As you can see our first apartment is near completion with the internet cafe below we also constructed. Many people complain about local methods and lack of professional service. But lets take a step back a little. The problem in the Philippines is so much skilled labour has gone abroad leaving a skeleton staff. More people of handyman level than skilled labour. But remember your only paying P300 a day (general rate currently in Cebu). Material wise you get what you pay for as long as you have someone monitoring your stocks and mixes. The reason being if your paying P300 which is roughly also what your paying a local contract supervisor there is a high case of people lowering the mix of concrete or stocks being low by the time they reach site. Purely because its how they make the money difference up. Your the wealthy foreigner anyway so why you complaining you can afford it right? Well its something that happens too often and something that can easily be avoided. The Project in the picture has cost me over P500,000 including the computers in the internet cafe. At the same time I have spent time every day to monitor the construction and supervise as well as my father in-law who is not only hard working he also has a knowledge of construction in the Philippines. Cross reference that with my nearly 20 years in the British construction industry working from carpenter and electrician upwards. We have pretty much had a smooth run on the project.

  An important factor on the project was the roof section which is also the floor for the 1st level (2nd level in the U.S.) we used a technique of pouring a slab of concrete over metal sheet. Which is also a technique a lot of sub divisions have adopted. This allows easy pouring without the problems of shuttering. As well as a clean finish. We adopted hollow block on the walls which do have a habit of hairline cracks because of access issues. I would like to use sectional concrete walls on other projects in the future or the poured walls which is another technique. But it all comes down to access and budget. Our projects were based on P160,000 a piece for building construction and we came within that.

But for the future I am also looking to assist others with projects we have our own team of workers here that are already very capable at local level but I am looking to improve the skill as we go. e.g. getting the electrician to change from the single core installations to twin and earth to allow shorting of electrical cables when faulty to trip the mains before a risk of  a fire which is my biggest worry within the Philippines. We wired our buildings the same as the UK for that reason and something I refuse to skimp on. Also mixing traditional local methods with western ones will improve speed and quality of work. There is no point trying to go fully westernised on design and materials etc. because it becomes expensive. Meeting in the middle somewhere that is not only achievable but safe is part of the service we are looking to provide in the future as well as introducing new working practices and techniques with existing materials.

There is also the consultation side of things you may be interested in if you already have relatives etc. doing the construction project. If your just looking for someone to oversee the project every day as well as monitor if your getting value for money. To hire me personally its P20,000 a month which is the going rate within Cebu. Back in the UK I earn upto £350 a day so your getting a lot of skill and knowledge for your money. Why is it so cheap? because im in the Philippines im at home with my wife. The same can be said for house designs etc. everything I can pretty much do or have arranged. There is one difference between asking me and asking someone else and that’s simply I give market value not over and the reason being is my reputation is not only something valuable to me in the Philippines but also in the UK when working there. It is important for me to always provide a better service than anyone else not only for your benefit but the fact is I enjoy my work and expect it to always be grade A.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Lately I have been letting a lot of anti-Filipino talk online get under my skin. From the guy with his retirement village telling people to buy up at least a hectare of land just so they can’t here Filipino Karaoke to the general grumblings of Expats. I just want to say to everyone “don’t forget your a guest”. Immigration fees go up, the TV shows are repeatative and you may think every Filipino you meet is trying to rip you off.. But if that’s the case why are you here?

The TV shows who said you have to watch them? Immigration fees I will give you that but not because of the increases but the fact they regularly change and they don’t keep people informed.

