever happened to the income taxes we pay the government. :ohno:

For my example I would always use Singapore. Even the Merlion itself was moved from its original position near the bridge to its current location after more land was reclaimed from the sea. And now that the Marina Sands has been completed, it really is something to wonder at. But for me the really fast changing landscape are the fast growing cities in the Middle East, especially Dubai. They just kept on building like crazy until they were slowed down by their debt issues. Now that Abu Dhabi has bailed them out, we might see some growth again when the outlook becomes rosier.

Anyway, I'm off topic now, so for something that's within the topic...
At the PH immigration, I always get these question - in this particular oder:
What's the purpose of your trip to_____?
Do you work there?
After I say no...the next question will be...
Are you a seaman? Me: No
What's your work?

Not sure if others get asked the same questions. Probably there's an impression that if you're male, you're often travelling to different places, the only logical reason is bec you're a seaman. (?) Suddenly I wanna become one. lol...But life can be tough for them too. Imagine our kababayan who were held by some pirates in Somalia and Nigeria. Well, it's not like that all the time. But I think being a seaman is a risky job. I had yellow fever vaccine at the Bureau of Quarantine last week. And I'd say over 95% of the guys there are to work as seamen. Unfortunately, the lady giving the shot was not very sympathetic. We're like piglets queueing for the shot. You're not even given a seat. Magugulat ka na lang...pag naramdaman mo ang malamig na alcohol...at ang karayom...uyy...naturukan na pala ako. (5 sec is all it takes for you to get the shot) parang wala lang. :lol: Napagalitan pa yung sinusundan ko. Kasi he submitted both forms, instead of only one. Napagalitan ka na, naturukan ka pa. Inisip na lang niya malamang..."di bale, makakasakay na ako ng barko..." :)

Hahaha I am not a seaman although I have been mistaken for one more than once by ignorant DHs in Hong Kong and Singapore. However I don't get that kind of questioning at immigration in NAIA or in other countries I've visited so far. I've been to SIN more than 8 times in the past couple of decades and I've never been asked anything by the immigration officer, just present your passport, keep quiet, and then say "thank you lah" when the passport is returned:lol:. Well, maybe some small talk with the immigration officers in Manila, but so far, never in the US, Canada, ASEAN, China. While in Frankfurt many years ago I saw some immigration police checking passengers at the plane's doors and after the airbridge even before reaching the immigration counters (probably racial profiling).

The thing is, if you have nothing to hide, and your company or your funds are the ones sponsoring your trips, you should be fine with immigration officers in most places in the world. Now as for customs officers, that is another story especially if there are weird looking "padalas".:lol:

bitoy

December 2nd, 2010, 06:59 AM

Alam naman ng mga OFWs na hindi naman lahat ay sumakay ng "barko", it's more of a colloquial way of asking a person's arrival in that foreign country.
Masaya ngang kuwentuhan yung mga DH sa HK or Singapore, marami kang matutunan na mga lingo that you haven't heard of. :lol:

Ph Man

December 2nd, 2010, 07:06 AM

Nice reply...I am reading and re-reading it to understand more the various points you brought up.

Wow, wondering why your company chose to have training done in Bamako. Mali is one of the world's poorest countries, and what's also unique is that they are Moslem and French speaking. Lucky you, you get to come close to the far off place of Timbuktu, where one of the first universities was supposed built :lol:

Lol. I learned yesterday that Timbuktu is indeed here. According to some guys from Ghana who are in the training, it was the place where Islam made its way to Africa. Makes it historic I suppose. Contrary to popular belief (or my belief), it's a desert, not a "mountainous far flung place where nobody lives." I got curious after seeing a bottled water named Tombouctou. They said it's spelled that way not Tim-.

I'm doing the training here for them - our affiliates in the West Africa region. I dunno why Mali was chosen. Accra could have been more accessible for me. But I noticed that Mali is in the middle of most of them. So that probably explains why. It didn't really matter to them whether there's an major airline that flies to the place or none. huhu...

Well, fortunately, AF flies daily to Bamako and KQ, 3X a week.

I know how a rushed trip feels, I had to fly out once to South America (BUE) with only 2 days notice, with barely enough time to get a ticket and a visa (no ET back then). It was a multi-legged trip similar to what you have and I had to skirt the USA because I didn't have a US visa back then. All the routes were considered (MNL x/KUL x/JNB x/CPT EZE), (MNL x/LAX x/MIA EZE) but in the end I went MNL x/HKG x/NRT x/JFK EZE with total travel time of almost 40 hours!

