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!
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday urged the public to be careful with social media posts that may be used by criminals this holiday season.
PNP deputy spokesperson Supt. Kim Molitas said social media users should exercise restraint when posting their whereabouts or their itineraries for the holiday season on the site as this may be used by criminals.
“Netizens should take precautions and be aware of the consequences of anything that they post on social media in real time,” she said.
The PNP did not want to cause alarm, but urged the public to limit the information that they post online and make sure their posts are restricted to family and friends.
The PNP said there has been no increase in petty crimes even with the coming holidays.
“Our efforts did not go to waste because we sustained the campaign against crimes even before the holidays,” Molitas said.
She said it is the first time that there has been no reported increase in the number of petty crimes before the holidays.
Molitas said the PNP hopes to continue this trend even after the holiday.
President Duterte, as he usually does, is expected to follow his tradition of spending Christmas with his family, especially with his children and grandchildren, here in Davao City.
The President has 10 grandchildren with his children – Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and sons Paolo and Sebastian – with his first wife Elizabeth Zimmerman.
Duterte also has a child, named Veronica or Kitty, with his partner Cielito Avanceña, who is also based in Davao City.
The President arrived here last night for the Christmas weekend. He is also scheduled to bring holiday cheer to government troops as well as the sick children in a hospital in Davao City.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said yesterday that indeed the President will spend the holidays with his family.
The President usually hosts a Christmas party for the residents at his old house in Barangay Bangkal when he was still mayor of Davao City.
But when he became President in 2016, Duterte could no longer attend the event for security reasons, although the annual gift-giving still continues.
But what the President also wants to do is make sure he has the time to visit the sick children, especially those afflicted with cancer and are confined at the Southern Philippines Medical Centre (SPMC).
“Doon mo makikita ang kanyang (There you can see his) compassion. He sheds tears every time,” Panelo said of the President’s visit to sick children.
The President also spent Christmas here last year comforting the families of the victims who perished in the fire that gutted a mall in Davao.
Duterte stayed with the families of the victims as he was also the one who announced the predicament of the 38 call center agents who died in the fire that razed the NCCC Mall along Maa Road here on Christmas last year.
Finally, Comvalenyo moviegoers can now enjoy watching films and documentaries as Cinematheque Centre Nabunturan formally opens its doors to the public on December 10, 2018.
Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chair and CEO, Liza Diño and Nabunturan Mayor Hon. Chelita Amatong spearheaded the ceremonial unveiling of the plaque, blessing of the Cinematheque Centre and ribbon cutting.
Inspired by the community of filmmakers in Nabunturan, Diño said that working together to put up a cinema in the municipality is the most natural thing to do.
“I was really encouraged when I saw the outdoor cinema during the Nabifilmex, here, in Nabunturan by the Municipal Hall. So, parang what if ngayon palang talagang nakikita na natin nagsasama sama ang lahat para ma experience, ma appreciate ang mga cinema na walang physical structure. Pano pa kaya kung magkaroon na?” Diño added.
The opening of the cinematheque also gives the audience more opportunities to watch independent and low-budget films that are not shown in bigger cinemas. As well as, giving the filmmakers another avenue to showcase their works.
The cinematheque is a joint project of the FDCP and local government unit of Nabunturan, with the purpose of bringing films and documentaries that are relevant, educational and enriching. This aims to make the viewing public appreciate and be involved in the promotion of arts and culture.
“This cinematheque center supports all the filmmakers in town. It gives an avenue to showcase their films and being able to let the people appreciate what they could offer in the field of filmmaking,” Mayor Amatong said.
She also assured the full support of the local government to all filmmaking endeavors to the coming years ahead. (Sheldane Mahinay // ID Comval)
MANILA, Philippines – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) lifted yesterday the number coding scheme for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The MMDA suspended the traffic reduction scheme starting today until Jan. 2 next year for provincial buses.
The agency also lifted the number coding for private cars beginning Dec. 24 to Jan. 2.
The announcement brought confusion to the public after MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia said the agency only suspended the number coding scheme for provincial buses.
Garcia said they would still decide whether or not to lift the traffic scheme for private vehicles on Dec. 26 to 28.
