Hello everybody. I'm back to update my blog on Immigration as promised. I'm lagging on my updates because of the many things we need to do while here in Manila before we head to Leyte. Anyhow, here's what we've learned from the processing of my husband's and son's immigration papers. After we secured the endorsement stamp on the passports from the Bureau of Quarantine Office the next stop is the Alien Registration Division, Bureau of Immigration Office in Intramuros, Manila. There were already hundreds lining up for their turn when we got there around 12 noon. We went directly to window 46 which is the Alien Registration counter. Requiring more copies of some of the documents, the agent directed us to a place where we could make copies and purchase folders for both of Michael and Judson's documents. Yes, we have to provide all those, unlike in the US where everything is taken care of wherever and whatever office you transact business. Not here in the Philippines, the government do not provide any of those. It is your responsibility to provide copies of whatever they require. So after everything was completed and the picture ID's taken, we end up paying for the following: ACR I-Card fee; Express Lane fee; ICR fee; A-Cert fee; Legal Research fee; Head tax (for adult) all came to a total of P10,222.00. Before you are issued an official receipt, the agent at window 46 gives you a print-out of the charges which you need to take to window 25. This is where you will pay. From the print-out we added all the charges and we came up with P6,000.00 but we were shocked when the cashier presented us with a total of P10,222.00. My advise to you is to look closely on the print-out from window 46, somehow there was a part that says there is an addition of 50% of a particular charge and that's what caught us by surprise. There was no explanation what that additional charge was for when I asked about it. Instead the cashier just shoved us his calculator with the amount through the window opening. We were told it will take about two weeks for the card to be available for pickup. And since we will not be staying in Manila that long we were advised to submit a letter requesting the office to send the cards to the Immigration Tacloban branch where we can pick up the ICR cards. We are finally done! Now on to the next task, that of finding a vehicle to drive down to Leyte. We'll keep you posted....thanks for following.

Quick update with some past due post to follow. After a failed attempt to head to Leyte in a bought vehicle, we are back in Manila. Bought vehicle Wednesday afternoon, took delivery Thursday about noon and loaded. We left Manila Thursday about 8:00 pm. After some unexpected difficulties we were back in Manila about 9:00 pm. Saturday we are to get our money back for the car and we have bus tickets bought for Sunday morning. (more on this to follow). We will have some time between now and Sunday morning to do some blog updating. Thank you for following.

QUARANTINE AND IMMIGRATION ISSUES - OH HERE WE GO!

As per instruction from the Consular of Chicago, the first thing we did once we got rested (well, sort of) was head to the Bureau of Quarantine located in Port Area. The weather was above 80's so we wore shorts - BIG MISTAKE. We were not allowed entry to the building, except for JJ. Apparently, anybody (10 years and above) who wish to transact business in any government offices cannot wear shorts or flip flops. I was wearing my favorite Talbot's above-the-knee khaki shorts so I guess that was acceptable because I was allowed in. Now Michael, however, cannot. Should we go back to the hotel to change or to a nearby clothing store to buy a pair of pants? Now here's the funny part: the security guard advised us to go a couple of doors down the side of the Quarantine building and go into the copy shop where Michael can "rent" a pair of pants. Really??? Will there be any size available for a 6'4" Americano? We tried, and lo and behold, the lady pulled out a pair of blue jogging pants from one of the boxes. I thought she must be an expert in this because the pants fitted Michael perfectly. We found out it doesn't matter what kind of pants you wear as long as they are not shorts. As much as Michael hates to wear ANY kind of jogging pants he didn't have a choice in the matter, so off we went to the Quarantine Office. Oh, the rent for the pants is 50 pesos. I wish I had the camera with me then, I would have shared a picture of not-so-happy Michael here but I left it charging at our hotel room. Now on to the important business. The Philippine Consulate in Chicago required, among others, physical exams: chest x-ray (the result should be submitted in CD); urinalysis, stool exam, blood test, etc., which was fully accomplished. You'd think that took care of it - NOT. The Philippines has almost the same requirements and some more: VDRL or Syphilis test and the Urinalysis and Stool exam should have been microscopic instead of just the regular exam. They preferred the Chest X-ray to be in film also, not CD. Having said that, Michael has to submit to urine, blood and stool exams according to Philippine requirements. Luckily everything is done in the same building and for all three exams it only cost us a total of P700.00 or $15.50. Think how much these would have cost us to do them again in the USA! I will be submitting a suggestion to the Philippine Consulate regarding these requirements. If only they have the same forms to avoid additional expenses and hassle on the part of the parties involved. I would advise getting into the Bureau of Quarantine's website at www.quarantinedoh.com to get details/updates. The staff at the Bureau of Quarantine were really nice and helpful so we had a positive experience there. The results came back in an hour and the passports were stamped and we were on our way to the Immigration Office. I found this at the back of the Bureau of Quarantine's Medical Examination for Foreigner's form. Thought I'd share it for a laugh - none of that political correctness nonsense of America:

So I have a warning for idiots who want to come to the Philippines, think twice. You are not allowed in this country. ICR card processing information to follow. Thank you for following.