But the Philippines isn’t going to change and that is the fact I live with every day. Getting up to be at the SSS office for 5am just so my wife can get an ID card because they can only process so many in  a day I would here a western answer “why don’t they do overtime?” or “why don’t they get more staff” it isn’t going to happen its part of life here. Processing takes a long time so expect it infact my 13(a) residency visa is already complete and we asked to delay collecting it. It is the laid back attitude which brought so many people here in the first place and you have to take the rough with the smooth. I have neighbours with a multi-cab with excessive speakers which shake the building sometimes. I could complain about it but generally it doesn’t bother me because he is only there 5 mins before he drives off. Last week I had to go out for a break. Will Irwin’s response who I wrote about in a previous article was to buy 2 hectares to basically create distance between him and his neighbours.. The truth of the matter it was his ramblings that irritated me in the first place not the music. Because the truth of the matter its the grumpy old men that are getting under my skin. The constant whining and in fighting between several of them. The fact some will bad mouth others behind peoples backs to cut them out of contract work. I’m not on about my work by the way just something I know that went on between a local translator and two expats. Not sure what the one expat said to the translator but she stopped talking to the other Expat who had work for her. Why? because the one expat has issues with the other. Yet the other Expat it is all water under the bridge. These disputes between Expats are the sort of things why so many fail in the Philippines. The cutting ones nose off to spite the face is something I have seen too much of in the last two years and often why I look to stop writing as I’m disappointed with so many of the Expats that come to the Philippines. What stops me from quitting though is the Filipino community here and abroad who read the blogs because they enjoy my ramblings from a perspective that sort of sits between an Expat and a Filipino. Why my ramblings are a little different is probably due to my upbringing with a military family moving from country to country finding that you live between Military and local people in some sort of balance.

If you want to make a difference in the Philippines while living here teach people who want to learn. I’m not on about lecturing at a college etc. but the education of the kids that roam your area during the day. Maybe they lack the interest or money for education (moneywise schooling is free but all the add-ons cost money as the school uses it to help with its funds) but that is why its more important to teach them things that they will find interesting or useful. Starting with responsibility with such things as anti-graffiti and anti-littering as both of these contribute to degrading an area but also the clearing up of your area will hopefully stimulate others to take responsibility. I am currently just awaiting the concrete work to stop on the external of the Apartment as we will be adding plants along the roadside with fruits etc. free for people who want to pick them offering a small source of food but also cleans up the road a little adding a bit of colour.

It is always easy to be negative and it drags everyone down with it. The truth of the matter is you need to look at how to improve things not make them worse. If your in the Philippines respect that people are different here but at the same time if you want them to change you have to accept you need to change as well. You can hunt down literally thousands of negative posts on the Philippines but isn’t it about time people started posting about what they did to make things better instead?

Popularity: 10% [?]

I recently got someone adding a post into my old blog which is something I don’t mind if the author had even taken the time out to introduce himself before trying to add a cut and paste to an article (spamming). Its also the fact these type of expats are the ones who exploit other expats by false information. The “Retire in Paradise” approach to life but normally at a cost. Inside the post reply came a few links back to the expats site and me being me took a bit of time out to look at it and compare notes from other expats with things that have happened in the past.

BUILD a House in the Philippines?
- Expect minimum $40,000 (not included lot) for only 100 sq mt living area
BUY an existing House & Lot?
- Expect minimum $50,000 for only 100 sq mt living area
RENT a House?
- Expect minimum $300 per month for only 100 sq mt living area
- $600 per month for a beautiful big house

First thing was the pricing (as shown above) build a house for a minimum of $40,000 ? only if you haven’t got a clue what your buying and trusting people like the advertiser. Buying property is relatively cheap here still purely because of the way LOCAL business development hasn’t expanded. i.e. no point having thousands of houses at $40,000 because the local market can’t support the demand most people haven’t got that budget. But someone browsing the net unaware is unlikely to know that right?

But an existing for $50,000 for 100 sq mt ? Well to be honest if your in a sub division in Cebu I would expect to pay around $20,000+ for 100 sq mt. But then again I wouldn’t spend $50,000 purely because it could take years to resell if we decided to move and also the fact its based on Sub-division prices which are simply false pricing because there is no real MARKET VALUE to compare prices. So why spend $50,000 best value for money is to look for a house via Filipinos and not making people aware you are buying. But no doubt our friend advertising these facts will be able to help via his realtor friend at a good premium right?

Rent $300 a month upwards? Well we have a small 1 bedroom house that costs us around $60 a month and I would say most expats are paying more but a lot of it is down to choice and security. I wouldn’t live in a condo or a sub-division but for $300 you can probably squeeze a 2 bed house with enough looking inside a sub or a 1 bed condo. The reason most people rent is not down to the house value but simply you can make more money with the money you would have to pay for the house in the first place unless you went for a mortgage.