Buenos Aires, cool...
But that seems like a gruesome travel.
Having multiple connections seemed very interesting to me before. But after being into longer than expected layovers in airports like DTW and ATL, I wanted a shorter trip and fewer stops. However, that's not possible if you are bound for St America or West Africa.

While in Frankfurt many years ago I saw some immigration police checking passengers at the plane's doors and after the airbridge even before reaching the immigration counters (probably racial profiling).

"Roger...Strange looking man on the move...High risk." lol...

Right, foreign immigrations don't usually ask questions. As long as you have no issues with your papers.

The thing is, if you have nothing to hide, and your company or your funds are the ones sponsoring your trips, you should be fine with immigration officers in most places in the world. Now as for customs officers, that is another story especially if there are weird looking "padalas".:lol:

Hehehe...
That's the good thing about company sponsored trips.
But I'm still dreaming about taking a leisure trip to the Carribean, by the beach near Pricess Juliana airport in St Maaten. And do some close range plane spotting! :D

NTprime

December 2nd, 2010, 07:53 AM

Lol. I learned yesterday that Timbuktu is indeed here. According to some guys from Ghana who are in the training, it was the place where Islam made its way to Africa. Makes it historic I suppose. Contrary to popular belief (or my belief), it's a desert, not a "mountainous far flung place where nobody lives." I got curious after seeing a bottled water named Tombouctou. They said it's spelled that way not Tim-.

Well, that's the French heritage in them...Tombouctou, just like Sacré bleu! (oops, no offense meant to the Church).

I'm doing the training here for them - our affiliates in the West Africa region. I dunno why Mali was chosen. Accra could have been more accessible for me. But I noticed that Mali is in the middle of most of them. So that probably explains why. It didn't really matter to them whether there's an major airline that flies to the place or none. huhu...

Well, fortunately, AF flies daily to Bamako and KQ, 3X a week.

Accra would have been ideal for you. They speak English there, and are near the coast. Mali is landlocked. I have a few friends who are currently in Ghana, they seem to be enjoying themselves as expatriates.

Buenos Aires, cool...
But that seems like a gruesome travel.
Having multiple connections seemed very interesting to me before. But after being into longer than expected layovers in airports like DTW and ATL, I wanted a shorter trip and fewer stops. However, that's not possible if you are bound for St America or West Africa.

It is interesting provided one has to be physically and mentally prepared. Being on business class definitely helps a lot. At least some companies are still sensitive to their employees' productivity that they will usually allow an overnight stay to break the trip if it goes over 18 hours.

With South America or West Africa, that is really a challenge. You definitely need a few days to adjust to the new time zone and get your bearings right.

"Roger...Strange looking man on the move...High risk." lol...

Right, foreign immigrations don't usually ask questions. As long as you have no issues with your papers.

Which is exactly the case of a number of OFWs who were duped by illegal recruiters.

Hehehe...
That's the good thing about company sponsored trips.
But I'm still dreaming about taking a leisure trip to the Carribean, by the beach near Pricess Juliana airport in St Maaten. And do some close range plane spotting! :D

Yep, one of the best places to get up close and cozy with a 747!

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/small/1/5/6/1791651.jpg
from Airliners.net, photo by Zaninger Jonathan

xxxriainxxx

December 2nd, 2010, 08:43 AM

:lol::lol: pag nakakita ng mga puti, akala ng pilipino, parang diyos na ang dami pera.

nakakarinig nga ako kahit sa mga relatives ko nag mag asawa na lang ng kano para maahon sa hirap.

:ohno::ohno::ohno:

Yez. Pero hindi tayo nag-iisa sa ganyan. Mukhang all over ASEAN yata yang ganyang mentalidad (except Singapore ha).

Katamaran lang talaga din minsan.

Lol. I learned yesterday that Timbuktu is indeed here. According to some guys from Ghana who are in the training, it was the place where Islam made its way to Africa. Makes it historic I suppose. Contrary to popular belief (or my belief), it's a desert, not a "mountainous far flung place where nobody lives." I got curious after seeing a bottled water named Tombouctou. They said it's spelled that way not Tim-.

I'm doing the training here for them - our affiliates in the West Africa region. I dunno why Mali was chosen. Accra could have been more accessible for me. But I noticed that Mali is in the middle of most of them. So that probably explains why. It didn't really matter to them whether there's an major airline that flies to the place or none. huhu...

Well, fortunately, AF flies daily to Bamako and KQ, 3X a week.