The cities of Makati and Las Piñas have not yet issued announcements on the suspension of their own number coding schemes for the holidays.
EDSA traffic slows down to 14 kph.
The MMDA warned motorists that travel speed on EDSA is expected to slow down due to the surge of travelers during the holidays.
The MMDA said the average travel speed for both lanes of EDSA as of Dec. 13 was at 14.80 kilometers per hour, or 1.34 kph slower than the 16.14 kph in November.
Garcia said the travel speed along the busiest highway in the metropolis is expected to slow down to 12 kph today.
“This is because of the Christmas rush and the high volume of vehicles,” he said.
Based on the MMDA’s record, vehicles passing through EDSA increased to 402,000 on Wednesday, higher than its carrying capacity of 288,000 vehicles per day.
The MMDA said the average volume of vehicles on EDSA per day is only 367,000.
Garcia appealed for public understanding and asked motorists to strictly follow traffic rules to decongest traffic in Metro Manila during the holidays.
Bong Nebrija, traffic czar for EDSA, advised motorists to brace for monstrous traffic jams.
“But we are banking on the discipline of the motorists to address the traffic problem,” he said.
Nebrija said motorists can experience relief when they start implementing traffic reduction measures early next year.
During the Christmas holidays, we tend to be caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, so that we sometimes forget the essence of Christmas. We even remove Christ from the word Christmas reducing it to X'mas or substituting it with a name of a product or a shopping center. Yes, guys, honestly, that's it... I really don't enjoy received "XMAS GREETINGS"... .
I am glad looking forward to a two weeks vacation "between the years" - meaning to say between December 21 and January 6. No teaching at University of Southeastern Philippines, although most students wish to be prepared for their January exam in Manila; no office hours in my German Honorary Consulate office and agency...
A rest from some occupation, business and other stressful activities is waiting for me. Strictly speaking, vacation concerns those who are in school or studying in colleges and universities. "Furlough" would be the appropriate term... .
Christmas and vacation: Speaking about myself - I want to bring back Christ to the holiday season and indeed wish to share my blessings with the less fortunate. One of the best-known religious poems is "The Hound of Heaven" written by Francis Thompson, who tried to run away from God. He wanted to have a vacation from God. In reality it is Thompson's own life. His poem shows clearly the fact in this world that we can have a vacation from physical and mental activities, but never from God.
As I stated before: according to the book of Genesis, after God created the universe in six days, he rested on the seventh day. In other words, he took a vacation. So if God rested after working for some period of time, there is no reason why man, who is finite and limited in his physical strength, should not take a vacation.
Vacation is freedom or release from tension or pressure of work. And, believe me, I learned already from my students, that they will enjoy Christmas and vacation. Many of us feel tired and weak. We are stressed, overwhelmed, depressed, worried about the future. The enumeration, in any order whatever, could be incessant.
Relaxation, meditation, and re-invigoration are badly needed for most of us nowadays. Life, affected by the "burnout syndrome" needs to be animated with energy and strengths.
Yes, Christmas has always been equated with all these worldly ways. Sure, there is indeed nothing wrong with this. Let's don't only focus on non-stop merrymaking and countless gifts. Let's take a break, and let's try to imagine and enjoy the real meaning of Christmas. Merry Christmas again to everyone - also from this corner... .
MANILA, Philippines — The European Union signed Thursday seven new contracts with civil society groups and other organizations for the implementation of projects helping provide clean energy to 40,000 households in the Philippines.
In a press statement, the EU said the projects will “contribute to electrify remote places and provide income-generating activities to the beneficiary communities.”
The EU’s contribution to these projects amounts to €21 million, which was drawn from the bloc’s Access to Sustainable Energy Programme, or ASEP, that aims to support the electrification of 100,000 households in the Philippines.
EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen said ASEP, which will last until 2021, will increase the share of renewables in the country’s energy mix and, in turn, expand access to clean electricity by remote populations.
“These projects will contribute to the implementation of the Department of Energy's objective to reach 100 percent of electrification in 2020 in the country,” the EU said.