So what would my advice be? If your buying be aware there are always hidden faults inside properties and also making sure the deeds match what the people have been paying in tax because often people build without permits which means there are back taxes as well as some hassles with officials although nothing major could cost you a few pesos to make everyone happy.

Going to construct. Will Irwan (the person who replied to the post which is the site I’m taking these pieces from) will tell you not to trust a local builder and to go with a reputable company as there is a 15 year defect liability by law in the Philippines. But what a lot of people don’t realise is that if you want a Western home it costs Western money its not that much cheaper! quality always costs more and I wouldn’t trust anyone with something I am not managing myself. There has been cases of concrete being cut from the mixes so people can make a bit extra on the side. There is a huge hotel outside SM that has stayed unfinished for years because of some of the defects and a problems with cost cutting (cost cutting for stuff the company had already paid for!) if the large companies are prepared to screw over big players what about the new expat on the block? Paperwork is simply that.. PAPERWORK you want a good builder they come with recommendations and previous jobs you can inspect. Balls to all the certificates and guarantees. Same in the UK how many Corgi Plumbers are cowboys? Infact a local borough council in the West Midlands carries the Corgi stickers on its vehicles yet it doesn’t have one Corgi registered plumber. The stickers are old. So who can you trust in the Philippines a lot of the time its down to you and Google.

The thing is to take your time every person I have met with an investment opportunity of a life time for example Will Irwin is also talking about his $30,000 investment returning $1,000 a month for investing in Nuts as a pretty much guaranteed thing because they are hurricane resistant etc. etc. but nobody mentioned drought which is one thing I have heard from a few expats who got involved with Mahogany they simply ran out of water and died losing the entire investment. Or David Whittle with his hard sell on the Legacy group very pushy to get people to invest as it was a “guaranteed” income of easy money and even if it went bad the money is covered by PDIC insurance right? Well if that was the case he and many others wouldn’t be struggling to get money back that they invested.

  Your probably thinking I’m a bit negative on this post and its more to do with a wake up call for people who are arriving. Don’t trust people around you! Because they invested in something doesn’t mean its going to work out as they could be blind to it as much as you are except you are buying into their trust. If your wanting to buy a house and want to pay extra go via a realtor but to be honest I would rather take the time out and spend a couple of months looking myself and getting something at the right price. Your time looking would probably pay you off financially because realtor = commission but remember the commission is based on SALE PRICE which is why you can often see people paying upto 3 times the real value of properties. We were at the doctors yesterday and the doctor had her long list of Vitamins she wants to sell us because they are “essential” but the essential has two different meanings. Essential to her making money off us to help pay for her next free cruise from the company she sells for. Essentially I see little value or use of vitamins unless there is a shortage within someone’s body of a specific type and even then there is the old fashioned way of eating healthy.

Building property I wouldn’t advise for anyone with no knowledge or patience. You need to take time to monitor the quality and also the methods being used. Often some things don’t make any sense and its partly these reasons I am looking to start our own construction company in the future. Not because I want to “get rich” off expats but we are building our own properties and it just makes sense for us to build properties for others along the way. Nothing wrong with Will Irwan making money with his company and I wish him all the best. But most of these old guys I have met offering advice to others are out to make money as its how they manage to retire in the Philippines in the first place. In the last 2 and a half years I have been in the Philippines I have learned I trust the foreigners less than I do Filipinos. There are good amongst both groups but the conversations I have had with other Expats recently out of frustration have all come back with the same response.