Buenos Aires, cool...
But that seems like a gruesome travel.
Having multiple connections seemed very interesting to me before. But after being into longer than expected layovers in airports like DTW and ATL, I wanted a shorter trip and fewer stops. However, that's not possible if you are bound for St America or West Africa.

"Roger...Strange looking man on the move...High risk." lol...

Right, foreign immigrations don't usually ask questions. As long as you have no issues with your papers.

Hehehe...
That's the good thing about company sponsored trips.
But I'm still dreaming about taking a leisure trip to the Carribean, by the beach near Pricess Juliana airport in St Maaten. And do some close range plane spotting! :D

Wow, pd parequest? Punta ka naman sa Timbuktu and pakuha ka ng picture na may Philippine flag. :D

Anggaling naman!!! Pag sinabing napunta ka sa Timbuktu, talagang napunta sa Timbuktu! :D

WINNER! :lol::lol:

manileño

December 2nd, 2010, 08:53 AM

I hope you never said that in sarcasm. Wag nating maliitin na porke't blue collar ang trabaho ng karamihan ng mga Pilipino sa abroad, ay hindi na nila marerepresent ng maayos ang kanilang mga sarili at bansa. The reason why a lot of companies chose Filipinos was because of the quality of job done and the positive disposition in life.

I was on a "water village" tour of Bandar Seri Begawan last year and yung bangkero ko said that he used to have a Pinay maid. Gusto daw nila ang Pilipino kasi malinis at maayos magtrabaho hindi kagaya ng iba. It was a frank conversation but I did not take any offense from it.

you're probably right. that was a kind of insensitive thing to say..
but then there's no denying the fact that this demographic is the most likely to possess this slave mentality that ED suggested. a slave once freed from their cage they call the homeland, and began mingling with their pale-skinned idols will start thinking they're too privileged already and think they're in the same rank of superiority specially if they get to marry one or acquire the same godly citizenship. :lol: and thats when the whole trouble starts and they start looking down on their co-slaves and the whole slaveland. :lol::lol:

again, these are just observations from our experiences. i don't doubt the work ethics and integrity of our OFWs, however when it comes to how they treat their country and fellow filipinos after, they just act shit. really ignorant attitude :D

manileño

December 2nd, 2010, 09:01 AM

Not sure if others get asked the same questions. Probably there's an impression that if you're male, you're often travelling to different places, the only logical reason is bec you're a seaman. (?) Suddenly I wanna become one. lol...

:lol::lol: "Para viajar sin dinero... Marinero." :D

i never been asked by immigration if i was a seaman, maybe because im not that old yet when they see my info? hehe! it's usually those DH and freaking pinoy ofws who get to ask me those weird questions. :lol::lol:

but the worst ever that i got was "sino ang amo mo dito?" :bash::bash: haha! :lol::lol:

mwg12a

December 2nd, 2010, 09:28 AM

Eastern Dragon

December 2nd, 2010, 09:39 AM

we need to be creators of weath at home so that our people will not be forced to go abroad just to find work.

there is nothing wrong going abroad if is due to wanderlust or work opportunities. it is entirely something else to find work abroad just to feed your family and give a better education to your children.

ang dami kasi tamad na pilipino. mga freeriders pa. pag may relative andun sa labas, tingin ay parang milyonaryo and they expect that the relative must send them pasalubongs as if it is their right.

hindi man lang alam gaano kahirap mawalay sa pamilya. I am not an OFW but i have traveled to singapore and thai for a business trip. ang hirap pala malayo sa pamilya kahit isang linggo, ano kaya yung iba mawalay for 2 years.

migration. no. 1 cause of broken families. sobrang taas talaga ng social costs ng forced migration sa atin.

xxxriainxxx

December 2nd, 2010, 09:39 AM

you're probably right. that was a kind of insensitive thing to say..
but then there's no denying the fact that this demographic is the most likely to possess this slave mentality that ED suggested. a slave once freed from their cage they call the homeland, and began mingling with their pale-skinned idols will start thinking they're too privileged already and think they're in the same rank of superiority specially if they get to marry one or acquire the same godly citizenship. :lol: and thats when the whole trouble starts and they start looking down on their co-slaves and the whole slaveland. :lol::lol:

again, these are just observations from our experiences. i don't doubt the work ethics and integrity of our OFWs, however when it comes to how they treat their country and fellow filipinos after, they just act shit. really ignorant attitude :D

Actually, this kind of mentality exists even in our country. In the offices of MNCs in Makati, the supervisor/lowly staff who mingles with their foreign bosses suddenly act superior over other Filipinos. I find this mindboggling and really annoying.

