Philippines Trip Guide

HOPE EXPERIENCE PHILIPPINES
TRIP GUIDE
2016
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Table of Contents
OVERVIEW - Society and Culture
CONVOY OF HOPE in the PHILIPPINES
FACTS AND STATISTICS
TRAVEL TIPS
MISC NOTES
EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
PACKING YOUR CARRY-ON
PACKING YOUR SUITCASE
LEARN THE LANGUAGE - TAGALOG
I. OVERVIEW - Society and Culture
HISTORY:
The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they
were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935
the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel Quezon was
elected president and was tasked with preparing the country for
independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942, the islands fell under
Japanese occupation during World War II, and US forces and Filipinos fought
together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the
Philippines attained its independence. A 20-year rule by Ferdinand Marcos
ended in 1986, when a "people power" movement in Manila ("EDSA 1") forced
him into exile and installed Corazon Aquino as president. Her presidency was
hampered by several coup attempts that prevented a return to full political
stability and economic development. Fidel Ramos was elected president in
1992. His administration was marked by increased stability and by progress
on economic reforms. In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the
islands. Joseph Estrada was elected president in 1998. He was succeeded by
his vice-president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in January 2001 after Estrada’s
stormy impeachment trial on corruption charges broke down and another
"people power" movement ("EDSA 2") demanded his resignation. MacapagalArroyo was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2004. Her
presidency was marred by several corruption allegations but the Philippine
economy was one of the few to avoid contraction following the 2008 global
financial crisis, expanding each year of her administration. Benigno Aquino III
was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2010.
ETIQUETTE AND CUSTOMS IN THE PHILIPPINES
Filipinos are known for their warmth and hospitality and share a lot of customs
with the rest of South-East Asia. For example, avoid showing or pointing
the soles of your feet, which are considered unclean, or touching someone’s
head, considered sacred. But the country’s Spanish and American historical
influence means the language and greetings will be familiar to you.
• Handshakes are common but they are soft handshakes. A strong
handshake isn’t necessary to assert yourself.
• Kissing as a greeting is inappropriate, as are pats on the back and
touching the shoulder until you’ve developed a personal relationship.
• Family is important and extended families live together. You can expect
to see families in the hospital, curious about your patient and attentive.
• Losing control, raising your voice or shouting at all is usually considered
shameful to one’s family.
• Filipino’s would rather avoid embarrassment and often do so through
laughter.
• In conversation, Filipino’s often say ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ rather than ‘no’. It’s
all about keeping things positive and saving face, as in other countries
in the region.
• Don’t complain - keep a harmonious atmosphere. Be like a sponge.
Soak up as much of the experience as possible.
• “Hello” is well understood and Mr. and Mrs. are also appropriate at first.
As you make friends the locals and our staff are sure to teach you
comfortable alternatives in Hiligaynon, which is spoken in Iloilo.
• Thank you - Salamat (add ‘po’ for formality and when speaking to an
elder i.e. salamat po)
II. CONVOY OF HOPE in the PHILIPPINES
Children’s Feeding Initiatives:
Convoy of Hope and its partners have been feeding children in the
Philippines since 2007. Through a partnership with over 250 community
organizations and churches located throughout five major islands in the
Philippines, 27,556 children from 200 food insecure communities are
enrolled in the Children’s Feeding Initiative. The COH-Philippines office
currently has a waiting list of 91,647 children for the program. Additional
highlights of program impact in 2014 include:
1. All 27,556 children received micronutrient supplements to help fight
“hidden hunger”
2. 485,664 volunteer hours from 1,559 local community members
3. 7.58 million meals distributed
COH-Philippines also prepares for and responds to natural disasters with
immediate relief and long-term recovery. In the aftermaths of Super Typhoon
Haiyan in 2013 and Typhoon Hagupit in 2014, COH delivered emergency
food, water and supplies. To assist with recovery, our teams repaired homes
for dozens of families and restored livelihoods for entire communities who
had lost everything.
Women’s Empowerment
In addition to disaster response and providing a nutrition program to children
to address the immediate causes of under-nutrition, COH-Philippines piloted
an innovative women’s empowerment project in 2014 with the objective of
helping households improve their food security and nutrition practices. The
initial pilot project showed amazing results, including a 161% increase in daily
income (from $3.82 to $9.22). The meant a decrease of reported hunger in
the household from 100% of participants at the start of the project to just 10%
at the end.