So if your coming here to retire etc. look after your money because if you don’t someone else will. If you want a genuine friend and advice I offer both as a friend I would tell you the Philippines offers a wonderful life if you embrace it and keep your head screwed on at the same time. As an advisor if you have enough money to retire just find some small investments in the Philippines you can do yourself or with someone you really can trust. But most importantly something that will not destabilise your pension and living ability. If you have large amounts of money (above P3m) I would simply find something outside the country to do with it that is secure we are in difficult financial times worldwide and markets change in an instant. If anything I would probably advise buying a home in the UK for example and renting it out. It gives stable income and somewhere to go back to if things don’t work out. If your coming without a stable pension or income I would simply say keep your job in your home country and visit first and get to understand the country. Making an income is possible but not easy. Getting to grip with how things work is time consuming but can be done. Cost cutting and setting goals would probably be your only real viable way of doing it for a big move. What ever you read above or in any articles just think about whatever it is your reading. If it seems too good to be true or complete bull your opinion is the most important. Its your life, your money, your retirement.

Popularity: 20% [?]

I have been investing money into Kiva.org while I was in the UK from money I was getting in my PayPal account from various things that I do and I wasn’t in a rush to receive the money. Kiva you can add money and lend to Entrepreneurs in developing parts of the world to help them get a lift up. You lend them money at 0% interest which I have no problem with as its pretty much as good as any UK bank will give me interest on savings. So all was fine until I noticed that there is some small print that I clicked on by accident that “Self-sustainability is critical to creating long-term solutions to poverty, and charging interest to entrepreneurs is necessary for microfinance institutions to achieve this. Our Field Partners are free to charge interest, but Kiva will not partner with an organization that charges exorbitant interest rates. We also require Field Partners to fully disclose their interest rates. You can find more information about the interest rates that Kiva’s field partners charge on our Field Partner pages: http://www.kiva.org/about/partners”.

So I started to look at “Kiva`s business partners” that I had loans out on and the rates they charge :-

Alalay sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI) average interest = 50%

Community Economic Ventures, Inc. (CEVI), part of VisionFund International = 34%

Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Inc. (NWTF) = 34%

Ahon sa Hirap, Inc. (ASHI) = 47%

Paglaum Multi-Purpose Cooperative (PMPC) = 48%

The majority being above 40% interest wouldn’t you love that on your bank account? Also bearing in mind a lot of the loans are several months I think my longest is 14 months so it would see at least 40% interest on my money.

Why I am I complaining? Because its not “CHARITY” this is business and I am tired of people hiding under the umbrella of a charity organisation. This is 100% business these people are money lenders not some people with a divine purpose in life which is what they try to hide behind. Money lending is part of life here in the Philippines and a daily part of ours. The thing about financing in the Philippines is the general public those who are the ones who need access most pretty much cant borrow money from banks as they have nothing the banks need. So getting credit is expensive because you can only really get it from the money lenders or micro-finance organisations. What about collections would this justify the high interest? To be honest the Philippines operates in a more “village” type environment which basically means you don’t have to go far and no doubt the lending organisations on Kiva will have field agents who do the collecting or receiving. Either way they are making a lot of money off other peoples good gestures. It may sound a bit odd but even if you loaned out a small amount remember that Kiva.org have millions of pounds and dollars donated on there to these loans. The lending partners take none of the financial risk but all of the gain. All I can see is that we are being taken for a ride. Rural banks used to offer interest rates of upto 20% in the Philippines if you locked in your savings for 12 months you can see why now. I am still able to get around 10% savings on a rural account but currently our money is invested in other projects which are more viable and unlikely to disappear overnight like the Legacy collapse.

So what is my answer to helping others? I think personally there are only a couple of real options. The first is “do it yourself” and the other is something I am looking at with the Aquaponics as a “home kit”. Now me being me I would look to in the future that if you sponsored a kit for someone to start producing fish and plants that they would repay the money back to you over a period of time once they have learned how they can make money from it. That way you can either “donate” or get your money back its upto you. The reason I loaned out on Kiva in the first place was its people who are willing to help themselves and anything I do “real charity based” the backbone of the idea is that something comes out of it for everyone. Ideally you get your money back and the people who are doing whatever it is they are doing get a business they can develop. Taking it a stage further things like jewellery you could become a selling agent and even take a commission on at the same time helping others. But at that stage it would have been already a completed “starter cycle” and you would be dealing with each other as a business.