It is sad but true. I heard a story from a laborer working at Port Hedland in Australia, some Pinays who married some old rich dudes tend to look down on Filipino labourers. Ang sagot ng laborer sa mga Pinays in question, "Kami ginagamit namin ang aming utak at kakayahan kaya napunta kami ng Australia, hindi kagaya sa inyo, bumubukaka lang para makalayas ng Pilipinas."

I think it is not even about a slave mentality, but the inherent tribalism, regionalism, misplaced elitism and economic classism within Filipinos that perpetuate this kind of unacceptable behaviour.

However, we cannot lump all of them in one category, I've met various OFWs with disparate backgrounds and thankfully most of them are not the kinds with what we are talking here. I met a lot of OFWs who love the Philippines and pinagmamalaki nila. Isa na ako dun. I love my country so much.

Save for one na hindi tumagal dito sa Hanoi. This conversation happened around 1st week of June this year:

Me: Guys, let us attend the Philippine Independence Day Celebrations. The embassy is going to host.

ex-OFW: Is that required?

Me: (snaps) It's our responsibility.

That girl never lasted.

Eastern Dragon

December 2nd, 2010, 09:48 AM

It is sad but true. I heard a story from a laborer working at Port Hedland in Australia, some Pinays who married some old rich dudes tend to look down on Filipino labourers. Ang sagot ng laborer sa mga Pinays in question, "Kami ginagamit namin ang aming utak at kakayahan kaya napunta kami ng Australia, hindi kagaya sa inyo, bumubukaka lang para makalayas ng Pilipinas."

i know a couple of persons like these. had a child out of wedlock. hindi naman kagandahan. :lol::lol:

ayun, naghanap na lang ng kano para makaalis sa pinas. ngayon, parang mga ano na kung umasta. :lol::lol:

manileño

December 2nd, 2010, 09:58 AM

I think it is not even about a slave mentality, but the inherent tribalism, regionalism, misplaced elitism and economic classism within Filipinos that perpetuate this kind of unacceptable behaviour.

wow, thats a mouthful. :lol: very well said :okay:

and i agree with ED about the need to be creators of wealth at home :)

:lol::lol::lol: Bastos na mga yon ano? Gandang lalake mo na yan napagkamalan ka pang DH o kung ano man :lol::lol:

I have so far was never asked that question before, lucky me. The only thing I can remember is that when I was in Manila long long time ago, I got together with an old friend who i lost contact now completely, he introduced me to a neighbor and a buddy of him. He mentioned my name and I just got back in the Philippines without specifiying any place. The first reaction or comment was, galing ka pala sa Saudi... Ako hindi ako nag react pero yuong friend ko sumama ang timpla ng mukha nuong marinig, parang siya pa yata ang nainsulto para sa akin :lol::lol::lol: Ofcourse when I am in the Philippines I am always in low profile, lalo na sa mga tindahan at mga handicraft stores kase minsan nangdadaya sila pag alam nila na wala kang clue so paligid at nangyayari sa paligid. Yuong half brother ko nagpapatan ng husto at nasusumbrero para hindi mahalatang may lahi siyang puti tapos trying hard magtagalog, buking naman agad :lol::lol:

:lol::lol: that happened in schiphol a few years ago on a long layover and i was so bored i started chatting with pinays who are also coming home.. siguro, out of habit. they're used to asking that question to fellow pinoys but they quickly changed it when i smiled haha, they went saan ka pala nagwowork dito. :lol: so i said, i don't work, they stopped asking personal questions after that and we just talked about life in europe. :)

btw, if i was meeting you for the first time, i would probably have the same reaction. Taga Saudi ka ba or Mumbai? no need to specify any place, your face gives it away :lol::lol: jk elmo!:D

xxxriainxxx

December 2nd, 2010, 10:11 AM

i know a couple of persons like these. had a child out of wedlock. hindi naman kagandahan. :lol::lol:

ayun, naghanap na lang ng kano para makaalis sa pinas. ngayon, parang mga ano na kung umasta. :lol::lol:

Andaming mga ganyan. Ampapangit nga tapos ampapangit pa magsalita ng Ingles, ayaw magTagalog. Yabang meeehn!:lol::lol:

Eastern Dragon

December 2nd, 2010, 10:31 AM

Andaming mga ganyan. Ampapangit nga tapos ampapangit pa magsalita ng Ingles, ayaw magTagalog. Yabang meeehn!:lol::lol:

huwag mo naman sabihin pangit, kasit hindi rin naman tayo mga brad pitt at george clooney.

sabihin mo na lang na hindi kagandahan. :lol:

xxxriainxxx

December 2nd, 2010, 10:44 AM

huwag mo naman sabihin pangit, kasit hindi rin naman tayo mga brad pitt at george clooney.

sabihin mo na lang na hindi kagandahan. :lol:

Hehehe. Lamang lang si Brad Pitt at Clooney sa atin ng mga sampung paligo. :D

ninja kid

December 2nd, 2010, 05:08 PM

Hehehe. Lamang lang si Brad Pitt at Clooney sa atin ng mga sampung paligo. :D

o kaya imbes na "pangit" ... sabihin mo na lang "exotic" ... para cool ang dating ... :lol::lol::lol:

Ph Man

December 2nd, 2010, 07:44 PM

NTprime

December 2nd, 2010, 11:53 PM

:lol::lol: "Para viajar sin dinero... Marinero." :D

i never been asked by immigration if i was a seaman, maybe because im not that old yet when they see my info? hehe! it's usually those DH and freaking pinoy ofws who get to ask me those weird questions. :lol::lol:

but the worst ever that i got was "sino ang amo mo dito?" :bash::bash: haha! :lol::lol:

:lol::lol::lol: Bastos na mga yon ano? Gandang lalake mo na yan napagkamalan ka pang DH o kung ano man :lol::lol:

I have so far was never asked that question before, lucky me. The only thing I can remember is that when I was in Manila long long time ago, I got together with an old friend who i lost contact now completely, he introduced me to a neighbor and a buddy of him. He mentioned my name and I just got back in the Philippines without specifiying any place. The first reaction or comment was, galing ka pala sa Saudi... Ako hindi ako nag react pero yuong friend ko sumama ang timpla ng mukha nuong marinig, parang siya pa yata ang nainsulto para sa akin :lol::lol::lol: Ofcourse when I am in the Philippines I am always in low profile, lalo na sa mga tindahan at mga handicraft stores kase minsan nangdadaya sila pag alam nila na wala kang clue so paligid at nangyayari sa paligid. Yuong half brother ko nagpapatan ng husto at nasusumbrero para hindi mahalatang may lahi siyang puti tapos trying hard magtagalog, buking naman agad :lol::lol:

we need to be creators of weath at home so that our people will not be forced to go abroad just to find work.

there is nothing wrong going abroad if is due to wanderlust or work opportunities. it is entirely something else to find work abroad just to feed your family and give a better education to your children.

ang dami kasi tamad na pilipino. mga freeriders pa. pag may relative andun sa labas, tingin ay parang milyonaryo and they expect that the relative must send them pasalubongs as if it is their right.

hindi man lang alam gaano kahirap mawalay sa pamilya. I am not an OFW but i have traveled to singapore and thai for a business trip. ang hirap pala malayo sa pamilya kahit isang linggo, ano kaya yung iba mawalay for 2 years.

migration. no. 1 cause of broken families. sobrang taas talaga ng social costs ng forced migration sa atin.

Hehe...sino nga ba?
Malamang depende san ka pupunta.
Last time, natanong ako sa HK kung driver daw ba ako. Nung sinabi kong hindi, hala sinabihan akong mag-apply daw ako na driver dun. :cry:

Mukha na rin kasi akong 39 anyos kaya napagkakamalang driver or seaman.
Yung Ale sa resto sa Houston, tuwang tuwa, at akala isa na namang seaman ang napadpad sa Houston. Naenjoy ko naman ang mga usapan namin. Mostly mga kwento ng plight nila sa states. Mga down-to-earth sila, kaya naenjoy ko ang pakikipagusap sa kanila. Buti nga mga seaman nakakarating kung saan saan. The best way to see the world for free, is to be a seaman talaga. Pati mga penguins sa Antartica, makakapicturan mo. May nakausap akong isang kapitan ng barko. Indian. He's all praises sa mga kababayan nating seaman! Siempre proud naman ako sa narinig ko. He invited me for a drink that night. Sayang may prior appointment na ako.

Reading all your posts above, I can say a lot of it (the way other Pinoys or OFWs look at you) is because of IGNORANCE and PREJUDICE.