Global WE facts:
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Convoy of Hope’s Women’s Empowerment Initiative is currently active
in 6 countries: Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Philippines, El Salvador, and
Nicaragua.
Currently in 2015, this global initiative has seen 1,954 participants
through both women and girl-targeted programs.
This year, more that 184 women have received the start up capital
needed to launch their own small businesses.
Program volunteers – a crucial force-multiplier for WE programs – has
logged a total of 15,360 hours this year.
III. FACTS AND STATISTICS
• Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea
and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam
• Capital: Manila
• Climate: tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April);
southwest monsoon (May to October)
• Population: 100,998,376 (July 2015 est.)
• Ethnic Make-up: Tagalog 28.1%, Cebuano 13.1%, Ilocano 9%,
Bisaya/Binisaya 7.6%, Hiligaynon Ilonggo 7.5%, Bikol 6%, Waray 3.4%,
other 25.3% (2000 census)
• Government: Republic
Language: Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official);
eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo,
Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
• Religions : Catholic 82.9% (Roman Catholic 80.9%, Aglipayan 2%),
Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, other Christian 4.5%,
other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census)
CIA World Factbook
IV. TRAVEL TIPS
Travel Meds: Please consult your health care provider for appropriate travel
medications. According to the CDC, there is a risk of malaria transmission in
all areas of Ethiopia except Addis Ababa where we will be spending all of our
time. If you are overly concerned, you may opt to take the anti-malaria pills or
wear long sleeves and pants to prevent mosquito bites. Additionally, insect
repellent with 35% DEET for skin and Permethrin for clothing is also effective.
Departure: The majority of our group will meet at the DFW airport and travel
together to Manila. Please plan to connect with the team at the gate. I will
send you a list of those you will be traveling with a week before your
departure.
Luggage: American and Japan allow 2 pieces of checked baggage at 50lbs
each on economy and 70lbs each on business. In addition, passengers may
also carry free of charge, items of personal effects for use in flight, as listed; A
handbag (Laptop bag), pocket book or purse, A small camera and/or a pair of
binoculars, A reasonable amount of reading material for the flight, One laptop
with out accessories and attachments.
Passport: Please make sure you have your current passport along with your
immunization record, available when applying for your visa. Please bring
color copies of your passport with you. 1 for your carry-on, 1 for your
checked luggage, and 1 for each hotel you will be staying in.
Visa: A VISA is available on arrival at the airport upon entering the
Philippines. There is no fee for US residents. This is a simple process that you
will complete before retrieving your luggage.
Dress: No suits or dresses are required. Casual attire is fine. Short sleeve
shirts or polos, and jeans or lightweight long pants are recommended. No
shorts please. This will help prevent bug bites. We suggest you throw in a hat,
a light jacket because the evenings can be chilly, and comfortable closed
toed walking shoes. If you buy a new pair, make sure that you break them in
before you travel. Tennis shoes are also fine.
V. MISC NOTES
• The Philippines are 13 hours ahead of EST
• We do not recommend carrying large amounts of cash.
• Although we will be staying in safe accommodations and Internet is
available in the hotel, we do not recommend bringing laptops or other
expensive equipment.
• If you would like to bring money to purchase souvenirs, you will be able
to exchange your cash, not traveler’s checks, for local currency in
Philippines. The ForEx Bureau requires denominations of $100 bills
newer than 2007. Older or smaller bills may be rejected or exchanged
at a lower rate. (Note: All other expenses are covered in the cost of your
trip)
• While we will be eating three meals each day, you may want to bring
some snacks or protein bars.
• Label your bag with your name and destination address
• Label each bag inside with your name and home address
• Carry all cash, valuables, and medications with you on board VI. EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION
Family Emergencies
• Please contact Sabra Smith at 417-851-4406 who will be able to reach
us while in Philippines. They can also email Kimarie Page at
[email protected]
Flight Emergencies
• Please contact Leah Mills. Her number between 8AM – 5PM Central
time is 417-851-4439. After hours she may be reached on her cell
phone 417.230.1393 (emergencies only please)
Contact Information
• Please provide your loved ones with our address while in the
Philippines.
