u/Wandergibson

I’m not buying land or property - just trying to satisfy my own curiosity here.

I couldn’t possibly count the amount of times I’ve heard guys say that they can/have purchased land through a corporation. I know the arrangement is legal, but given that broadly speaking, this is done mostly to circumvent the constitution, I’m curious to know what advice and reassurances the lawyers give you when promoting this option.

Given the anti-dummy rules, it seems like it would be thrown out pretty quickly if there was a dispute with any of the other shareholders.

Compared to merely putting the title in your partners name, I can see that a corporation might prevent someone from secretly selling the land from under you without your knowledge. But, if things soured and the motivation was there to screw you over, I really don’t see any additional protection from a corporate set up in the long run.

Am I missing something here? Has anyone set up this way and regrets it? How about the crackdown on nominee ownership in Thailand - no concerns that something similar could become more prominent here in the future?

Again, I’m not buying, nor looking to - simply trying to learn a little bit more about why people choose to go this way.

Cheers 🙌🏻

I’m not looking to buy - I’m asking simply because I’ve got the itch to know more about it.

- For those who bought, what tipped you over the line versus simply renting? Any regrets?

- Has your unit held its value, or have new builds limited its appreciation?

- If you've sold, what should people know about fees, taxes and repatriating the money?

- Do you have a long-term plan? - Leave it to kids or your Filipino spouse, or cash out? Etc

I've also heard stories of people losing big buying pre-completion. Is that because buildings never get finished, or because the price paid exceeds the unit's real value at completion?

Thanks ✌🏻

I’m a foreigner, and whilst in Bicol last year, I really wanted to try the Legazpi - Naga train, but ultimately found out when at the station, that it wasn’t running.

I saw a video last night (posted last year), of a guy that took the train between Naga and Sipocot. He also took a ride on one of the trolley taxis, which looked very cool.

Is the passenger train working and still active? And how about the trolley taxis?

I’m in Daraga at the moment and will be headed to Manila this week, but I’ll be quite keen to check the train and the trolley taxis out in Naga if either are still working.

Thanks 🙏

I’ve tried asking this in various travel groups, but it’s like getting blood out of a stone, so I’ll give here a shot whilst many of us live and have travelled all over.

We’re going to be travelling overland from Siargao to Legazpi, Bicol in a few weeks. We’ve done the route in reverse previously, but did so rapidly, whereas this time we’ll give ourselves about 2 weeks.

We’re thinking of Limasawa as our first stop, but after that it’s all in the air, so…do you have any great recommendations for places to visit and stay in Leyte and Samar (our route to Bicol)?

I’m especially interested in unique local experiences, generally beautiful towns and beaches and moreover, unusual and unique accomodations to stay - I don’t mean just fancy or luxurious - I mean genuinely different from the standard.

Love to hear any insights!

Thanks 🙌🏻

I’ve done this route previously, but in reverse and very quickly. This time, we’ll space it over 2 weeks so that we have time to explore places. We’re thinking of making Limasawa the first stop, but where should we head to after there?

Great beaches, particularly unusual accomodations, local experiences etc.

Thanks

I’m 38, never sick and never take medication, so frankly I’ve never given too much thought, perhaps naively, to the medical system here. Alas, the last couple of days I had an issue which required immediate attention, so I figured I would make this post, just to give a little insight to those perhaps in the same boat who don’t know too much about it.

ISSUE: So I’m usually hopping around the country, few months here, then there. For the last 2, I’ve been in Siargao. The medical amenities here aren’t great, so it may be comparable for some of you, and vastly different for others.

I had a minor irritation from my contact lens. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary, so merely removed it and didn’t think too much. The very next day - intense pain. Unfortunately, the sensitivity to light was so extreme that I simply locked myself in a dark room and couldn’t go out. The next day I rushed to a private drs practice, who advised strongly that I need to leave the island for specialist treatment. Therein comes the first obstacle let’s say - the Dr I was referred to, only works in the neighbouring Surigao (1.5-2 hours by boat), between 9am - noon, so I’d already missed the opportunity that day.

