Philippine Peso Exchange Rate
Local Ezine for July-August 2011EditorialThe last two months seem to have flown by – and with the horrendous amount of rain we’ve had around Angeles City and all over the Philippines, I think most of us were glad to see the back of June this year! First up, please note that if you want to take advantage of the low price introductory offer on our ‘The Philippine Expat Survival Guide’, the offer ends on 5 July – so if want a copy at the special price of just $14.99, get it now from www.expat-survival-guide.info The last two months have been busy here at Able Ads. We’ve taken around a thousand food and ingredients photos for the three Lina’s Kitchen cook books due out at the end of July, and also developed our first two video ads: Philippine Expat Guide, and PNG Expat Guide. (If you like these video ads, please remember to click the like button on You Tube). Work is also soon to start on Tom Henry’s new Expat Survival book, so it looks like we will also be busy for the next two months. Grandview Tower Set for Opening It appears that the incessant rain has not stopped or deterred the owners of Grandview Tower from surging ahead in their efforts to ensure that Angeles City’s first major up-market condominium and restaurant is completed and operational as soon as possible. Chef Nicholas tells Angeles Xtra that the Grandview café, bars and restaurants – including their long awaited fine-dining restaurant - will be opened in sequence, hopefully starting at the end of July. So put make sure to add that to your calendars. Chef Philip is also confident that the Grandview BYOB, affordable fine-dining, which he made so popular at Yats International, will begin by the end of July. As a regular of the Yats BYOB, I must admit I’m looking forward to trying out the new venue in the heart of Angeles rather that out at Yats on Mimosa, Clark. Angeles Xtra will bring you a restaurant review of the new Grandview restaurant, and an article on the Grandview, and Chef Nicholas in our next issue. Human Trafficking Raids June has seen a large number of police raids on Angeles City nightclubs. All of the press reports are stating that the raids ‘rescued 100 women,’ although some reporters did admit that none of the women thought rescue was the correct word! An official was also quoted as saying that some of the ‘rescued’ girls were underage, and the Philippine government has a new initiative to stamp out this human trafficking by arresting all those involved. We all believe that human trafficking is wrong and that the forcing of anyone away from their home and into the sex industry must be stamped out. However, one has to ask why it is again just the girls and nightclub managers that have been arrested. If the girls have been brought to Angeles City against their will, what about arresting the people that brought them here? If some of the ‘rescued’ girls are indeed underage, why not arrest those that forged their birth certificates (which all girls need for a club owner to hire them). Also, what about those government officials that processed the girls working cards - needed by all staff at all clubs in Angeles City - are these officials not responsible for checking all paperwork and confirming that the girls are of age, and freely consenting to work in the nightclub industry? If the government is honest in its wish to stamp out human trafficking, should it not be doing more than just repeatedly targeting the ‘soft’ targets, such as the girls and expat nightclub managers and owners? 
Chatting at the bar… we got to talking about how the government is now clamping down and enforcing many of the laws that, while on the books, have been ignored for years. A couple of cases we discussed were the senior citizen discounts and the anti-smoking law. Apparently, Republic Act 9994 states that senior citizens are any resident citizen of the Philippines of sixty or more years old. As such these people are entitled to discounts on a large number of services and items, e.g. medicines and travel. While in the past many senior age resident expats have been able to get ‘seniors’ discounts, now the government is stating that if anyone who does not meet all the criteria - a resident, sixty or over, and a Filipino citizen – tries to obtain discounts, they will be tried and immediately deported! Many comments on the enforcement of this act were made by those present, but the most poignant was in regard to the many resident expats who work. Those expats pay for and meet the criteria required to obtain their residency and work permits, and if they work they pay into the systemjust like any Filipino worker, (SSS, Philhealth etc.). In addition, many resident expats also employ Filipinos, whether as maids, drivers or workers in small businesses they operate, so they also pay into the system in the form of employer’s contributions for aforesaid SSS, Philhealth. But, after paying into the system, they get nothing in return; no monthly pension – and now, no senior citizen discounts. A quick chat around the table showed that in just the last