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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Sunday, June 28, 2026

Celeste Cortesi, Jonathan Sterling answer breakup buzz with romantic posts


Published Jun 28, 2026 01:36 pm

At A Glance

  • Celeste Cortesi and Jonathan Sterling dismiss breakup rumors through sweet Instagram posts after third-party allegations involving Bianca Manalo were denied.

Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi and her partner, British tech millionaire and philanthropist Jonathan Sterling, put an end to persistent breakup rumors by sharing affectionate posts that leave little doubt about the status of their relationship. 

Maps

After weeks of malicious speculation alleging that the couple had split because of a supposed third party, Celeste and Jonathan took to Instagram to remind followers that they remain happily together.

On Thursday, June 26, Celeste uploaded an Instagram Story featuring a collage of sweet moments with Jonathan. Although she did not include a caption, the cozy snapshots spoke volumes, showing the couple enjoying each other's company despite the controversy surrounding them.   

Jonathan later reposted Celeste's Story and accompanied it with a heartfelt declaration that immediately caught the attention of fans.

"The love of my life. Don't let her know, it'll go to her head."

The caption, as with the collage, quickly circulated online, with many netizens interpreting it as the couple's clearest response yet to rumors questioning the stability of their relationship.

The controversy began after an online report claimed that Celeste and Jonathan had allegedly gone their separate ways because of an unnamed third party.

Beauty queen-actress Bianca Manalo was later dragged into the issue after being identified in circulating reports as the supposed reason behind the alleged split. 

However, Bianca's management team at Sparkle immediately denied the allegations.

In an official statement released on June 12, Sparkle GMA Artist Center categorically rejected claims linking Bianca to the rumored breakup, stressing that the accusations had no factual basis.

This is not the first time Celeste has addressed the issue.

As early as June 13, the beauty queen assured the public that everything was fine between her and Jonathan. She also appealed for people to stop spreading baseless rumors, especially since she is currently pregnant with their first child.

She accompanied that statement with a photo of herself and Jonathan smiling and giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

After fruitful Japan stint, Jaja Santiago brings talent to US


Published Jun 25, 2026 02:36 pm

At A Glance

  • Following her long stay in Japan, Jaja Santiago, also known as Sachi Minowa, embarked on her new journey as she inked a deal to play in the League One Volleyball (LOVB) in the United States.
Jaja Santiago (Japan SV.League)
Jaja Santiago (Japan SV.League)
Following her long stay in Japan, Jaja Santiago, also known as Sachi Minowa, embarked on her new journey as she inked a deal to play in the League One Volleyball (LOVB) in the United States.
Santiago, 30, was officially welcomed by the league on its Instagram post on Thursday, June 25, with the 6-foot-5 middle blocker being added in the elite players competing in the US-based tournament.
“Adding a new country to our list: the Philippines! Welcome, Sachi “Jaja” Minowa!!,” LOVB wrote. “Jaja is a talented middle blocker who is a Japanese SV.League Champion with multiple Best spiker and Best blocker awards! Welcome, Jaja!”
Prior to the LOVB announcement, Santiago, one of the country’s top blockers, revealed the development less than a week ago.
The former National University standout was then assigned to a team after her signing was made directly with the league.
Before her move to the United States, Santiago started her professional career when she bannered the Foton Tornadoes in the Philippine Super Liga (PSL) from 2015 to 2018.
Santiago then played in Japan’s SV.League with the Ageo Medics. She later returned to the country for a brief stint in the PSL before rejoining the same Japanese club where she played two seasons.
Santiago went back to the PSL to play for the Chery Tiggo Crossovers when they moved from PSL to the Premier Volleyball League.
She re-signed with Ageo in Japan, followed by her stints with the Osaka Marvelous (2023-25), and Denso Airybees (2025-26)
She won an SV. League title with the Marvelous in the 2024-25 season.
Santiago, now a Japanese citizen, is married to coach Taka Minowa since 2022.

