This might not be the typical expat blog, written by a German expat, living in the Philippines since 1999. It's different. In English and in German. Check it out! Enjoy reading!
Dies mag' nun wirklich nicht der typische Auswandererblog eines Deutschen auf den Philippinen sein. Er soll etwas anders sein. In Englisch und in Deutsch! Viel Spass beim Lesen!
You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?
There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!
Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!
Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!
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Showing posts with label Philippine Daily Inquirer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippine Daily Inquirer. Show all posts
Tycoon Ramon Ang’s New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC) is seting new, clear-cut performance standards for airlines operating at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), starting with the country’s flag carrier, Philippine Airlines (PAL).
NNIC, which took over the country’s primary gateway in 2024, said the new operating framework will spell out how airlines use Naia facilities and infrastructure, as well as define the respective responsibilities of carriers and the airport operator.
There will also be key performance indicators meant to improve operational efficiency at the congested Naia.
In a statement on Tuesday, the San Miguel Corp.-backed NNIC described the move as part of Naia’s overall refresh, which it is now extending beyond terminals, facilities and airport systems to how operations across the gateway are managed.
“This agreement gives us a clearer framework for setting expectations, measuring performance and working together to maintain consistent service standards,” NNIC president and CEO Ang said. “That is important to making airport operations more efficient and dependable.”
As part of this push, the Lucio Tan-led PAL signed the first standardized Airport Use Agreement with NNIC, a framework that the Naia operator intends to use as a blueprint for future agreements with other airlines using the gateway.
While it described the deal only in broad strokes, NNIC said the agreement was meant to make airline operations more consistent and improve coordination among the different parties involved in moving passengers, baggage and aircraft through Naia.
Under the framework, the agreed service levels will be part of PAL’s contractual obligations and will include mechanisms for addressing persistent failures to meet the standards.
“This is a positive development for both PAL and NNIC, and ultimately for our passengers. It supports the continuing modernization of Naia and our collective goal of delivering a better airport experience,” Lucio Tan III, president and COO of the airline’s parent company PAL Holdings Inc.
NNIC said it was taking a similar approach with ground handlers and other service providers at Naia.
Since taking over the airport, NNIC has been upgrading its terminals, airport systems, airfield infrastructure and passenger amenities while seeking to address long-standing capacity and operational constraints.
In 2025, Naia recorded its highest annual passenger count, with 52.02 million travelers passing through the country’s main gateway.
If you see me wearing something cool or developing healthy habits, chances are, I got it from my momma. But I’m not the type to gatekeep my wellness tricks, so here are five home products that have served as my household staples.
1. Baking soda goes a long way
While many have been led to believe that the combination of baking soda and vinegar makes for a wondrous substitute for cleaning products, they are actually most effective separately.
Baking soda is a base, which can be useful for things like laundry. If you’re using a washing machine, you can add about half a cup of baking soda straight into the drum. This allows your fresh batch of clothes the benefit of neutralizing deep-set sweat or musty smells, and even brightening your white clothes.
And if you’re hand-washing, as we often do for delicates and such, adding one to two tablespoons of baking soda directly to your improvised basin (we use the bathroom sink), can help achieve a similar effect.
In our household, baking soda is most commonly found in our refrigerator, where it can help deodorize the otherwise unpleasant stink of raw meat and leftovers.
2. Aluminum foil can polish your silver
Aluminum has many delightful properties, namely its effectiveness in polishing your silver. All you need to do is put your tarnished silver—rings, necklaces, or bracelets—in a container lined with aluminum foil, shiny side up. Sprinkle your salt and baking soda evenly over and around the silver, then pour boiling water over everything and let it all soak.
The aluminum foil will attract the sulfur responsible for your silver’s tarnish—a simple and easy way to bring your silver back to its original shine. Leave it in the solution for a few minutes, then rinse and dry each one.
Another use for aluminum foil is as a makeshift Scrub Daddy sponge. Sometimes, when our dish sponges are beaten to a pulp, we can’t quite go to the grocery for a single product. Instead, we make do with crumpling aluminum foil into a ball, using it to scrub off grease and burnt bits.
But it’s important not to use it on non-stick surfaces, as its abrasive texture can potentially damage your kitchenware.
3. Just a spoonful of honey helps the medicine go down
Honey can help soothe a sore throat alongside over-the-counter medicines. When the weather gets cool, I find myself prone to the flu, which is why my mom and I always have honey in our cabinet. Honey is naturally anti-microbial, which means it can aid your immune system in fighting off viruses and bacteria while also reducing inflammation in your throat.