The seven projects awarded are:
Strengthening Off-grid Lighting with Appropriate Renewable Energy Solutions (SOLARES): €5 million grant to MAHINTANA - Solar Home Systems (SHS) coupled with livelihood activities will be provided to 5,000 households of poor areas of North Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao.
Improving the Lives of People in Off-Grid Communities in Mindanao through the Provision of Sustainable Energy: €4.5 million grant to YAMOG – A total of 5,000 households are targeted in North and South Cohabit as well as in Davao Oriental. 3,800 households will be provided Solar Home Systems while 1,200 will gain access to energy through pico-hydropower.
SolarBnB Microhotel & Island Livelihood Energizer Platform (SMILE): €3.9 million grant to KABANG KALIKASAN (WWF) – This action brings 24-hour energy access to 4 poor, remote island communities by integrating proven components of successful electrification and livelihood projects into a comprehensive small island electrification model while serving growing demand for eco-tourism & adventure travel. Local stakeholders include island communities, EC’s Siargao Electric Cooperative (SIARELCO) and Dinagat Electric Cooperative (DIELCO), the Dinagat and Siargao Tourism Councils, and the Municipality of Carmen.
Renewable energy technology for seaweed value added in Tawi-Tawi (RETS): €4.2 million grant to UNIDO – This action aims to increase electricity access in the island of Tawi-Tawi, particularly in seaweed producing municipalities; improvement of the delivery of community services such as health and nutrition, education, sanitation through the availability of electricity services in off-grid and rural seaweed farming communities and increase the value added of seaweed farming its income generation potential.
Renewable Energy Access for off-grid Communities and Households (REACH): €3.7 million grant to CLOVEK (PEOPLE IN NEED) - The action aims to enhance social welfare, disaster-resilience and economic growth of vulnerable off-grid communities in remote areas of Northern Samar through innovative, scalable, and sustainable renewable energy technologies and systems.
Renewable Energy for Livelihood and Youth (RELY): €2.2 million grant to SEQUA - The action promotes the use of renewable energy to improve livelihoods and climate resilience in off-grid, poor and remote communities in the Philippines, specifically in Region VII and IV-B.
Clean Energy Living Laboratories (CELLs): The development of centres of excellence on energy access, renewable energy, and energy efficiency €3.8 million grant to Ateneo de Manila University - A Centre of Excellence, based in a University with regional antennas in Davao and Cebu, will be the national reference for renewable energy and correspondent of Energy4ALL initiative.
MANILA, Philippines — The Miss Universe Organization has revealed during the Preliminary Competition on December 13 the all-woman selection committee that will choose who among the 93 candidates will advance to the competition’s top 20 to be announced during the coronation night on December 17.
At least two of the judges in the committee are Filipinas: Richelle Singson-Michael and Monique Lhuillier.
Screenshot of Singson-Michael being introduced as judge during the livestream telecast.
Richelle, daughter of former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, has been described at the pageant as “an Architect by profession, but an aggressive businesswoman by training.”
“She is CEO (chief executive officer) of both Platinum Skies Aviation and FinTech - Casha.me. Markedly, she as Vice Chairwoman of the LCS Group of Companies, led one of the most successful hosting of the Miss Universe Competition held 2 years ago in the Philippines,” her profile at the Miss Universe website read.
Her photo in the website’s selection committee comes first, followed by that of Lhuillier, an internationally-renowned designer born to Filipino parents and who grew up in Cebu City, Philippines.
“Monique has dressed celebrities and important political figures such as Emma stone, Blake Lively, Sandra Bullock, Anna Kendrick, Taylor Swift, Reese Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore, Jessica Alba, Kristen Bell and first ladies Michelle Obama and Melania Trump, among others,” her biography was described as such at the pageant’s site.
Monique and Richelle are joined by other selection committee members Bui Simon, American Miss Universe winner now based in Thailand; Moroccan-American self-made entrepreneur Iman Oubou; Janaye Ingram, Director of National Partnerships for Airbnb; business commentator and entrepreneur Liliana Gil Valletta; and Miss Universe 1992 and entrepreneur from Namibia Michelle McLean.