Its about time people started questioning where they send money to and what it really gets spent on. I know its common for “administration” and “processing fees” to swallow up the majority of money donated to so called charities who are in reality companies. My question to you would be if your making money off the back of poverty what interest is it to you on ending it? You would be putting yourself out of the gravy train that keeps you in a nice comfortable state of limbo or even making you rich.

Don’t get me wrong I do business ventures aswell the difference between those though is they are purely business. The charity projects that I am currently doing with the Aquaponics are to help relatives increase incomes within the family that will be expanded out once I get to grips with it. The important point about this post though was to get across double check where your money is going!

Popularity: 53% [?]

Its that time again in the Philippines where ambushes and shootings happen. Election time taking a seat in power even for one term is something that can set a family and relatives up financially for life and this year will be no different. I have posted a recent Sun and star article at the bottom of this post but just wanted to give another few facts before you read it.

2007 – mid term polls for Congressional and local positions has so far resulted in 75 election related murders.

“The PNP, as of May 1 the fatalities included two lawmakers (congressmen), a vice-governor, two mayors, three city councilors, 19 village chairmen and 16 village officials.” Senior Supt. Samuel Pagdilao Jr added that, “Another 32 casualties were supporters of the political candidates or civilians who happened to be in the area when the attacks took place.”

Police officials however are quick to point out that 75 election related murders however violent this may seem is actually an improvement over past elections. “The number of casualties is still low compared to the 189 reported killed and 279 wounded in the 2004 campaign period”. PNP Spokesman Gen. Pagdilao clarified; overall the situation has improved since the last election.

but lets bring it forward to this year. Already there have been 57 deaths and the elections are just starting to warm up. The other thing I have seen including in the trial of one of the people responsible for the massacre in which 57 people died in Maguindanao is that there is no remorse. Have even seen it in children throwing rocks at dogs for fun, if there is no feeling there then there is no remorse or even thought of being in the wrong. Its an accepted part of life and this is why I would advise people to stay away if planning a trip to the Philippines until later in the year once the dust settles. Most things will no doubt be safe and stable but I cant say “come to the Philippines” when I cannot assure people of being safe while visiting here. Especially as tourists as you are more likely to wander into something you shouldn’t it will still be here later in the year and would be a bit milder in weather in September – December and still hot. So if you can wait please do..

Sun and Star Newspaper :-

CEBU CITY — With a lot of uncertainties on the poll automation process and the integrity of its results, a human rights lawyer urged journalists and policemen to prepare for what could be the country’s bloodiest elections.

That, as some 35 community journalists from all over the country adopted a covenant and approved a set of guidelines that will help ensure a safe and balanced reporting of the May 10 polls.

Lawyer Harry Roque said it will be especially difficult for journalists to cover the first automated elections, since there is no guarantee that the government will keep them safe, as what happened in Maguindanao last November.

Roque is an assistant professor of the University of the Philippines College of Law, and is the legal counsel of the relatives of the Maguindanao massacre victims.

In a Philippine Press Institute (PPI) seminar last Wednesday, he noted several flaws in the country’s poll automation, which he said could result in violence.

He said since there is limited transparency in the counting of votes by the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, candidates may claim they were cheated.

Roque said in manual elections where people saw how the counting was done, some candidates did not concede defeat, resulting in violence.

"More so where you have no way of verifying how the vote was conducted… So my warning to journalists is the same warning I gave the policemen. Beware, this is potentially, probably the bloodiest elections that we will have. Although you have the obligation to be where the news is, remember too what happened to your colleagues in Maguindanao," he told journalists.

And since the machines will do the counting, it cannot be ensured that all the votes were properly counted, he said.

Roque was one of the speakers in the PPI seminar-workshop on civic journalism "Ready for the Elections" held in this city from February 2 to 5.

Some 35 community journalists from all over the country attended the workshop.

"Filipino journalists should be aware that the Philippine government has always been in breach of its obligation to protect life. You should be aware that sometimes the practice of your profession is in fact coming in harm’s way without any protection from the State. Therefore, journalists should also give premium on their own lives, without necessarily compromising their obligations as professionals," he said.

Regional Election Director Ray Rene Buac, also a speaker in the seminar, reiterated the assurance given by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson and a Smartmatic-TIM representative that the machines will not have pre-encoded results.