THE FILIPINO WORD FOR WELCOME IS ...... MABUHAY!

MABUHAY MANOR, that is. I found this place while searching for a hotel close to the airport a while back. Since then, this has been my hotel of choice when coming to the Philippines. Nothing fancy, nothing luxurious, just plain, simple and down-to-earth place which fits perfectly for me and my family. When I first checked into this place with JJ in 2012, I felt a sense of kinship, a sense of family and most of all security. And that's what this place is, you are greeted with genuine people, friendly, smiling faces, eager to help and assist from the airport pick-up to the time you check out. I know most of my friends would rather stay at a glitzy, 4- or even 5-star hotels with lush carpeting, magnificent columns and fancy draperies. Well, you wont' find it here...instead you'll find yourself brought back to your ancestral-home-kind-of-feeling when you walk in your room. Unpretentious - that's what I love about this place. Everyone who work here have one thing in common - they all love the Lord! The building is tucked away from busy Roxas Boulevard so you cannot really hear the traffic noise. It is in close proximity to the Heritage Hotel and a few steps away from Baclaran. If you want to experience real life in Manila even for just an hour, just step out of the hotel's entrance and going either direction you will soon find yourself immersed in the daily grind Filipino style. But one of the many reasons I like Mabuhay Manor is their breakfast buffet that opens at 6am every day. If you are planning a trip to the Philippines and this is your first, Filipino breakfast is the best way of introducing yourself to Filipino hospitality and Mabuhay Manor somehow, have mastered that.

The smiling, friendly faces of the hosts greet you every morning. They have such servant hearts.

There was a JIL retreat going on during our stay so the breakfast buffet was moved to the hotel lobby. Check out for yourself and I'm sure you will agree that staying at Mabuhay Manor gives you a foretaste of what to expect when your first visit the Philippines. Some personal tips to share: 1. Bring some washcloths with you as most hotels do not provide them. 2. If you're like me, I like soft, cushy pillow to sleep on. Mabuhay Manor doesn't have that. They have extra firm and firm pillows but as stated before, I like mine soft so I brought my own. 3. Be prepared to sleep on an extra firm mattress. That is all I can think of right now. Thanks for following my blog and I hope you will share it with your friends too. Until then have a blessed day.

CHECK-IN, CHECK-OUT ------ TO "DECLARE" OR "NOT DECLARE"

The long and exhausting flight took a toll on us. Because of the time change, my mind's wide awake but my body is too exhausted to even think to write about our adventure. So here I am at 12AM Philippine time wide awake and couldn't get back to sleep. So I might as well write to make good use of my time. Anyway, let me rewind back to when we checked in for our flight to Minneapolis, St. Paul from Kansas City Airport. If you don't know it yet, it helps to check in online 24 hours before your flight. It is termed "International Verify Passport" which allows you to be TSA checked. You just shove everything in the conveyor without the hassle of taking some stuff out of your carry-on bags and placing them in the trays. And, my favorite part, I don't have to take my shoes off, yay! I hate to be barefoot at the airport even for just a short time. As we boarded, TSA personnel met us at the door to the tarmac and want to know how much money (currency) we are bringing out of the country. We thought that if it is less than $10,000 per person then we don't need to do that but the officer told us it's not "per person" but "per household" so we ended up reporting the combined amount we are bringing. Michael filled out a form and the money physically counted. They even have money counter machine stationed by the door to the tarmac to make the process quicker. So that was done in no time and we boarded - but keep reading because this part isn't over yet. Twenty-three hours later we landed NAIA-Manila. The flight was on-time all the time, thank you Lord! Here's a couple of pictures taken from the air as we approached Manila. The time was 9:00 PM, Wednesday, August 19. The forms you fill out an hour or two before the plane lands have changed. It must have been implemented less than two years since I flew. One is the "Health Advisory" form in yellow and the other is a 6X4 piece of paper that each passenger has to fill out which is the entry form. Department of Health personnel checks your yellow form before you can proceed to the immigration booth. We carried with us sealed envelopes from the Chicago Consulate Office. These were Michael's and JJ's immigration forms. Funny thing is that the immigration officer told us that they seldom get these envelopes so it took him a while to get everything processed. Good thing about it though is that we didn't have to fight the throng of people to claim our luggage at the carousel. Once we got all our luggage in the carts we proceeded to Customs - shall we "declare" or "not declare?" that was the question. We chose the right thing. Turns out we didn't need to declare how much money we're bringing because it was supposed to be "per person" not "per household" ---- hmmmm...government overreach??? I don't want to comment but what the hey, I must say it to get it out of my system, okay? We were picked up by our hotel's shuttle and dragged our exhausted bodies to our room. It had been 36 hours since we slept. Tomorrow is another day. Depending on where you are, goodnight or have a wonderful day and thank you for following.

green HINUNANGAN

The closer we are to our arrival, the more homesick I am. Can't wait to see you again, HINUNANGAN.

Just want to share this link on my blog post.  Enjoy!