L'Officiel Philippines celebrates a milestone in championing Filipino fashion, beauty, and culture


Published Jun 28, 2026 11:38 am
Since its launch, L’Officiel Philippines has become a platform for emerging designers, artists, and cultural figures to showcase their creative works. Its pages have highlighted the evolving identity of Philippine  fashion through bold storytelling, striking imagery, and thoughtfully curated editorials.
L’Officiel Philippines team toasts to five years of creativity, collaboration, and culture. (Photo: Gab Villareal)
L’Officiel Philippines team toasts to five years of creativity, collaboration, and culture. (Photo: Gab Villareal)
This year, the magazine furthered its mission of championing innovation, individuality, and artistry as it celebrated its fifth anniversary. The milestone was marked with a grand celebration on June 10 at Baked Studios in Makati City, led by the L’Officiel Philippines team, headed by editor-in-chief Loris Peña.
Joaquin Arce and Lella Ford
Joaquin Arce and Lella Ford
Liz Uy
Liz Uy
Michelle Dee
Michelle Dee
Ry Velasco
Ry Velasco
 Charlie Fleming
Charlie Fleming
Ralph de Leon
Ralph de Leon
Yssa Pressman and James Reid (Photos: Paui Guevarra)
Yssa Pressman and James Reid (Photos: Paui Guevarra)
Chie Filomeno
Chie Filomeno
Mikyle Quizon
Mikyle Quizon
Katrice Kierulf and Chezka Carandang
Katrice Kierulf and Chezka Carandang
Kylie Verzosa
Kylie Verzosa
Brent Manalo
Brent Manalo
 Lyn Alumno
Lyn Alumno
The evening gathered the industry’s brightest creatives, tastemakers, and style stars, all of whom arrived wearing their interpretation of the night’s dress code, Creative Black.
As it enters its fifth year, L’Officiel Philippines looks ahead with a renewed focus on storytelling that is more inclusive, more daring, and more reflective of today’s cultural landscape—continuing its mission to define and redefine what fashion means for the Filipino audience.

GMA strengthens regional news coverage in Western Visayas with 'Ratsada Balita'

 


Published Jun 27, 2026 02:12 pm

GMA Regional TV is strengthening its regional news coverage with the launch of "Ratsada Balita," a revamped version of its flagship Hiligaynon newscast "One Western Visayas," beginning June 29.

The rebranding marks a new chapter for the regional news program, introducing a refreshed identity and expanded lineup of news and public service segments aimed at delivering faster, more in-depth, and community-centered reporting across Western Visayas and Negros Occidental.

Leading the newscast is anchor Gerthrode Charlotte Tan, joined by reporters Adrian Prietos, Kim Salinas, Zen Quilantang-Sasa, John Sala, and Aileen Pedreso, who will deliver reports from key areas across the region.  

Beyond its new name, "Ratsada Balita" is introducing several original segments designed to deepen its coverage of local issues.

Among the highlights is "Tatak Ratsada," a mini-documentary segment featuring in-depth reports on pressing community concerns, human interest stories, and emerging regional issues.

Meanwhile, "Ratsada Exclusive" will showcase exclusive reports and special investigations, while "Ipa-Ratsada Mo!" strengthens the program's public service mandate by giving residents a platform to raise complaints and concerns affecting their communities.

The newscast will also feature "Ratsada Express" for breaking news and police reports, "Money-Obra (May Trabaho Ka)" for local and overseas job opportunities and foreign exchange updates, and "Isports Lang," a dedicated segment focused on local and regional sports.

Adding variety to the lineup is "Mga Istorya ni Alyas Kanor," which offers lighthearted and relatable stories drawn from everyday life.

THE WORRIER TAKES IT ALL


"The warrior takes it all" reflects a mindset of total commitment, where a warrior (or a "Warrior of Light") embraces every challenge as an opportunity to learn, grow, and act, rather than acting as a victim of fate. This perspective emphasizes living with absolute discipline, turning obstacles into stepping stones, and accepting one's life—challenges and all—with humility and purpose.