I left the house at 4am today to catch the ferry and thankfully was first into the clinic this morning. Dr arrived, and I was seen at 9:20am.

Up to this point, it was maybe different to back home due to the travel etc, but otherwise smooth sailing. He did his tests, was professional, thorough and kind, but then began some of the obstacles.

He required me to do some lab tests, but he didn’t have the necessary vials and swabs etc, so he requested I visit another hospital to collect them, and then bring them back to him to do what he needed.

Alas, I went, after some messing about trying to get directions to the correct department, I got them and returned. He performed a small surgery with a sterile blade to remove some of the build up, did the swabs and then prescribed many medications to really battle the infection strongly. He then advised I needed to take the swabs to the lab, again in the other hospital.

Tried 3 or 4 pharmacies before I found one that had the medicines in stock. Went to the hospital and then began a whole episode of utter frustration. He hadn’t given us the appropriate instruction for the lab, which they wouldn’t take over the phone with the Dr, so I once again had to return.

Came back, went directly to the lab department, who then allowed me to sit for a while before actually telling me that I needed to register at the hospital and pay the costs first. Went to the check-in area I suppose you could call it, and frankly, what a disgrace it was. Half the staff were on their phones playing games, many others were taking naps etc. The queue to merely register was short, but took an extraordinary amount of time - when we arrived at the window, they suddenly left everything and began celebrating a colleagues birthday, plating up buffet food etc, leaving the windows unattended. When we did indeed finally arrive at payment (couple of hours in at this point), they clarified they only accept cash. Was there an ATM in that part of the hospital? No. Had to go and find one elsewhere. Returned and paid and was then sent to the wrong department a couple of times, was told that they couldnt accept the swabs etc etc, until finally a very stern and annoyed push back from my Filipina girlfriend, had us directed back to the original lab.

Told that results will take probably 5 days. The ophthalmologist has requested I return on Monday - perhaps before the results are available.

The expenses were very cheap - a total, including medication, of approximately 11,000 pesos (thus far), plus travel expenses of roughly 4000 pesos.

I know each hospital will be different, particularly if you attend the better ones like St. Luke’s etc, but would I want to go through that again if I was old, frail or had a much worse emergency? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

The system was fragmented, disorganised and many of the staff - whom I know are horribly underpaid - were uninformed and at times, unprofessional and rude.

I’m very thankful for having the services available at all, despite it being quite dysfunctional, so please don’t take this a rant per se - I just want to give some real boots on the ground insight to the reality of how it COULD be for any of you. Please think very carefully about where you base yourself if you have certain ailments, and be prepared as much as you can with cash and documents etc.

Furthermore, apologies for any Filipinos reading - I know that millions of people here have it way worse with limited care and inabilities to pay etc, so you truly have my compassion.

Cheers 🙌🏻🇵🇭🇬🇧

Thanks to the time difference, my teams first couple of games (England) don’t kick off until 4am local time. I’m familiar with the sports bars, but does anyone know if anywhere is actually going to be open and showing these very early morning games?

I’ve been scanning Airbnb etc, and I’ve spotted a couple of somewhat unique stays - there’s a ‘bubble hotel’ and a place in the north that’s a nice bamboo build….but often places don’t show up because perhaps they’re not available on the dates you search….so I’m really looking for any insights that people have on particularly special stays here on the island, that I perhaps just haven’t encountered yet….

I’m talking things like a treehouse stay…a remote A-frame house far from neighbours….maybe a stay in a fishing community in one of the stilt houses…maybe there’s camping or a hut on a nearby island….could be $5 a night, or $100 etc….I like to occasionally stay a few nights in these kinds of places that are different to your standard, copy&paste hotel room.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks ☺️🙌🏻