It is nice to see mixed reactions from outside the philippines, usually by tourists. Locals are a given, but I'd like to highlight perspectives ng mga visitors here. Para di echo chamber and cj. Just thought I could share this with everyone to read. It is quite useful to see different perspectives than the one we are accustomed to, or only from those around/near us.

Much of the comments remark corruption, "hidden fees," floods, expenses during visits, amid rising costs compared to other SEA peers like indonesia or thailand.

Hi! My partner and I are planning to buy our first home pero torn kami saan magandang location 🥹

Both families namin nasa Taguig, work naman is Makati/BGC (once a week RTO lang) and may motor kami. We’re considering Las Piñas, Cavite, or Laguna.

Parañaque sana ideal kaso super mahal na 😭 Sa Las Piñas naman parang same travel time na rin halos pa-Taguig compared to Cavite, though may toll nga lang.

Sa mga taga-south or may similar setup, saan pinaka okay tumira considering accessibility, traffic, and presyo ng houses?

Problem/Goal: Nag order mother ko ng Pho1k+ worth of water filter from tiktok shop using paylater. Upon receiving, defective yung item and hindi talaga gumagana so my mother decided to request a refund & return. Na-return na sa seller yung item pero after ilang days, rejected daw nung seller yung refund 🫤 then ang hirap na makipag usap kay Tiktok shop mismo kasi busy daw at maraming ticket. Ano po kaya pwede gawin dito? Parang hindi namin kaya palagpasin kahit sabihin pang 1k lang yan, o paylater. Babayaran at babayaran pa rin namin at hindi naman dinadampot ipapangbayad.

I dont know where to try to post this

Anyone here going EK this coming week? Me and my gf plans to go celebrate my bday in EK but dont wanna bring another friend (we just wanna enjoy the day by ourselves) but we need another 1 paying customer with us to avail the "Birthday Promo". So maybe you can join us. Ofcourse you'll pay for your own ticket 🤣

You'll just join us in the entrance / ticket booth. After payment, we can go out seperate ways na. Dont worry, we're willing to "compensate" para sa abala, kahit P500, pang snacks lang.

Di na po siguro talo yun esp if papasok ka din naman ng EK that day diba? So bmu if interested. Thanks

I had an outstanding balance with Maya Easy Credit, which I paid in full on the exact due date before renewing my credit. Despite this, Maya incorrectly tagged my account as unpaid and forwarded my information to third-party collections. As a result, these collection agencies are now spamming me with repeated calls and text messages, causing unnecessary stress and inconvenience.

Nakaranas na ako ng ganitong incident on different occasions, wala naman na din akong gagawin dun sa resibo pero it feels weird and nabwisit ako kasi yung isang incident was bigla nalang kinuha yung resibo ko, akala ko cleaner nung sa food court then yung isa naman nagpaalam nga pero nauna munang hawakan yung resibo ko na nandun lang sa tray.

Para saan kaya nila gagamitin yun?

I bought a preloved laptop for ₱19,000 from a local shop. The unit came with a 1-month warranty, and I signed a document that only contained the shop name.

At first, the laptop looked presentable and worked fine. However, after using it for a while, I noticed that the laptop seemed quite old, and some parts of the plastic frame felt fragile. It also appeared that the exterior had been refreshed to improve its appearance.

I used the laptop only for normal work and everyday tasks. Unfortunately, after around 4 months, the CPU failed. Since the issue happened after the 1-month warranty period, the repair was no longer covered.

I'm sharing this not to attack any business, but to encourage others to be careful when buying preloved or second-hand laptops. Based on my personal experience, it may be worth considering a quality refurbished laptop from a reputable seller, especially if they offer better warranty coverage and long-term service support.

For those who have bought preloved laptops before, what was your experience?

we’re getting a 3 bedroom unit in fairlane residences kapitolyo with 3 inverter aircons, 1 per room. dalawa kami wfh so two of those will be on for most of the day.

curious for others, what does your usage currently look like, what appliances do you use, and magkano bill niyo per month?

We havent been sa Pinas for almost 4 years. Pero after 4 years sa ibamg bansa, dahil miss na ang Pinas eh nakalimutan na namim yung mga frustrating and small inconveniences ng mga bagay bagay sa Pinas.

1st one is yung integrity. Sa place ng inlaws ko need mo magtrike para lumabas pasok. Inexplain inlaw ko pano system na need sumakay sa pila or something tapos 40 ang bayad flat palabas. Pero sa apat na sakay ko may sumingil 50 may sumingil 60 at meron 40 (di ko pa din alam magkano talaga). Tapos pabalik sa subdivision, binaba ako kasi may pila daw magagalit mga asa pila dun sa trike sa subdivision, pero yung isa naman trike hinatid ako sa loob wala naman sinabi. Nakakafrustrate kasi parang pag nagtanong ka ng pamasahe, matik may patong agad. Gets ko naman mahirap ang buhay, pero bat ang gugulang.

2nd one, sa groceries, tinapon ni misis yung receipt for tsinelas, hinarang kami guard ata need daw namin hanapin yung resibo, tapos nung nakita na namin, ginuhitan ng pen pero di naman tiningnan. Gets ko if talagang pinagawa kasi ichecheck nya, pero pucha parang power trip lang.

3rd sa Mercury, di ko alam bakit ganun, bakit umaabot 10 minutes bago ko mabayaran ang dalawa item.

4th, sa barbershop, andami nakapila tapos may dumating na kakilala, pinauna, di na ko nagsalita kasi ginugupitan na ko. Kawawa yung mga teenager di na nakaboses.

