Philippines banking systems are ranked as having high risk factors according to a recent study by Standard & Poor (S&P.) The archipelago was classified among Group 7 nations, with Group 1 as those with the lowest risk levels while Group 10 has the highest risk levels.
(Photo Source: blog.vittana.org)
Lolo, grandpa, my father-in-law is saving snacks for Fernando Poe, Jr. There’s only one problem with that. Fernando, the Philippines’ greatest action hero, is dead. FPJ passed away on December 14, 2004. But that doesn’t dissuade poor Lolo, afflicted with Alzheimer’s, from saving all his munchies for Da King. My wife’s elderly father, 80, has been stashing snacks into the Comfort Room, CR, so Fernando can enjoy a tasty tidbit after taking a pee. 
(Filipino Action King Fernando Poe Jr. Photo Source: ph.omg.yahoo.com)
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) earned a 16-percent increase in income from visa extension fees collected from foreign tourists who visited the country during the first five months of the year. Applications for tourist visa extension rose by six percent from January to May, compared to the same period in 2012.
First of all, sorry for being such a stranger to all in recent months, but since our move here December 12 2012, we have been pretty busy building our dream retirement home here in Paranaque (suburb of Manila).
(Photo courtesy of Scott H)
Starting in August, nationals from 151 countries may now enter the country without a visa and stay here for 30 days, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced. BI OIC Commissioner Siegfred Mison (former Commissioner David has resigned) disclosed that the visa-free entry privilege of the said nationals was extended from 21 days to 30 days … Read more
ILECO's substandard service in Savannah Subdivison, Iloilo, where we reside, is an ongoing problem that is increasingly worsening. I long for the days when I complained about 44 brownouts we experienced from late October 2011 through late June 2012 in a post titled Iloilo's bothersome brownouts.
Discovered some shocking major upgrades at Cousin Emma’s Jade Market in Guimaras during the recent “Babes & Beer Tour.” My wife’s relative in the mango province now has coin-operated tubig (water) and kape (coffee) dispensers! I thought I was hallucinating from too many bottles of San Miguel Pale Pilsen, but it was no alcohol-fueled illusion, the Jade & Joe Michael Mrktg. Store, not to be confused with Emma’s Hollow Block Factory, had entered the modern era.
Leaving Iloilo. Next year. Why? Lolo’s Alzheimer’s. No water. Constant brown outs. After nearly two years in “The City of Love,” and four years since moving to the Philippines, my asawa and I have decided to move back to her home province of Guimaras. I’m fine with that.