Live in the Philippines

Live in the Philippines helps expats with visas, moving and other services regarding the Philippines.

EAM – Multi-topic

Health, How to Move to the Philippines, Money Matters, Podcasts, Safety, Travel / by

Today’s Expat Answerman Podcast is a little different. Today we cover several different topics and it is a longer episode than we have been doing. Let me know what you think. Do you like a podcast with several topics, or do you prefer a shorter podcast that focuses on one question and answer per episode?

Today we start out with an update about PhilHealth for foreigners. This information adds on to what I shared in my article a little while back, 2017 PhilHealth Update, where I talked about PhilHealth coverage for foreigners living in the Philippines.

After the PhilHealth update I have two questions today. Last week Ken asked about converting US Dollars into Pesos and today Ken is back again with a follow up question asking where he should keep his money to avoid theft. I give Ken a few tips on how he can best avoid robbery, pick-pocketing, and other such problems in the Philippines. Next up, Tommy submits a very short question about what to focus on if you want to move to the Philippines. Well, Tommy’s question was very short, but my answer was pretty long! Lots of things you need to focus on! If you are unsure where to focus, listen in and you might also be interested in my book How to Move to the Philippines Manual, and I can also offer you consulting services to make your move very smooth!

 

So that is today’s episode of the Expat Answerman podcast! Please do give me feedback on your preferences – longer or shorter episodes? Multiple Questions or one subject per episode?

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Thanks again for listening, everybody!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Bob – thanks for the podcast. My wife and I enjoyed your message and were nodding in agreement all the way thru. Especially the big move focus items. We are actually sitting here in US awaiting the movers to come tomorrow to pack our household goods and ship a container to Philippines. We have been planning for this move for the past 7 years, so hopefully the “adjustment” will be successful. We are excited to finally see this come to fruition and get back home to be with her family. In the meantime I am studying your Bisaya lessons, the last item on my move “to do” list. Your lessons are well laid out, I recommend the full course package to anyone wanting to make the adjustment easier. You provide a great service Bob. Thanks again.

    • Hello Shawn, thank you very much. I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the podcast. Funny that you were listening to it while waiting for the movers to come, that’s really great. I hope your move goes very smoothly and successfully. Thank you for your kind review of my language course, that was very nice of you. I do feel that learning the language is a big step toward happiness when you move to the Philippines.

      • hello Bob . i need some help .i am stay for philippine overstay since 6 year without visa and extention. i lost my old documents inculuse my passopord .i got now new passopord and i want to stuyd here in philippine for medicine . how can i clean or to solve since i stay 6 year in philippine without visa and extention. even i never got visa since i come in philippine . but i want to order new extention then process visa student without deported plz any help bro .

        • Sorry Rooney, you have some big trouble ahead. Having overstayed for 6 years, you will be deported, and you will likely also have to spend some time in jail. If you come in as a tourist and stay more than 12 months without getting an extension deportation is automatic.

              • you mean. if i pay for penalties then i can back again in Philippine
                . then i can process new extension or like if i want visa student . because i want to know if i can back to Filipino if i pay penalties .my plan to study here .

              • No, that is not what I mean at all. I have very clearly answer your question several times. Because you have overstayed so long, you will be blacklisted and will not be allowed to enter the country again.

  3. A ” Money Belt ” can be a secure place to keep money. I used one on my first visit but after that I stopped using it and have never been robbed although as usual I keep aware of my surroundings and use common sense.

    • Hi Bob – I agree that getting robbed here is not nearly the “sure thing” that many people seem to think it is. It is actually uncommon. Of course in certain places it is probably a lot more of a risk, but that is true anywhere in the world. A money belt could be one more place to spread money around on your body!

  4. Very nice sound quality on the podcast Bob. I am using a Pioneer SA-750 amplifier and a pair of Tannoy Mercury M2 Monitor Speakers.

  5. Hi Bob, just a minor correction to a piece of information you gave in your great podcast. The max stay in the Philippines as a non resident is 36 months, so if you arrive as a balikbayan for your first year and then convert to a tourist visa you can only obtain a futher 24 months making a total of 36 months. Not plus 36 months as you said in your podcast.

  6. Bob,
    My two cents is….shorter one topic pod casts are what I prefer. Other than that the content is great.

  7. It’s funny, but, I never gave a single thought about actually being robbed while I was over there. Sure, I had a few small-time con artists slightly over-charge me for helping get me & my luggage to my final flight from Manila, but, it saved me a lot of wandering around since I was still half asleep, and, in reality, it wasn’t very much money (at least for me it wasn’t; not even close to $10 USD). Besides, I’d much rather someone WORK to con me out of some money than just outright steal it any day of the week :p

    Both of the places I stayed were quite safe. Plus, I never keep money in obvious places, either on my person, or in my room.

    I also learned something interesting. If you focus on something long, and hard enough, it becomes real. So, if you’re constantly focusing your thoughts on being robbed, you will be. That was what I kept hearing in the first caller’s voice. He’s TOO concerned with being robbed, and, if he’s not careful, he will actually end up creating THAT reality by accident.

    The other thing is that I am almost always aware of my surroundings, and, even when I’m not consciously paying attention, my sub-conscious is. The other thing is that I don’t act the way most Americans in foreign countries act. I don’t have my chin up in the air, and try to stand in a Batman or Superman pose like some of the others I’ve seen doing. I just try to blend in and be as inconspicuous as possible (even if I AM larger and paler than everyone else :p ).

  9. It’s actually the message in the Sermon on the Mount. Too many people paraphrase that to say “The thought is the deed”, but it’s more than one thought, or even a conscious thought.

    To illustrate, I was in a car accident in 1994 where i was rear-ended by a drunk in a car traveling at a very high rate of speed. He hit the left rear corner of my car, so it went spinning until it hit the curb, then flipped over on it’s side, and skidded until it hit a telephone pole and wrapped around it.

    To me, everything from the moment of impact happened in very slow motion. And, it turns out, NOT wearing a seat belt had saved my life many times over. Somehow, when the car flipped onto it’s side, I was standing on the door with my arms outstretched holding myself in place.

    There are some funny things that I realized during the accident as well, but, long story short (if that’s even possible with me :p ), I wasn’t badly hurt. Sure, my back was a little messed up, probably from pulling myself out of the driver’s seat during a high rotational spin which probably made me weigh considerably more at the time. But, I was alive.

    Because everything had happened in slow motion, I was able to remember everything I was thinking during the entire incident. I was concerned where the car was going to end up and how badly hurt I might be, but, NEVER ONCE did I think, even as a fleeting thought, “OMG I’m gonna die”.

    And, honestly, between that, and a guardian angel that’s been watching me for over 6 decades, I walked away (after I busted out the sunroof to crawl out since the car was on the driver’s door with the roof wrapped around a telephone pole).

    It’s like the people who dream they’re falling, and die in their sleep. They say that if you don’t wake up before hitting the ground you’ll die of fright. Ok.

    However, my dreams are extremely vivid, and there have been a couple of times where I fell off a mountain, or a cliff, and hit the ground, and I’m still here. One time, when I hit the ground, I simply started running. It’s like a part of me doesn’t believe in death, so it can’t frighten me, even in my dreams. Even in life, I’m not actually afraid of death; I have much more fear of living in severe pain for the rest of my life :p .