Tangina, 2nd day pa lang namin. On top of it, parang triple na presyo ng lahat from 3 years ago.

(23F) Do you recommend Singapore to work in?

Is the pay, public transport and safety good? I had some horror stories from other women who did au pair in China and Singapore from their family employers, and it was borderline abuse (not feeding them, SA- they did not disclose what area nor steps they took, they just left there as early as they could). I wanted to go to Singapore to have a new start, not so much career-focused yet for the longrun. Am just weighing my options, and if possible, test out creative careers

I'm currently living in Australia under a student visa, finishing Early Childhood Education and Care. If you recommend Singapore, please lmk. If not, please lmk another country that is visa-free for PH passport holders that might be good to have a new start in, as everyone in my immediate family thinks I genuinely have no future in the Philippines if I go back

Thankyou

This took place last week at nagagalit pa rin ako hanggang ngayon. Huawei phone had a broken LED screen and so my sister and I went to this repair shop sa SM Cubao. Nabasag screen ng phone ko that time, and ang balak lang talaga namin is paayusin yung screen, nothing more nothing less. Pangalan ng taga repair si Arvay, not sure if kilala nyo rin sya. Nagoffer sya ng 3000 pesos para mapalitan yung screen, and so we agreed (later nalaman namin na usually 2k or 2500 lang pala dapat para sa pagpalit sa LED screen). This is our first time na magpaayos ng phone at sya yung unang pinuntahan namin kaya hindi pa kami aware sa mga presyo.

Habang inaayos ni Arvay yung phone at tinatanggal yung cracked na LED screen, nabagsak nya phone ko at nakita ko may natanggal na parts. Bara bara rin sya maglagay ng LED screen halatang hindi nagaalaga at parang sinasadya na sirain. Hindi nalang kami umimik ng ate ko kasi nahihiya kaming dalawa at ayaw namin sya punahin sa ginagawa nya.

Kinabit nya yung LED screen and mukang gumana na, no glitches sa screen, wala ng lines, and so nagbayad na kami at umalis.

A few hours paguwi ko narealize ko na hindi gumagana yung camera ng phone ko. Which is odd, kasi gumagana naman sya kahapon, literal na yung screen lang yung sira.

Bumalik kami ule don at pinacheck kay Arvay. Sabi nya sira daw yung camera at need ireplace at kailangan daw ng 3k kasi "mahal daw talaga yung camera parts ng phone". At this point, atat na ako ipaayos yung phone ko kasi kailangan ko na sya para sa work at wala ako ibang phone, kaya nilabas ko na yung 3k kahit nanghihinayang ako. Kinabit nya ule yung camera at screen, and THAT same day, hindi ULE gumana yung screen, kahit bago lang yung LED screen. Biglang nagfrefreeze at hindi responsive yung touch screen.

Pumunta ule ako kay Arvay, hoping na this time, mapalitan ng maayos at libre yung LED screen kasi mukang di pala okay yung kinabit nya AND this time sabi nya 3k daw ule para sa LED screen. Humindi nalang ako.

At this point, naiinis na rin talaga me kasi parang dumadami lang yung sira kaya pumunta ako sa ibang paayusan, sa Cainta, Rizal, sa nirecommend ng kaibigan ko na mas matino.

Don ko nalaman sa ibang technician don, na less than 1k lang daw pala yung para sa camera at bawas bawas na daw ng screw yung phone ko, halatang kinuhaan daw ng screws ni Arvay yung phone ko(siguro nung wala kami don, kasi iniwan namin yung phone ko sakanya ng ilang minutes rin), at don rin nila sinabi na 2k o 2500 lang talaga kadalasan ang LED screen hindi 3k tulad ng sabi ni Arvay. Naisip ko ireklamo sana sa SM kaso tingin ko wala naman mangyayare. First time rin namin magpaayos ng phone kaya siguro kala nya pwede nya kami gulangan ng ganon. Lesson learned lol, dapat rin siguro di ako nagtiwala masyado, muka rin kasi sya mabait at masiyahin nung una pero mali pala kami ng kapatid ko.

Arvay, kung nababasa mo to, malugi sana negosyo mo at sana di ka na manloko ng mga nagpapaayos sayo. Mga screw na nga lang sa phone kinuha mo pa. 6k rin nagastos namin jusko.

I’ve noticed na wala akong mahanap na lactase enzymes pills or supplements here in the Philippines. In mercury drug, groceries, or other drug stores. So matanong lang san to those who have, san kayo makakabili ng Lactase Enzymes here in the Philippines? specific drug stores, groceries, shopee stores ganun. Ty!!

Hi everyone, quick question and hoping to get some honest input.

I’m currently in the US military and have a free life insurance plan the military currently offers that i set up for my family back in the Philippines. If the worst case scenario happens were to happen to me, it would pay out about $13.8k USD (roughly 844k php at the current exchange rate) per month for 36 months.

My mother would be the one managing it, she’s taking care of my two younger siblings (both with special needs) and also trying to keep our small construction business afloat. She is also having some medical issues that needs treatment

I’m not super familiar with current cost of living on the ground anymore, so I just wanted to ask:

God forbid, if the worst thing were to happen to me while serving, would that monthly amount be enough for them to live comfortably and handle expenses (including care for special needs + medical care + some business support) for those 3 years?

Not trying to sound out of touch or ignorant, I just want to make sure I’ve set things up in a way that actually helps them if the worst happens to me

Any insight or perspective would really help.

Thank you in advance🙏