Buac also told the participants that the machines will count only the votes for the corresponding candidate, unless the ballot is rejected or the votes are considered invalid due to over-voting or under-voting.

Another concern that threatens the safety of journalists, Roque said, is the absence of guidelines on how to file an election protest.

Without a legal remedy by which a losing candidate can protest election results in a peaceful manner, defeated candidates could resort to violence, he said.

While the remedies are provided for in the Omnibus Election Code, the code is intended for manual elections.

Meanwhile, barangay officials will help inform and gather Mabini and Bulacao residents identified by Comelec as participants in the mock elections on Saturday.

The barangays will also help secure the PCOS machines that will be sent to the two areas Friday.

Bulacao barangay captain Jose Gabiana said they will guard the machine, which will read the votes cast during the elections and electronically send the results to the canvassing center at the Cebu City Social Hall.

Cebu City south district Elections Officer Edwin Cadungog said the 50 participants from Bulacao are representatives of the various sectors of society, including the youth, women, senior citizens, and even those who are considered "illiterate" voters.

He will also ask members of the media who will cover the mock election in Bulacao to pick a representative to join in the exercise.

The PCOS machines for the elections would be transported Friday for Saturday’s elections that would start at 7 a.m. and end around 10 a.m.

Cebu-Citizens’ Involvement and Maturation in People’s Empowerment and Liberation (C-Cimpel) executive director Marilou Chiongbian, meantime, said the fears and doubts of voters about the automated polls are understandable and "very normal."

Although they are monitoring the preparations for the automated elections, they are also preparing for a possible shift to the manual elections.

On Saturday, they will send member-lawyers headed by Judge Gabriel Ingles to witness the conduct of the mock polls in Cebu City.

C-Cimpel, she said, has been conducting since September an orientation to prepare voters in the parish level all over Cebu for the automated polls. This is in addition to the election watchdog’s values education efforts. (LCR/With RHM/CYR/Sun.Star Cebu)

Popularity: 59% [?]

One of the first things I noticed with friends was that a lot are paranoid about visiting the Philippines because of Kidnappings, terrorism and just general security issues. But what I find in the Philippines is that unless your looking for problems its unlikely anyone will bother you unless the obvious “your in the wrong place”. Which is why if your going on holiday or making the trip to meet a loved one its important you research the area you are going to especially at the moment with the elections underway. There is a gun ban currently in place in the Philippines to reduce some of the killings prime example of “political murders” was the story that hit the media earlier in the year in Maguindanao which resulted in the bloody murder of 57 people. It isnt normal on such a large scale in one area but it is normal for killings involving politically motivated people running for power to attack each other so just be aware of it and stay away from anything politically motivated.

Almost 100,000 police and soldiers are being deployed across the Philippines in an effort to prevent political violence ahead of May’s elections. They will staff checkpoints aimed at enforcing a total ban on guns and limiting the size of the security escorts necessary for politicians. Their efforts will be focused on more than 500 areas identified as hotspots. Hopefully this will help reassure you in the next few months your trip will be pretty safe. But also be aware most people have little interest in foreigners except to sell you something, proud that your visiting the Philippines and want to know about you and where you come from. Or romantically interested pretty much everyone I have met have been friendly only grumpy or annoyed people I have met have been Expats whining about trivial matters.

Although people complain about corruption in government offices and the Police you “dont” have to feed the problem I see a lot of people at immigration paying for “express” routes for visas but often wonder why they bother. Because if you arrive early your processed quicker before it gets busy. If your inpatient and in a rush all the time the Philippines isnt for you. Also if your going to slip one of the crocodiles money (called crocodiles by Filipinos because they generally wear Lecoste polo shirts). You might as well pay a travel agent to do it for you and just collect your visa from them instead. Because most of the people who do use these services are ripped off even for a bribe because the people involved are very aware they are “first timers” or tourists. Either way people they can double or treble the normal fee. You can also organise all the Visas via the Philippines embassy in your home country before you leave but it does involve paperwork doing it “locally” in the Philippines can bypass most paperwork just because of the more relaxed attitude.