decade, the nine expats present had brought more than 6 million dollars into the Philippine economy. But, RA9994 means that even though we bring so much into the local economy, pay taxes, and abide by the country’s laws, in our twilight years we are not even entitled to get seniors discount on the medicines prescribed by the Filipino doctors we pay for. On the same track, we talked about how many expats live in the Philippines because we enjoy the lack of bureaucratic hassle and government control over our lives. However, with the enforcement of the anti-smoking laws all present worried that it may be the thin edge of the wedge - that ‘big brother’ was taking control. While none of us have any problem understanding or complying with no smoking rules in hospitals, airports, offices or even enclosed cafes, etc., enforcement of the anti-smoking laws means no smoking even in outside seating areas! A weekly trip to Starbucks quickly showed that they were certainly enforcing the law. As I go there to sit and relax while having a coffee and smoke while watching the world go by, (usually as my wife wanders the clothes shops in the Mall) I will have to find another venue; because I’m not paying P500 for a coffee and snack where I’m not able to sit outside and relax while having them! We all wondered, if the government here in the Philippines is so adamant about adopting the draconian anti-smoking laws of the US, UK, Australia, et al, are they also going to start enforcing other constricting laws, for example, how about enforcement of traffic laws, registration, licence and emission control for all road users – trikes and jeepneys included? What about hygiene and health and safety laws in all eating establishments – carinderia and street vendors included? In what was quickly turning into a bar bitch session, talk of trikes and jeepneys again brought up the subject of the new one way system in Angeles and Balibago (a system largely ignored by the trike drivers of course). None of us could understand the system because none of us know what the system actually is or exactly what its suppose to achieve. It can’t be easier traffic flow because Macarthur is being clogged with vehicles trying to turn off or on to the highway, where the backstreets are clogged as lots of cars, buses and trucks slowly trying to navigate down narrow residential backstreets, dodging parked vehicles, pedestrians and playing kids. As if that wasn’t bad enough, almost every day it changes. Some days you can go on one road, other days no. Some times of the day one way enforced, other times apparently it’s just if drivers feel like it. We could understand if a new system was put in place and enforced, but the present ‘here one day, change the next’ just isn’t working as it should. They only way we could see that it reduces traffic congestion is because of so many people now avoiding driving into Angeles, Balibago and Clark and instead doing their shopping elsewhere – and that can’t be good for business in Angeles, can it? Though our expat bar gossip turned into a bitch session this month, it must be remembered that when any group of guys get together in a bar, flowing beer quickly makes us all geniuses able to put the world to rights. The truth is that we all love the expat life living in the Philippines, and just hope someone sober is really looking at ways to realistically correct the problems we highlighted, and so set things right for everyone.
Trivia Quiz
1. Which small, landlocked country borders Belgium, Germany and France? 2. Which African mammals kills most humans? 3. What color attracts mosquitoes? 4. What card game would you be playing if you try to ‘shoot the moon? 5. What is know as ‘the smallest country in the world’? 6. Who was James Stewart referring to when he said, "Six feet three and a half inches. Now let's stick to the facts." 7. What poet’s dark poem, later a move of the same title, begins “Once upon a midnight dreary”? 8. Who or what was Aethelred the Unred? 9. What is the best score to get in baccarat? 10. Who doesn’t know the Eastwood catchphrase "Go ahead, make my day," but what movies is it from? 11. Which Greek hero slew Athis and married Andromeda? 12. Who wrote an 1818 novel about reanimation of dead body parts? 13. Which "Easy Rider" movie star was the subject of John Lennon's 1966 song "She Said She Said"? 14. What did Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis Torres bring from the new world to Spain in 1493. 15. What groups 1977 début hit included the lyrics, "You might not ever get rich But let me tell ya it's better than diggin' a ditch.” 16. What is the name of the Adams Family butler? 17. What country is credited with having the most languages (almost a third of all world languages)? 18. Who travels through space and time in the Tardis? 19. What is called "the French disease", in Britain, "the Italian disease" in France, "the Polish disease" in Russia, "the Christian disease" in Turkey and the "the Spanish disease" in Holand? 20. Which Australian Soap actress ended up ‘Torn and naked on the floor,’ in 1997?