"The warrior takes it all" is a clever twist on the famous song title ABBA – The Winner Takes It All Lyrics. It perfectly captures how worry "takes over" your mind and steals your peace. Everyone worries, but letting a specific concern or anxiety rule your day does not help you win or feel better.


Worries, doubts, and anxieties are a normal part of life. It’s natural to worry about an unpaid bill, an upcoming job interview, or a first date. But “normal” worry becomes excessive when it’s persistent and uncontrollable. You worry every day about “what ifs” and worst-case scenarios, you can’t get anxious thoughts out of your head, and it interferes with your daily life.


Constant worrying, negative thinking, and always expecting the worst can take a toll on your emotional and physical health. It can sap your emotional strength, leave you feeling restless and jumpy, cause insomnia, headaches, stomach problems, and muscle tension, and make it difficult to concentrate at work or school. You may take your negative feelings out on the people closest to you, self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, or try to distract yourself by zoning out in front of screens. Chronic worrying can also be a major symptom of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), a common anxiety disorder that involves tension, nervousness, and a general feeling of unease that colors your whole life.


If you’re plagued by exaggerated worry and tension, there are steps you can take to turn off anxious thoughts. Chronic worrying is a mental habit that can be broken. You can train your brain to stay calm and look at life from a more balanced, less fearful perspective.


Really? Do you let the worrier take over your life and your present situation? A pessimist, a worrier, an alarmist, a license dodger, name it whomever you like. Call some, they are all between us. Maybe her or she or even you?


We hardly count our blessings. We enjoy counting our crosses. Instead of gains, we count our losses. We don't have to do all that counting - computers do it for us. Information is easily had. Especially during these terrible times of pandemic.


Just remember this: Opportunity doesn't just knock - it jiggles the door-knob. and "your friend" - the worrier, is with you day and night, at every corner, following your every step. Complaining and grumbling are good excuses, right? We have time and opportunities to do almost anything. So why haven't we done it? We have the freedom of bondage or restraint, every one of us in his or her very special unique way - but, we're still our old inferior selves.


The job is boring. Even at the present home office. I don't get a good job. The house is an unpleasant mixture of tidy and dirty things. It's a mess. I'm not in the mood to arrange my garden. I can't afford a gardener. That's life. How sad. No, it's not my fault; or course not.


The whole world is an awful place filled with dreadful and horrible negativism. Right now because of the pandemic. Yes, I confess, I'm also surrounded by many worriers who put their fears into me. Politicians, i.e., many times love to search for some grave alarm that will cause individuals to abandon their separate concerns and act in concert, so that politicians can wield the baton. Calls to fatal struggles and fights are forever being sounded.


The overbearing person, who tyrannizes the weak, who wants to dominate and to bluster, is simply nothing else than a worrier, who claims to be a friend. But he or she isn't. Really not! The bullying of fellow citizens by means of dread and fright has been going on since Paleolithic times. The night wolf is eating the moon. Give me silver and I'll make him spit out.


Well, when will we start counting our courage and not our fears, or enjoy instead of our woe? Worrying itself is pointless. Of course, no society has achieved perfect rules of law, never-ending education or unique responsible governments. Let's seek out the worries but avoid the warriors, because they try to avoid liberty.


If you are still worrying right now about something, try to read Jeremiah 29:10-14 or Revelation 21:1-8, just to mention these two. It works. And in my opinion: Let Jesus take over.


It is important to note that while this phrase can describe an intense, focused, and disciplined life, it is sometimes confused with the lyric "The winner takes it all" from the ABBA song. 


No, I don't give up... .And you shouldn't give up too!


From human weakness to greatness

 






By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com


THAT’S what can come to mind as we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Peter and Paul on June 29. They were men with their share of human weaknesses and imperfections and yet they became the pillars and foundational columns of the Church.


We all know how St. Peter was. He denied Christ three times. He received from Christ that most severe and corrective rebuke, “Get behind me, Satan” (Mt 16,23) when he tried to prevent Christ from fulfilling his redemptive mission of offering his life on the cross.