Hotel:
Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria
Quezon City
1100 Metro Manila
Philippines
Phone: +63 2 633 7222
Primary Contact:
Name: Candice Manuel
Address: 19 Wellington St. Filinvest East Homes, Antipolo, Rizal
Office: 124 Scout Fuentebella St., Quezon City, Philippines
Mobile Phone #: (63) 917-859-8697
Office Phone #: (63) 44-248-6192
Home Phone #: (63) 2-4775112
Email: [email protected]
Secondary Contact:
Name: Antonio (TJ) D. Lliedo
Address: Lot 9 Phase 2 Villa Regina Subdivision, Lias Marilao,
Bulacan 3019 Mobile Phone #: (63) 932 9209559
Office Phone #: (63) 2-44-248-6192
Email: [email protected]
U.S. Embassy or Consulate Information Address: 1201 Roxas Blvd.,
Manila 1000 Phone #: (02) 301-2000
Hours of operation: Mondays to Fridays 7:30am - 4:30pm
VII. PACKING YOUR CARRY-ON
Your carry-on bag can be a real lifesaver, especially if your luggage gets lost.
Here is a sample list of items you might want to pack in your carry-on:
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Passport
Color copies of Passport
International Certificate of Vaccination
Airline ticket and travel documents
Change of clothes – essential in the event your checked luggage is lost
or delayed
Itinerary
Pen and Pencil
Address book, journal or small pad of paper
Camera, batteries, chargers
IPod, MP3 player
Laptop if desired, but not recommended
Money belt or pouch
Sunglasses
Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer
Prescriptions
Toiletries – include items in your carry-on that could not be replaced at
our destination. Other items can be sealed in a larger zip-loc bag and
placed in your suitcase
Pack an organized carry-on bag using layers – a layer of clothes, then
electronics, more clothes, and then any heavier items. This will help
transportation security officers see what's in your bag. Innocent items can
actually appear to be potential threats in an X-ray image; simply by the way
they're packed.
Carry-on bag Liquids: 3.4 ounce (100ml) bottle or less (by volume); 1 quartsized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag; 1 bag per passenger placed in screening bin.
One-quart bag per person limits the total liquid volume each traveler can
bring.
Consolidate bottles into one bag and X-ray separately to speed screening.
Here are some suggestions for the airplane ride:
• Ear plugs and eye shade
• Comfortable clothing like sweats (this way you have two sets of clothes
if your bag gets lost)
• Travel pillow/blanket
• Gum/Mints/Snacks
• Washcloth (zip-loc for when you get it wet)
• Toothbrush & travel size toothpaste
• Painkillers, sleep helps
• Sudoku puzzle book, deck of cards
• Book, Bible, magazines
VIII. PACKING YOUR SUITCASE
During our visit you can expect average high temperatures of 70-80 degrees
during the day and average lows around 50 degrees at night.
Dress: No suits or dresses are required. Casual attire is fine. Short sleeve
shirts or polos, and jeans or lightweight long pants are recommended. No
shorts please. This will help prevent bug bites. We suggest you throw in a hat,
a light jacket because the evenings can be chilly, and comfortable closed
toed walking shoes. If you buy a new pair, make sure that you break them in
before you travel. Tennis shoes are also fine.
*We will be attending an Abyssinian Dinner, so you may want to wear
something a bit nicer for that.
American and Japan Airliines are allowing 2-50lb bags in Economy class and
2-70lb bags in Business class.
Some additional toiletries you may want to bring include:
• First aid kit – band aids
• Nail clipper & Tweezers
• Moisturizer
• Sunscreen
• Lip Balm with sunscreen
• Insect repellent containing DEET
Other items to consider bringing:
• Travel alarm clock
• Pocket flashlight
• Daypack (something that is not too large to carry items during the day)
• Binoculars
• Electrical adapter - *This is required for use of all electrical devices. Hair
dryers are provided in your room.
Not necessary:
• Water – We will provide plenty of bottled water
• Mosquito net
• Valuable items – Please do not bring any item of value such as
expensive jewelry
IX. LEARN THE LANGUAGE: TAGALOG
Tagalog
Magandang araw!
Mahal kita
Salamat
Ako
Ikaw
Oo
Hindi
Ewan ko
Sarap
Yikerta (Yi-ke-r-ta)
Paalam
Ba-bay
English
Beautiful day
I love you
Thank you
I, me
You
Yes
No
I don’t know
Delicious
Excuse me
Farewell
Good bye
Kamusta
How are you?
Po
Marker or respect (i.e. Salamat po, Kamusta
po, Hindi po, Ako po)
Good morning
Good afternoon
Good evening
Fine
Wait
Let’s go
Don’t mention it
Wait a moment
Sorry
Later
Magandang umaga
Magandang hapon
Magandang gabi
Mabuti
Teka
Tara na
Walang anuman
Sandali lang
Paumanhin
Mamaya