When I was in grade school, I had a classmate who was of Indian descent. His family owned the largest department store in the town, they were fairly prosperous. Most other classmates were employees of the largest company in the town, but not necessarily children of the executives. In other words, masa to middle class. All I heard from my other classmates who were not fond of him was "Bumbay", and without fail. That was my first experience with Pinoy bigotry, up to this day I truly feel sorry for my Indian classmate. Then in high school you encounter the Indians (usually Sikhs because of their turbans) on motorcycles who obviously were loansharks (5/6). I never really knew the concept of how they made fantastic money lending to the Pinoys but apparently they were quite despised, and yet the Pinoys continued to deal with them. Lesson no. 2 about Pinoy bigotry. In college I had an Indian batchmate, but she was different as she was pretty and lived in Forbes Park (probably the daughter of a diplomat). This time around schoolmates were looking up to her, never heard as much negatives compared to my two earlier experiences. Was it because the people in college were far better educated, and exposed to this world? In grade school and high school I was based in the province. In college in Manila. The more cosmopolitan a place gets, it seems the less the bias against certain races...

Much later in my career I had to deal with Indians as well for I worked in a company owned by Indians who set up the parent company in the US. Now the perceptions changed. They were the employers, the bosses, and there were so many of them! But then these were educated and upwardly mobile Indians, not your typical 5/6. And they were out to conquer the world...look at the Indian BPOs making waves in the local scene recently...there is now IBM Daksh, Infosys, Wipro, WNS, Intelenet, Sutherland, IGT, NIIT, etc. etc. Prior to that the BPO industry was mostly American companies (eTelecare, PeopleSupport, Sykes, etc.). Now there are that many Indians here that you can see a number of Indian cuisine restaurants sprouting up, especially in Eastwood where young Indian managers are becoming commonplace.

The world is truly getting global. But many Pinoys still are myopic, especially those from areas which haven't really experienced multiple cultures. So white man is a novelty, and if most of the experiences of the local Pinoys with foreigners (especially Caucasians) is that they have the dollars which translate into X40 for pesos, then they will probably worship them like some deity. And that's where you get comments similar to what you folks have been experiencing as mentioned above.

I personally don't exhibit bias against a particular race, but probably more against a lower social class or people of less educated background. Because a number behave like IS, because life for them has really been hard and they try to take advantage of each other. But the worst form are those originally from the lower class who suddenly become nouveau riche...these are the kind of people you will meet in the US and other countries who will generally look down on less fortunate Filipinos, even those from their original social background, and make all sorts of derogatory comments against them. They feel that going to the US or marrying a white guy/gal is a bigtime ticket, or better than winning the lottery. And yet they don't always exhibit the progression in monetary prosperity in the ways they act and behave. Old habits really die hard.:lol:

mwg12a

December 3rd, 2010, 03:16 AM

Yez. Pero hindi tayo nag-iisa sa ganyan. Mukhang all over ASEAN yata yang ganyang mentalidad (except Singapore ha).

Katamaran lang talaga din minsan.

WINNER! :lol::lol:
Yeah, this is true, even other asians are the same way with caucasians when they see one. To add more with filipinos or filipinas mostly, they would say "para maganda ang anak" funny thing is that, it seems the filipino blood is stronger so the children ended up looking like the mother mostly so, I don't mean to look down on them but heck, they end up being "butt ugly" LMAO There are those few who has good features even if they are not that attractive, this is where you see nice looking offspring when mixed to a caucasian, but then again, those whose kids turn ugly, if you look at both sides of the coin, usually the caucasian guy is also someone who most american white women would pick out of the crowd, the only difference is, if you're not living with majority of caucasians, when one wandered around your neighborhood /country, the local asians thinks the caucasian men or women are hot until they live with the majority of them, then you would realize, OMG, i married a reject!! LOL I'm partly just joking on that last part, somehow it is still true.

mwg12a

December 3rd, 2010, 03:25 AM

Reading all your posts above, I can say a lot of it (the way other Pinoys or OFWs look at you) is because of IGNORANCE and PREJUDICE.

This is very true.

When I was in grade school, I had a classmate who was of Indian descent. His family owned the largest department store in the town, they were fairly prosperous. Most other classmates were employees of the largest company in the town, but not necessarily children of the executives. In other words, masa to middle class. All I heard from my other classmates who were not fond of him was "Bumbay", and without fail. That was my first experience with Pinoy bigotry, up to this day I truly feel sorry for my Indian classmate. Then in high school you encounter the Indians (usually Sikhs because of their turbans) on motorcycles who obviously were loansharks (5/6). I never really knew the concept of how they made fantastic money lending to the Pinoys but apparently they were quite despised, and yet the Pinoys continued to deal with them. Lesson no. 2 about Pinoy bigotry. In college I had an Indian batchmate, but she was different as she was pretty and lived in Forbes Park (probably the daughter of a diplomat). This time around schoolmates were looking up to her, never heard as much negatives compared to my two earlier experiences. Was it because the people in college were far better educated, and exposed to this world? In grade school and high school I was based in the province. In college in Manila. The more cosmopolitan a place gets, it seems the less the bias against certain races...