St. Paul was hardly any different. Before his conversion, he aggressively attacked the early Christians. And even after conversion, he continued to be hounded by his weaknesses that at one point, to prevent him from being conceited, he was given a “thorn in the flesh.” (cfr. 2 Cor 12,7)


But what made them great was their faith in Christ and in the power of grace that always triumphs whatever human frailty they had. St. Paul articulated this when he said: “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (Rom 5,20)


The lesson to learn here is for us to know how to convert our weaknesses into the occasion to grow in strength. And the secret is to assume the identity of Christ and his attitude toward all forms of human weaknesses and limitations. He himself assumed our human weaknesses even to the extent of making himself like sin without committing sin, if only to save us from our fatal predicament. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21)


If we would just open ourselves to the possibility of taking that leap of faith to become like Christ who gives us all the means to be so, what may appear to us as an impossibility due to our weakness and limitations can become possible.


We should make St. Paul’s words, “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” (2 Cor 12,10) also as our own, and feel reassured and consoled every time we are hounded and burdened by all sorts of difficulties and troubles, including when we are tempted and fall into sin.


We have to know what exactly St. Paul meant by those words. What we can readily see is that he made all these predicaments a reason for him to go to Christ, to identify himself more closely with Christ who went all the way to making himself like sin without committing sin just to save us. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21)


We have to learn how to react to all these negative and evil elements in our life from the point of view of our Christian faith, and never just from our own estimation of things that would often lead us to be scandalized, to feel bad and discouraged, and to run away from the one who can resolve everything for us, including those problems we cannot anymore resolve.


Our faith in God can still work and function even if we are down spiritually and morally, because it is, first of all, a gift from God who will always give it to us irrespective of how we have been behaving. We should just try our best to receive it and to correspond to it as best that we can.


We need to trust in God’s providence and mercy. We have to learn to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. Yes, if we have faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for us, we know that everything will always work out for the good. (cfr. Rom 8,28) Our weaknesses can be the gateway for our greatness, the greatness of the children of God!


What makes Swiss German sound so different from Standard High German, and how can someone learn to understand it better?


To a Standard German speaker, Swiss German isn't just an accent—it's often as unintelligible as Dutch. The divide stems from a medieval phonetic shift that Switzerland simply ignored.

While Standard German underwent the New High German diphthongization, where long, single vowels split into two sounds—for example, hus became Haus (house), and zit became Zeit (time)—Swiss German kept the original monophthongs. A house is still a Huus, and time is still Ziit. The pronunciation is also distinctly guttural. The hard "k" at the start of standard German words often becomes a deep, throat-clearing "ch" in Swiss German (Kind becomes Chind), famously culminating in the shibboleth for a kitchen cupboard: Chuchichäschtli.

Grammatically, Swiss German strips away complex structures. The simple past tense (Präteritum) does not exist; speakers exclusively use the perfect tense (Ich bi ggange instead of Ich ging for "I went"). The genitive case is similarly absent, replaced by a dative construction so that "the man's car" becomes "to the man his car" (em Maa sis Auto). Vocabulary also diverges sharply, heavily influenced by neighboring France. In Switzerland, a bicycle is a Velo, a sidewalk is a Trottoir, and the standard "danke" is often replaced with Merci.

Learning to understand Swiss German requires treating it as a new language rather than "sloppy" German. A crucial first step is memorizing the vowel shifts. Once you internalize that the Standard German "au" is usually "uu" and "ei" is "ii", thousands of words instantly become recognizable.

Practical exposure is most effective when learners ask Swiss friends and colleagues to maintain the dialect but speak slowly ("Chasch bitte langsamer rede?") rather than switching to High German. Passive listening also trains the ear rapidly. The Swiss public broadcaster SRF airs regional news, talk shows, and comedy in various dialects, providing a steady, predictable stream of vocabulary that helps decode the melody and rhythm of the language.

The spines of the Schweizerisches Idiotikon, an ongoing, multi-volume dictionary project documenting the Alemannic German dialects spoken in Switzerland. Photo by Adrian Michael (Wikimedia Commons) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.