The thickness of honey also provides a coat for the lining of your throat, acting as a protective barrier that will make it easier for you to swallow. It essentially works similarly to a cough drop. Of course, while it can make you feel better, it won’t provide a cure if you have strep throat or a bacterial infection.
What I like to do is swallow a full tablespoon of honey, and allow it to work its magic. Doctors recommend it as a home remedy, too.
4. Aloe vera keeps you fresh
Aloe vera is a silent warrior in our household’s bathrooms. It’s always handy to keep it in stock, as it can be used for skincare and hair care. It’s known to soothe minor burns and skin irritations such as sunburn. It can even fight off acne. I like to use it as a lightweight moisturizer.
While it won’t provide the seal your skin needs to lock in the moisture, it can definitely provide hydration. The clear gel adds a soothing effect to your skin and, when paired with oil, it can serve as a fine substitute for outrageously expensive moisturizing products.
As someone living with eczema, I am prone to dandruff and a dry scalp. Aloe vera is a natural ingredient that can temporarily calm my itch and even condition my hair.
5. Chia seeds fight constipation
There is nothing worse than a bad tummy. While chia seeds may not always be available, we try our best to keep it on hand. The problem is that it’s best to soak it in water or milk overnight, and we don’t always remember to do that.
But when we do, chia seeds mixed with berries (or in my case, chocolate) makes for a hearty breakfast. And if you’re trying to make your bowel movements more regular, chia seeds will get the job done.
There are a few considerations to make before going all-in on the chia craze. Consuming it dry may actually worsen constipation, so it’s best to soak it in liquid for at least 20 minutes until a gel starts to form. Starting small is also the way to go, as your body gets used to cleansing itself from the inside.
The ultimate trick is to always listen to your body’s signals. Don’t ignore the signs when you see them, and don’t be afraid to reach out to loved ones for advice.
Under the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) auspices, a multi-institutional squad of 15 researchers led by Dr. Aniceto Orbeta Jr. and Dr. Michael Abrigo presented last month the results of a project launched some five years ago on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE). Mandated nationwide in 2013 under Republic Act No. 10533, MTB-MLE required the use of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction (MOI) from kindergarten to Grade 3, allowing a gradual transition through Grade 6 before returning to Filipino and English as primary languages of learning. In 2024, RA 12027 stopped the mandatory use of the mother tongue, except in monolingual classrooms, and restored Filipino and English as the MOI.
The national enforcement of MTB-MLE thus lasted only about a decade after over 40 years of advocacy. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization research in the ’70s, which prominently featured the Philippines, triggered the MTB-MLE campaign. Academics and professional bodies of linguist experts pursued the cause. International development agencies provided financial support. The Department of Education (DepEd) pushed the advocacy, launching extensive pilot projects, especially during the term of DepEd Secretary Br. Andrew Gonzalez, FSB, himself a Ph.D. in linguistics from University of California, Berkeley. His successors at DepEd continued these initiatives.
Barely a week goes by without someone asking me how to prepare their children for an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven world.
Just recently, a friend with a seven-year-old told me he was genuinely anxious, not the vague background kind of anxiety, but the sharp keeps-you-up-at-night kind.
What school should his child attend? If Philippine schools don’t teach AI competently, should the family consider migrating? Is it already too late to start?
I understand the fear. But I think the fear is aimed at the wrong target.
Schools teach information. But information is now ubiquitous, freely available, instantly searchable, endlessly generated.
What made education valuable in the past was access to knowledge that was scarce. That scarcity no longer exists.
What remains scarce, dangerously and increasingly scarce, is the human capacity to think, feel and lead.
Look at history. Humans have proven to be remarkably adaptive creatures.
We navigated the Renaissance, which upended how we understood art, science and the self.
We survived the Industrial Revolution, which replaced muscle with machine and reorganized entire civilizations around factories.
We are still navigating the Digital Age, which rewired how we communicate, consume and connect. Every era brought disruption. Every era produced humans who adapted and led.
But here is where I diverge from the optimists.
The threat of the AI Age is not that machines will replace us. It is that we will allow ourselves to become dependent on them before we have fully developed ourselves.
I am not afraid of AI. I am afraid of a generation that outsources its thinking to AI, its creativity to AI, its judgment to AI, and arrives at adulthood having never built the inner architecture that leadership requires.