This Month's Funnies
Horse Sense A champion jockey is about to enter an important race on a new horse. The horse's trainer meets him before the race and says, ''All you have to remember with this horse is that every time you approach a jump, you have to shout, 'ALLLLEEE OOOP!' really loudly in the horse's ear. Providing you do that, you'll be fine.'' The jockey thinks the trainer is mad but promises to shout the command. The race begins and they approach the first hurdle. The jockey ignores the trainer's ridiculous advice and the horse crashes straight through the center of the jump. They carry on and approach the second hurdle. The jockey, somewhat embarrassed, whispers 'Aleeee ooop' in the horse's ear. The same thing happens--the horse crashes straight through the center of the jump. At the third hurdle, the jockey thinks, ''It's no good, I'll have to do it,'' and yells, ''ALLLEEE OOOP!'' really loudly. Sure enough, the horse sails over the jump with no problems. This continues for the rest of the race, but due to the earlier problems the horse only finishes third. The trainer is fuming and asks the jockey what went wrong. The jockey replies, ''Nothing is wrong with me--it's this bloody horse. What is he--deaf or something?'' 'Deaf??” the trainer replies, 'DEAF?? He's not deaf--he's BLIND!'' Q: Why did the chicken cross the beach? A: To get to the other tide. Those Red Necks are at it Again A man was on holiday in the depths of Louisiana, where he tried to buy some Alligator shoes. However he was not prepared to pay the high prices, and after having failed to haggle the vendor down to a reasonable price level, ended up shouting "I don't give two hoots for your shoes man, I'll go and kill my own "croc!," to which the shopkeeper replied, "by all means, just watch out for those two "ole boys" who are doing the same!". So the man went out into the Bayou, and after a while saw two men with spears, standing still in the water. 'They must be the 'ole boys' he thought. Just at that point he noticed an alligator moving in the water towards one of them. The guy stood completely passive, even as the gator came ever closer. Just as the beast was about to swallow the him, he struck home with his spear and wrestled the gator up onto the beach, where several already laying Together the two guys threw the gator onto its back, where-upon one exclaimed "Darn it Buba! This one doesn't have any shoes either!" I'm have amnesia and déjà vu, so I've forgotten this before. OOPS! A man is in a bar and falling off his stool every couple of minutes. He is obviously drunk. So the bartender says to another man in the bar: "Why don't you be a good Samaritan and take him home." The man takes the drunk out the door and to his car and he stumbles at least ten times. They drive along and the drunk points out his house to the man. He stops the car and the drunk stumbles up the steps to his house with the man. The drunk's wife greets them at the door: "Why thank you for bringing him home for me, but where's his wheel chair?" You can't have everything. Where would you put it? Truth be Told A serious drunk walked into a bar and, after staring for some time at the only woman seated at the bar, walked over to her and kissed her. She jumped up and slapped him silly. He immediately apologized and explained, "I'm sorry. I thought you were my wife. You look exactly like her." "Why you worthless, insufferable, wretched, no good drunk!" she screamed. "Funny," he muttered, "you even sound exactly like her." If you shop in a general store, do they let you buy anything specifically. You say tomato I say Tomato A family of three tomatoes were walking downtown one day when the little baby tomato started lagging behind. The big father tomato walks back to the baby tomato, stomps on her, squashing her into a red paste, and says, "Ketchup!" What's another word for Thesaurus?
Come back for more funnies next month
1. Luxembourg 2. The Hippopotamus 3. Red 4. Hearts 5. Vatican City 6. Harvey (the invisible rabbit) 7. Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven 8. He was king of the English around 1000AD (‘Unred’ is Saxon for ill advised) 9. nine (9) 10. Sudden Impact 11. Perseus 12. Mary Shelly, (Frankenstein, The Modern Prometheus) 13. Peter Fonda 14. Tobacco 15. Rose Royce (song Car Wash) 16. Lurch 17. Papua New Guinea (850+) 18. Dr. Who 19. Syphilis 20. Natalie Imbruglia Come back next month for more from the Angeles Xtra magazine from Angeles City, Balibago, Subic, and Barrio Barretto, Philippines. “If you like what you see, tell others, if you find a problem, tell us”
Get updated when we add new articles... Sign up for our free newsletter on the home page or click 'Newsletter Sign Up' on our contact us page. |
Copyright © 2012. Able Ads Publishing and Media