The Philippines Travel Tax

If you are a frequent traveler, you have definitely paid for the Philippine Travel Tax. What is that for? I actually once asked..."I"m a Filipino, why do I have to pay for it?" All those times, I thought that it was a fee meant for aliens or non-Filipino visitors but I'm wrong.

According to http://www.philtourism.com/,

The travel tax is a levy imposed by the Philippine government on the following individuals who are leaving the country irrespective of the place where the air ticket is issued and the form or place of payment, as provided for by Presidential Decree (PD) 1183, as amended:
    A. Citizens of the Philippines;
    B. Permanent resident aliens whose immigration status maybe any of the following:
    C. Non-resident aliens who have stayed in the Philippines for more than one(1) year

So no one is exempted except for the following:

•      Filipino Overseas Contract Workers
•     International carrier crew
•     Filipino permanent residents abroad whose stay in the Philippines is less than one (1) year.
•     Philippine Foreign Service personnel assigned abroad and their dependents
•     Philippine government (excluding government-owned and controlled corporations) employees on official travel
•     Grantees of foreign government-funded trips
•     Students with approved scholarships by appropriate government agency
•     Personnel (and their dependents) of Philippine offices of multinational companies not engaged in business in the Philippines
•     Balikbayans whose stay in the Philippines is less than one (1) year
•     Family members of former Filipinos accompanying the latter
•     Minors from 2 to 12 years
•     Filipino journalists on journalistic assignment
•     Those authorized by the President of the Republic of the Philippines
•     Legitimate spouse of overseas contract worker (OCW)
•     Legitimate unmarried children of OCW below 21 years old  

If your category does not fall on the mentioned exempted above, then you really have to pay for the travel tax which is:

	First Class Passage	Economy Class Passage
Full rate	PHP 2700	PHP 1620
Standard reduced rate	PHP 1350	PHP 810
Privileged reduced rate for Overseas Contract Workers' (OCWs) dependents	PHP 400	PHP 300

Processing fee = Php 200.00

per Certificate

If you want more info, you can visit www.philtourism.com.

passport appointment - dfa.gov

the reason I wrote this post is to share with you my experience in getting my passport. It was really easy and it took me and my mom, just almost 1 hour to have it done. Better than the previous policies, according to my sister.

when we got at dfa, many people are wondering about the new appointment system thus, they went there to just get an appointment -- I think one thing that had irritated most of them. Luckily, a friend of mine told me about this new policy months ago so I got the time to prepare.

For those who are planning to get or renew their passport, here are some few tips.

1. Visit Department of Foreign Affairs, Phils then fill up the form to get your appointment. This will absolutely save you significant time.

2. Prepare your needed documents. If you still don't have the NSO copy of your birth certificate and you can't afford the queue, you can just call 737-1111 or visit http://www.citizenservices.com.ph/nso/ to have it delivered. It usually takes 3-4 working days and costs 320 pesos.

3. Check your email regularly to check DFA's response for your schedule. Normally, you will receive the confirmation 1 day after you have submitted your appointment application. You can re-apply if you're not available on the schedule given. Just fill up the form again.

4. Print the appointment letter for your pass in DFA

5. If you still don't have any picture available, there are several kiosks there that can take your picture. It will just take you 15 mins at most and the price ranges from 150-160 pesos only. No worries=)

6. Come on time....

7. After the processing of your passport, have it delivered to you. Usually, it will be delivered a day after your passport has been released. Delivery charge is really cheap - only 100 pesos

***For renewal, you may also want to try DFA's service - it will cost you Php 1,300. Just enough to pay for your precious time =)

I used to think that processing my passport would give me hard time but I think preparation has made it really easy! If you really don't have time, you can also call some legitimate travel agencies to have it done for you. =)

KapampanganKu.com

If you’re a true born Kapampangan, www.kapampanganku.com will definitely rock your world. It’s my friend’s very own website that is based in the historical and remarkable place of the Central Philippines- Pampanga. KapampanganKu is an online site filled with fascinating and up to date information on events, food trips, developments and news; all speak the simple life of Kapampangans.

Aside from the generous copy of calendar of events and feasts, the site also provides a wide selection of available jobs; thus helping his Cabalens unearth the great opportunities in their locale. In addition, it also provides an ever growing directory of famous establishments and shops that will be very beneficial to tourists and people of Pampanga as well. Such establishments include bars and restaurants, computer shops, telephone companies, schools, Sports and fitness centers as well as Government offices and churches, etc.

A native pride of Pampanga, KapampanganKu also showcases a gallery of magnificent and stunning photos of the famous and most talked about spots in Central Luzon. With a special “Tambayan” section, Kapampangans and aspiring ones also have the opportunity to mingle with their kababayans as well. Indeed, KapampanganKu is second to none of the most informative sites ever built... another proudly Pinoy Made Site that will make history in the World Wide Web.

TriNoMa means....

there's this new mall in the area of Quezon City that might "outdo" the famous SM North Edsa. Introducing the TriNoMa mall, an Ayala Corporation's next biggest project. Well.. it is already open to the public last May 16, 2007 but its grand opening is on October 2007.

many people have been wondering about this mall. I, myself was also a victim of some speculations. At first , I thought it was an extension of the MRT North or a new amusement park on the rise in the heart of QC. But these speculations flew easily as reliable whisperers started to say that it will be the newest mall of Ayala that would showcase a long list of high-end shopping and retail establishments. (okay... i'll start watching news again!)

i've been there once due to curiosity. Almost quarter part of the mall is already done. The mall is a combination of the three famous malls in Makati, the Landmark dept store, the circular design of Glorietta and the exquisite Greenbelt3's garden. hmmmm... i just really feel I'm right with the meaning of TriNoMa. The tri means the three biggest malls in Makati and NoMa is still on the process of my thinking (hahaha). partly right i guess!?

okay, if I'm the last person here to know its true meaning then let it be!
TriNoMa means Triangle North of Manila. Another trivia, aryt!@

where is this place?

There’s this one quiet place in the United States that made a strange noise today, Nebraska. Why? According to AAA Survey gas price, Nebraska (edging Michigan) offers the highest prices of gas across the United States.

According to the survey, last Saturday Nebraska reduced the average cost of their commercial gas from $3.34 to $3.05 per gallon. That was also the same day that Michigan lowered its price for gas, giving way to Nebraska’s 29 cents above the national average.

Aside from Nebraska and Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Hawaii are the three US States that has the most expensive gas sold in today’s history. Taking the middle spot are the places such as South Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi while leaving the city of Tucson, Arizona for having the lowest gas price of $2.80 per gallon.

So the next time you feel that you’re just running out of gas, park at your own risk. Make sure that your tank is full when crossing these states.