Imagine a world where the most powerful tool ever built is operated by people who have forgotten how to be human.
That is the real risk.
So when my friend asked me what he could do, I gave him five concrete answers. Not app subscriptions. Not coding camps. Five fundamentals, executable at home, starting tonight.
First: Read with your child every night, with a book. Not a tablet. A physical book.
The ritual of a parent reading aloud builds vocabulary, comprehension, attention span and the experience of sustained, linear narrative. Children who are read to learn to follow an argument, absorb a story arc and sit with ideas long enough to understand them. That is the foundation of critical thinking.
Second: Have your child read aloud. Loud. With confidence.
Reading aloud builds fluency, diction and the courage to occupy space with one’s voice. Communication is not a soft skill. It is the primary skill of leadership.
Every great leader, in every field, has been able to articulate a vision, move a room, and persuade another human being.
That begins with a child learning to project their voice across the living room.
Third: Learn a musical instrument, any instrument. Even cymbals. Or a guitar.
Music is not about performance. It is about activating the creative hemisphere of the brain that logical training tends to neglect.
Playing an instrument builds pattern recognition, discipline, and the ability to translate abstract feeling into structured expression.
These are exactly the capacities that AI cannot replicate.
Fourth: Learn a second language, any language. A regional dialect. Spanish. Even Latin, though it has been dead for centuries.
Acquiring a second language opens neural pathways that a single-language existence leaves dormant.
It builds cognitive flexibility, the ability to hold two conceptual frameworks in the mind simultaneously and move between them.
That is precisely what you need in an AI world, where the ability to reframe a problem and think in multiple registers will separate leaders from followers.
Fifth: Play a sport, any sport. Chess counts. Swimming counts. Even a backyard game counts.
Sport builds the inner competitive spirit, the will to improve, to persist through failure, to measure oneself honestly.
It teaches a child that outcomes are not guaranteed, that effort matters, that losing is survivable and instructive.
In a world increasingly optimized for frictionless experience, children need the friction of competition to develop resilience.
These five things develop what matters most in an AI world: critical thinking, emotional intelligence and adaptability.
These are not supplementary virtues. They are the core operating system for human leadership in any era, and they are built at home, not in a classroom.
Many parents today are waiting. Waiting for schools to teach AI. Waiting for the right curriculum, the right program, the right government policy. That wait may never end.
Schools are still figuring it out, and the curricula being written today will be obsolete before your 7-year-old finishes high school.
But here is what I know for certain.
AI learning, real AI readiness, begins long before your child ever sits in a tech classroom.
It begins at home, in the early years, through the fundamentals. And it does not begin with a screen. It begins with a parent.
We are also seeing the consequences of neglecting these fundamentals in real time.
Student suicides are rising. Young people are struggling to manage pressure, failure and uncertainty in ways that previous generations, for all their disadvantages, seemed better equipped to handle.
This is not a school problem. It is a foundation problem.
Children who read develop inner worlds rich enough to process difficulty. Children who play sports learn that losing does not end you. Children who make music find an outlet for what they cannot yet put into words. These are not academic exercises. They are mental health interventions, preparing them for life’s battle ahead.
Your presence in these activities is not optional. It is the variable that makes the difference. A teacher can introduce a concept. Only a parent can build a foundation.
The most advanced school in the world will always be secondary to a parent who shows up, consistently and intentionally, in the small daily moments that shape a child’s character.
So read the book. Not the tablet. The book.
That is where AI readiness begins.
The author is president of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). He is also president and COO of DITO CME Holdings Corporation. Feedback at map@map.org.ph and donaldpatricklim@gmail.com.
How can I help you? A mother of four complained that her 16-year-old son was having trouble sleeping.
To create a more relaxed interchange, I started by asking what her typical day was like. She shared that, as a single parent and with children to provide for, she always has to leave early for work. Her son has chosen to live with a sibling and attends school from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., but reportedly only gets to sleep by 12:30 a.m. He then volunteered the reason himself: he has become so attached to his cell phone. This eventually led into a discussion on his school performance. His grade in Math was in the line of eight, but he struggles with his English comprehension because he felt he was “mahina” and forgets things easily. When asked where this forgetfulness was coming from, he quickly replied that it was probably from watching too much TikTok. While I was dismayed, at least there was some degree of self-awareness.
From his story, one doesn’t have to do an in-depth analysis to connect the dots. From constant and prolonged social media use, there is sleep disruption, translating into a decrease in concentration and lack of focus, leading to a decline in academic performance.
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