Much later in my career I had to deal with Indians as well for I worked in a company owned by Indians who set up the parent company in the US. Now the perceptions changed. They were the employers, the bosses, and there were so many of them! But then these were educated and upwardly mobile Indians, not your typical 5/6. And they were out to conquer the world...look at the Indian BPOs making waves in the local scene recently...there is now IBM Daksh, Infosys, Wipro, WNS, Intelenet, Sutherland, IGT, NIIT, etc. etc. Prior to that the BPO industry was mostly American companies (eTelecare, PeopleSupport, Sykes, etc.). Now there are that many Indians here that you can see a number of Indian cuisine restaurants sprouting up, especially in Eastwood where young Indian managers are becoming commonplace.

The world is truly getting global. But many Pinoys still are myopic, especially those from areas which haven't really experienced multiple cultures. So white man is a novelty, and if most of the experiences of the local Pinoys with foreigners (especially Caucasians) is that they have the dollars which translate into X40 for pesos, then they will probably worship them like some deity. And that's where you get comments similar to what you folks have been experiencing as mentioned above.

I personally don't exhibit bias against a particular race, but probably more against a lower social class or people of less educated background. Because a number behave like IS, because life for them has really been hard and they try to take advantage of each other. But the worst form are those originally from the lower class who suddenly become nouveau riche...these are the kind of people you will meet in the US and other countries who will generally look down on less fortunate Filipinos, even those from their original social background, and make all sorts of derogatory comments against them. They feel that going to the US or marrying a white guy/gal is a bigtime ticket, or better than winning the lottery. And yet they don't always exhibit the progression in monetary prosperity in the ways they act and behave. Old habits really die hard.:lol:

I can relate to these because I was being teased as indian(bumbay) growing up until HS and considering I use to have a close friend from India in school( I had two, a boy I can only remember now as Doughlatt Chandirimani and a Danish friend named Chris Hansen), its either they are extremely nice to us or mean (mostly him not me), you know how kids are sometimes. And then some parents would ask their children don't get too close or befriend Indian because they smell like a rotten coconut oil or since back then the Indian people was a source of "scare" when I believe they were the ones who has some sort of poison on their hands that when it touches anybody, would cause either convulsion or death... I can't remember too well because I was little back then. But I know, even our grand parents would caution us being around "bumbay" because apparently they kidnap little children and use their blood as an offer to prayers and spray the blood in any structures being constructed to make it stronger, ofcourse these are just one of those "kuwentong kuchero" and I realized those as I was growing up. I think its a bit funny but it is also mean.

xxxriainxxx

December 3rd, 2010, 03:58 AM

Hehe...sino nga ba?
Malamang depende san ka pupunta.
Last time, natanong ako sa HK kung driver daw ba ako. Nung sinabi kong hindi, hala sinabihan akong mag-apply daw ako na driver dun. :cry:

Mukha na rin kasi akong 39 anyos kaya napagkakamalang driver or seaman.
Yung Ale sa resto sa Houston, tuwang tuwa, at akala isa na namang seaman ang napadpad sa Houston. Naenjoy ko naman ang mga usapan namin. Mostly mga kwento ng plight nila sa states. Mga down-to-earth sila, kaya naenjoy ko ang pakikipagusap sa kanila. Buti nga mga seaman nakakarating kung saan saan. The best way to see the world for free, is to be a seaman talaga. Pati mga penguins sa Antartica, makakapicturan mo. May nakausap akong isang kapitan ng barko. Indian. He's all praises sa mga kababayan nating seaman! Siempre proud naman ako sa narinig ko. He invited me for a drink that night. Sayang may prior appointment na ako.

:lol:
Yun na nga. Timbuktu talaga. Parang enticing idea yan. Tignan natin. Nakakatakot ang mga rates nila dito. Buffet breakfast for one = 6500 CFA. Di ko pa alam magkano conversion. Nasa north ang Timbuktu, at nasa South naman ako.