Pageant critic Sashes & Scripts likened Miss Universe Philippines Catriona Gray to McLean due to their tall height, similar background as a model, and same advocacies for children and education.
A LITTLE bit more than two weeks. Christmas again.
Much could be told or written about all the wonderful places worldwide. A lifetime would not be enough to discover the whole world. Millions of Filipino migrants are still working and living in many countries all over the world. But those Filipinos are so occupied and tired with work, that on a half-day of not working, they don’t even have the energy to go out anymore.
They prefer to rest instead. They work until dawn. There’s even no more time letters or send emails anymore. They get up early next day to do the same activities. Again and again... They fail to appear on dates or appointments even schedules were already set. On the last minute going out on a free half-day, but suddenly guests arrive who need to be served for example. All these and more make it difficult for the OFW’s to find time for themselves.
Christmas time should let us remember and remind of our beloved ones somewhere out there. Being “there somewhere abroad” is something like being in a garden of roses. Everybody is free to pick up flowers, but surely everybody will not find that easy because the roses are on top of the thorns. Being abroad is even more complicated then that.
Indeed, much has been written and talked about homesickness of mind and heart - especially during Christmas season and the time between “yesterday and tomorrow”.
Many Filipinos stay in countries, where deep winter is reigning right now. Wearing three jackets a day, warm winter clothes and, from the start one must be always in top form, not only lively but also elegantly.
Homesickness usually attacks, when “your people abroad” receive unpleasant notices from home, as I heard many saying before :”Problema at magpadala ka ng pera!”
The loved ones oversea even try to save a little amount for airfares just in case they need to come immediately to their families in the Philippines. Many times they consider the difficulty and complication in sending money home. Many times they can’t afford to visit the Philippines for a long time... .
Homesickness comes, when we hear that one if the boys at home doesn’t want to go to school anymore. Homesickness comes when misunderstandings between husband and wife or closed friends arise.
How about me? Sure, homesickness comes also for me, especially during this time. Even living in the Philippines for good since 1999, I am still missing my home country Germany and many people there. Even or especially a cold Holy and Silent Night with deep snow while walking to midnight mass. Season and homesickness... .
Philippines hotel owner Leonard Tirol had watched his native island of Boracay prosper from tourism but also pay a price as crowds and unfettered development soiled their slice of paradise.
So he almost could not believe it when he heard that sea turtles - and even a baby shark - had returned this past month to waters close to the powdery white-sand shores.
"It is like the sea has become alive again," Tirol said.
123RF
Boracay, experts predict, will become a test-case in whether increasingly crowded get-aways across the world can recover from decades of over-tourism and environmental damage.
That is what government planners in the Philippines had hoped for. They are in the midst of an unprecedented overhaul of the island - carting away tons of rubbish and upgrading old sewage and drainage systems - that closed one of the world's most famed beach destinations for six months.
The bold move has won some praise for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, more known for calling for killings of suspected drug dealers than as a champion of the environment.
But experts wonder if the closure - which put 17,000 jobs on six-month contract and cost an estimated US$1 billion ($1.44b) in lost tourism revenue - has been anything more than a feel-good stopgap in a place that was packed with more than 2 million tourists last year.
Since it was reopened late October, travellers have started to return to the palm-fringed island, just three times the size of Manhattan's Central Park, in the centre of the Philippines archipelago.
But the return of vehicles and tour vans has complicated efforts to finish a new drainage and road network.
Meanwhile, businesses have lost millions and complain about some of the new restrictions, particularly on clubs and bars, imposed as Boracay tries to exchange its party-island reputation for something quieter and more eco-friendly. Some have simply packed up and left for other tourism hot spots across the country, moving the tourist strain to other small islands.
Boracay, experts predict, will become a test-case in whether increasingly crowded get-aways across the world, from Mallorca in Spain to Thailand's Similan Islands, can recover from decades of over-tourism and environmental damage.
The issue is increasingly urgent as tourism grows worldwide, fuelled in part by rising incomes in places such as China.
"The question for governments is how do you decide when to reopen these places? And when you reopen them, do you have systems in place to make sure the recovery continues?" said Susanne Becken, director of the Griffith Institute of Tourism in Queensland, Australia, and an expert on sustainable tourism.