The important factors are to stay out of trouble this is election year and you could end up as the bad foreigner being prosecuted by the local knight in shining armour a local politician. Just stay safe and avoid things that your not 100% about.

Popularity: 66% [?]

I have recently started to look at medical costs as with small children its not really something you can avoid. But speaking with other expats its not just the fact that overpricing is used a lot for foreign nationals but misdiagnosis and tests for 101 things just for the sake of charging for it seem to be the norm. Top that with the “commission” that doctors are making off medication. It starts to make you wonder if your best doctor is in fact Google. A friend of mine was seriously ill and it took four different doctors until he got the correct diagnosis what if he had believed the first one? at worst it could have killed him. Another friends child was sick and was suffering a basic stomach bug but was taken to the doctor just “incase” it was more serious once they got there the child had improved but the doctor was still keen to run lots of tests with charges attached to them. What about something a bit more serious such as heart surgery? someone else I know went initially and was diagnosed with medication to be quickly upgraded to surgery after a more senior doctor had pulled his doctor to one side realising there is a lot more money to be had in the surgery than just giving out medication.

   I reported before about April and Zoei`s doctor who was proud of the fact she got free cruises from a vitamin manufacturer for meeting her “sales” targets just before ripping April off for P5,000 for vitamins not worth P500. There is no silver lining in these facts as I have yet to find one. Ok its cheaper than you would get in Western countries and its available quickly if you have the money. But my question would be what if you didn’t need it? or are doctors doing it just for profit?

Funny thing is even in the UK I have been misdiagnosed with a sprained ankle which was actually torn tendons. A friend of mines mother was a bit more severe she was diagnosed with indigestion and should sleep it off. When she was actually having a heart attack and died.

For me I will stick to my Google and finding our own remedies as it seems more reliable and definitely a lot cheaper. Its a sad state of affairs when your worried about your health being taken care of and if it will be really taken care of or exploited. Aprils finds me a bit odd with letting the body heal itself as I often do and my refusal to go to a hospital even with serious illnesses such as Dengue but a quick Google and you will find that Dengue “doesnt have a cure” so why would I want to sit in a hospital bed with a little counter wracking up a bill for people who cant help me? In reality though the “milk milk” plant which grows locally is a cure that worked for me. Why isnt it a cure you can buy on the market already? you asked the right question because it needs to be able to go into a form that can be sold such as tablet or injection form and they havent managed it yet.

Popularity: 53% [?]

Im normally very positive and upbeat but my constant battle of trying to use common sense isnt working as to planned. The last few weeks have kept me constantly bugged about something. The internet connection that is barely connected to the internet, the PC company that doesnt even understand why I am annoyed about them sending broken monitors to me and me having to pay to send his junk back to him. Or the difficulty of sourcing various equipment parts that seem to end up a day in the city, money wasted on fuel and eating out to find we cant find it or its out of stock. Is it time to go back to the UK?

Personally im bloody minded and stubborn. I will just sit back have a beer or two and wake up in the morning and keep going until it eventually works. But I do understand why so many others do give up and head home. I hear regularly “this is the RP not the UK” when I ask why some things are so difficult when its just plain common sense but nobody ever says im right or its about time it did get updated, fixed or replaced because culturally people are used to things being so dis-functional and long winded. By the way this isnt a gripe on things “locally” on my day to day life this is business related as having a few things done are critical to making the netcafe a success and its the problems generated by a poor supply chain and quality of service which could kill the business. I dont mind failures that are of my own making because I can say “at least I tried” but when its down to poor performance such as Smart Bro or the lack of supply of certain components it is frustrating to say the least.

So if your looking to open a business in the Philippines there is an extra factor that isnt normal to business which have these extra issues :-

1. People arent in a rush to sell you products and often you will struggle to locate certain things.

2. Service is more like “self service” as often they will try to just get you off the phone rather than deal with the problem.

3. Some services dont exist in certain regions due to the way permits and regulations work. So dont assume because just down the road they have something that it will be in your area as well as you could well be in a seperate town etc. under different permits.