Cool, I'd like to see this in person. My boss has been agreeing to some of my requests for sidetrips. Baka sakaling pumayag siya sa sidetrip to this place! Dream holiday kung sakali. A haven for plane fanatics. Hehehe...

I am jealous as a traveler, haha, malapit ka sa Timbuktu!! :lol: Makakapunta din ako dyan. :D

o kaya imbes na "pangit" ... sabihin mo na lang "exotic" ... para cool ang dating ... :lol::lol::lol:

'exotic' na parang bayawak ba. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I am enjoying this thread very much now.. Kakaiba pag nakakausap ang mga kababayan natin all over the world. :):cheers:

Ady001

December 3rd, 2010, 04:37 AM

Hehehe. Lamang lang si Brad Pitt at Clooney sa atin ng mga sampung paligo. :D

As if naliligo... :D

xxxriainxxx

December 3rd, 2010, 04:43 AM

As if naliligo... :D

Hahaha, alam mo din ang tsismis? :D

Juan Pilgrim

December 3rd, 2010, 04:51 AM

bitoy

December 3rd, 2010, 05:02 AM

I am wondering who those 9 Filipinos living in North Korea are.
Were they kidnapped and shipped to NK because of something they know?
Are some of them OFWs? or Expats?
Did they marry someone from NK? Are they political exiles?

Hindi ako makakatulog nito hanggang di ko nalalaman ang sagot.

:horse:

Tulog ka na! Dati, siyam sila, walo na lang at uuwi na yung dalawa.. :D

Here's the answer from a newspaper clip:
Five of the Filipinos in North Korea work with the United Nations while the rest are employed in “an international tobacco company.

Didn't we used to export Baguio Oil to North Korea? Gusto ko lang malaman...bago ako matulog... :lol:

manileño

December 3rd, 2010, 05:11 AM

Reading all your posts above, I can say a lot of it (the way other Pinoys or OFWs look at you) is because of IGNORANCE and PREJUDICE.

I personally don't exhibit bias against a particular race, but probably more against a lower social class or people of less educated background. Because a number behave like IS, because life for them has really been hard and they try to take advantage of each other. But the worst form are those originally from the lower class who suddenly become nouveau riche...these are the kind of people you will meet in the US and other countries who will generally look down on less fortunate Filipinos, even those from their original social background, and make all sorts of derogatory comments against them. They feel that going to the US or marrying a white guy/gal is a bigtime ticket, or better than winning the lottery. And yet they don't always exhibit the progression in monetary prosperity in the ways they act and behave. Old habits really die hard.:lol:

indeed, thanks for summing up our observations that we had so much trouble putting into words hehe, i think that alone explains this whole mentality with many OFWs and migrant filipinos.. :)

Mukha na rin kasi akong 39 anyos kaya napagkakamalang driver or seaman.
Yung Ale sa resto sa Houston, tuwang tuwa, at akala isa na namang seaman ang napadpad sa Houston. Naenjoy ko naman ang mga usapan namin. Mostly mga kwento ng plight nila sa states. Mga down-to-earth sila, kaya naenjoy ko ang pakikipagusap sa kanila. Buti nga mga seaman nakakarating kung saan saan. The best way to see the world for free, is to be a seaman talaga. Pati mga penguins sa Antartica, makakapicturan mo.

:lol::lol: hindi ka naman mukhang 39, francis.. 38 lang. j/k :D:D hehe!
well at least, you have done all those (travelling to far places) without having to work abroad or migrate. that in itself is already an achievement, you should be proud of yourself :cheers::cheers:
and thats what i was telling this forumer, not everything is hopeless in PI and people can make it here, if they at least try. :)

I can relate to these because I was being teased as indian(bumbay) growing up until HS and considering I use to have a close friend from India in school( I had two, a boy I can only remember now as Doughlatt Chandirimani and a Danish friend named Chris Hansen), its either they are extremely nice to us or mean (mostly him not me), you know how kids are sometimes. And then some parents would ask their children don't get too close or befriend Indian because they smell like a rotten coconut oil or since back then the Indian people was a source of "scare" when I believe they were the ones who has some sort of poison on their hands that when it touches anybody, would cause either convulsion or death...

wait, are you saying this prejudice against bumbays is not unique to filipinos and that it exists even in mainstream US? cos i know you grew up in midwest unless your classmates who were teasing you are all flips too.. anyway, youre not alone on this, i know exactly what its like to be called bumbay haha, but as NT said, good thing it's not really that bad if you're in the city.. thanks to BPOs there are more and more people like us these days :lol::lol: j/k!:D