"If those systems are not in place, it will go back to what it was before," she added.
The push to turn Boracay around, officials say, was launched when Duterte saw videos of untreated waste and sewage being dumped into the open water. He insisted on sealing the island off totally, decrying it as a "cesspool," according to the accounts.
"He did it. Nobody comprehended that it could be done," said Jonas Leones, the undersecretary for policy and planning at the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources. "But because of the president's desire to rehabilitate the island, and to be an example to other tourists destinations, . . . he declared it closed."
Boracay reopened October 26 with a smaller number of hotels operating and limits on the number of tourists allowed to visit. New rules banned drinking and smoking on the beach, and even building sand castles.
But the island still has the look of a work in progress.
In mid-November, chaos reigned on the road leading from a ferry terminal, the access point for tourists, to a 4 kilometre strip of beach where most resorts and restaurants are located.
Road work has caused snaking, bumper-to-bumper traffic. A total overhaul of the sewage system means underground pipes are exposed. At an area near the shopping hub, D'Mall, there is the unmistakable smell of sewage.
But the white beach itself is pristine - and quiet. Noticeably absent is the blaring music from the bars and nightclubs that had transformed Boracay into a party spot in recent years.
"You hear that? It is the ocean. I can finally hear the ocean again," said Willy Berger, a French diving instructor who has been on the island for 21 years. "The pub crawls, the bars, that's not what we need here."
The island, residents and business owners say, was once a simple place, with an indigenous population happy to live off the natural vegetation, grow rice and travel the island largely on foot.
"It was paradise," said Triol, the hotel owner, who is president of the Boracay Foundation, an association for businesses. "There were no vehicles, not even motorcycles, and we just made it by walking from end to end."
Boracay started opening up to tourists in the 1970s, but most business operators say things really got out of hand in the early 2000s. The island landed on multiple "must visit" lists, and in 2012 was named by the travel review website TripAdvisor as the world's second-best beach, after a small island in the Turks and Caicos.
As hordes of tourists arrived, dozens of hotels cropped up, violating laws and local regulations by building structures too close to the beach, failing to install their own wastewater treatment tanks and connecting their sewage pipes illegally into the drainage system.
The waste - including kitchen water and cooking oil - was flowing out to Bulabog Beach, a popular spot for wind and kite-surfing. Business owners interviewed by The Washington Post brought up widespread corruption that kept this system running, allowing some to flout the rules and degrade the environment while making a tidy profit.
"It would seem that there was a failure of government on the part of the local government," said Leones, the Philippine environmental official.
More than 100 of these hotels remain closed, and some are facing legal action. Some will be demolished. The few that have casinos will have to wind down their gambling operations.
Strict procedures are now in place to ensure that operational hotels comply with local laws, have their own waste management systems and carefully track tourists who arrive. Before taking a short boat ride to Boracay's main jetty, all tourists entering the island must register with authorities, who will ensure that they are staying in an accredited hotel for a predetermined and specified number of days - limiting the number of backpackers, but also preventing well-heeled tourists from extending their vacations.
Authorities are also mulling limiting the number of tourist arrivals by putting a cap on the number of flights that arrive and the number of hotel rooms available.
Tourism authorities in the Philippines, meanwhile, are scoping out other hot spots, like El Nido, popular with divers, and Siargao, a famed destination among surfers, to see if they need to be similarly rehabilitated.
In El Nido, on the island of Palawan, they have found that lagoons are getting dirty and polluted and have warned businesses to abide by laws and get things under control.
"We don't want to close El Nido, just [have businesses] comply with the environmental laws," said Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, secretary of the Department of Tourism.
But experts say other regional examples offer a cautionary tale.
When Thailand closed Maya Bay, made popular by the Leonardo DiCaprio film "The Beach," tour operators just started moving elsewhere, bringing hundreds of new tourists to other islands.
"Dispersal isn't always a good idea, because you expose even more places to tourism," said Becken at the Griffith Institute of Tourism. "At the end of the day, you just can't have a billion or more tourists having an ecotourism experience."