4. Time is not a measurement unless you mean “sometime”.

This has been about my most negative post I have written and although its airing frustrations I think its also important to share that not all life in the Philippines is easy going and straight forward.

Popularity: 56% [?]

We were advised by Smart Bro to go for two of their smart Bro share it systems for an internet cafe :-

The only people smiling on this product are actors and sales reps. It shouldn’t say up to 2mbps but “Nowhere near 2mbps”. Ok speed is poor inconsistent and unreliable but that is only part of the problem. The way the system operates by what seems like a “shared IP” address creates problems I have never seen before. Firstly you cant open a new hotmail account for example as “you have already reached your daily limit” which actually means the thousands of other customers have reached the limit for you. Then there is the Ping problem. I visited a site for Counterstrike to test this and it came up with a ping of 1000 maybe some of you out there who are on dial up can confirm its lower on dial up?

Advantages of the product is you can “share it” but if you take a smart bro canopy system you can “share it” by simply adding a router. The problem with my dilemma is that the internet cafe was based on INTERNET connection and due to Smart Bro not holding up their end of the bargain is it time to visit a lawyer for selling a system that does not reach its customers needs and requirements?

One thing is for sure I’m not being locked into an 18 month contract that is already breached by Smart Bro. Worth a visit to here if your already stuck with this service.

One thing I do have on my side is spare time and if they get awkward I will be standing outside their sales offices giving away free T-Shirts with don’t buy Smart bro -  Share it but with a slightly modded version of the advert with the logo don’t buy Smart Bro Share it.

I rarely get annoyed with things but I was relying on this service as we currently don’t have DSL available on the telephone lines in the area unless I move to the main road which isn’t something I am planning to do in the near future.

Popularity: 58% [?]

We have recently bought some surplus computers from a company in Manila called OpenPinoy which to be fair are cheap. The problem is by the fact we had to send 3 monitors back out of the 12 we bought they don’t seem to check any of the equipment to see if it actually works. On top of that we have to shoulder the burden of the costs in both directions. Now its not really a moan post but more of a thing to be aware of as like most companies these days once they get your money or tie you into a contract your the last thing they have an interest in. Our new internet connection has also been lousy but it seems its more to do with the fact of the ISP being over subscribed than anything else which is something I experienced in the UK with Bulldog (after 6 months still no internet). Its not just the fact the items are faulty or just don’t work at all but the attitude of the companies that go with it.

A friend of mine a while back was talking about British people and how they react with companies. That if they manage to break the stranglehold of a badly performing company they are not only unlikely to never go back they would rather pull their own teeth first. Which is partially true, I will never use the HSBC bank and if they buy a bank I’m with I will swiftly change my account to another bank.

Companies have become arrogant which is why there is opportunity out there for business development. I hear people tell me of looking for Niche markets but why not look at one that can be managed better or possible to steal customers easily. There are a lot of things we do because we are stuck with one provider. If there is something that can be developed out of someone else`s poor performance then I can only say they have themselves to blame. Will I be using OpenPinoy in the future? Well to be honest I offer this advice which someone else told me. If buying Surplus machines try to go branded as there is a good chance an “original” Windows operating system came with it and Emailing the company is likely to get you the software for free (as it was already paid for by HP/Samsung for example). Don’t buy TG from OpenPinoy as they didn’t come bundled and I struggled to get an email response out of TG. It was only by contacting TG in the U.S. who then supplied me an email of TG in Korea that I managed to get a single response that  was useless. The Power supply leads supplied by OpenPinoy are not only very short but don’t fit the monitors properly due to thin casings on the input side to the monitor/transformer. Lucky enough I had spare I brought from the UK no point asking them to replace “incorrect” leads. The only real benefit of OpenPinoy is its cheap I wont buy new machines from them as its comparable to what I would pay locally and I really want a machine that is operational and tested. What I couldn’t believe is they tried to sell me Windows 7 for the TG machines that are way under Spec for that O/S and no doubt once they took my P2,500+ per machine would have no intention of refunding when it didn’t work properly. I do have a contact in Cebu that will do “legal” installs of XP Pro if anyone is interested for P1,000

Popularity: 42% [?]