BLOGGED PHILIPPINES

As a supplement to the list of holidays provided in the previous article, I have here a downloadable calendar for the year 2010 . The holidays are shaded for easy distinction. To view the calendar, click the following links: JPEG format PDF Format To download the file, click the following links: JPEG format PDF Format

Image via Wikipedia Planning ahead is a difficult job. For one simple reason…no knows the exact future! Yes, if you could only see few years from now or even just few days from now, then you can plan your activities well to maximize your benefit and avoid bad things that may happen. Well, this article is not about fortune telling or any kind of divination, this article will just present to you the CURRENT schedule of national holidays in the Philippines . The schedule of holidays varies as the year goes so the dates presented here are not fixed. There are also region-specific holidays like provincial foundation days, festivals, and other events that may be declared by the local government. Also, please take note that December 24 and 31 are not really special occasions but usually declared as non-working day to give people time to prepare for the next day’s celebration. The current government administration has a policy of moving some holidays to Monday . I don’t know if this policy...

Image via Wikipedia Have you tried to transfer funds between two different banks in the Philippines? Well, most people do especially overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on their remittances . How much does it cost you? In my case, when I transferred 600 pesos from my Union Bank (UBP) account to my BPI account through online banking, it took me three days before knowing that only 450 pesos reached my BPI account. My reaction was a feeling of slight stupidity. I just lost 25% of my deposited amount! From that moment on, I promised myself not to do that again (charge to experience). I will take the effort to personally do the transfer. Good News on 2010 But now, I think I have to break my promise in the coming year! Why? Because next year, Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in agreement with the Association of Bank Remittance Officers Inc. (ABROI) will lower the interbank transfer charges from the current rate of 100-550 pesos down to only 50 pesos.

It started as a hobby, a source of fun and excitement. Now, your online diary, your blog, can now be a source of income. Advertising industry is moving towards the internet to reach more people. It’s a great opportunity for everyone who likes sharing information to others across the world wide web. Paid advertisements to your webpage or blogs can be a potential source of income for you . Still not convinced? Well, watch this video from YouTube.

Image via CrunchBase AN EARLY NOTE: This is article is not against Craigslist but a warning to everyone that might encounter this type of scam on any other website like craigslist.org. WHAT’STHE SCAM? Craigslist is one of the major advertising websites in the world. But just like any other network, it can also be infiltrated by scammers. Have you seen job post on craigslist looking for writers who could write web content? We’ll if it is your talent to write, and you really enjoy, then this can be a good opportunity for you. You can earn extra money from these. You can be a freelance writer! I myself have tried and I got a payment of 2 dollars for each 400-word article on a particular subject. Well, I think I got the good one because I got paid but recently, there have been reports that there are job posters looking for content writers and to be able to apply for job , you have to submit…SAMPLE ARTICLES.

Image via Wikipedia Are you looking for a job? Whether you like it here in the Philippines or outside abroad, it’s always good to have fast and credible sources of information about job vacancies and opportunities. So where are you getting the news? The Classical Way—Friends Probably the oldest method of trying to have the information about job vacancies is through friends and acquaintances. Though much slower than the modern web-based information dissemination, friendly referrals are still effective today. In fact, many people agree that they even trust more the information coming from a friend than in the newspaper and on the internet. The Semi-Classical Way—Newspaper Classified Ads Most of us today still cling to our old method of finding job opportunities by scanning through the “ Classified Ads ” section of our favorite newspaper. We’ll, just like the “friendly referral way”, newspapers still proved to be an effective source of information. And personally, nest to “f...

" Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet has free access to the sum of all human knowledge." Above is the banner statement I saw at Wikipedia . And I can’t deny the fact that Wikipedia has really done the big part in sharing tremendous amounts of knowledge through their user-edited free online encyclopedia. Wikipedia has been part of our lives indeed. Students, professionals, businessmen, and almost everyone who has an access to the internet have benefited to the free information it provides. Now, Wikipedia’s founder Jimmy Wales appeals to everyone. Due to the increasing cost of website maintenance and other costs that keep it going and growing, Wikipedia needs funds to keep it the way it is…an advertising free website whose mission is to contribute for mankind’s education. They are accepting donations of any amount. Wikipedia changed the world and you can also do so. For more information about Wikipedia's appeal , visit their site at www.wikim...

Here are interesting facts I found yesterday while I was surfing the internet. I came across the Forbes website. For those who are not familiar with Forbes, Forbes is an American publishing and media company made famous by their leading magazine bearing the same name. Okay, back to the trivia! Annually, Forbes lists down the largest companies in the world in their famous Global 2000 List. The ranking are based on the following criteria: 1. Sales 2. Profits 3. Assets 4. Market Value

Image via Wikipedia As we get deeper into the information age where the cyber world is expanding ever faster, numerous opportunities to earn online abounds us. One of these opportunities is by making a KNOL . What is a Knol? The immediate question that pops out is: what is a knol? As per Google’s definition, Knol is a unit of knowledge. It’s like shorthand for KNOLedge. Google Inc, worlds leading internet marketer, advertiser, search engine, etc has launched its new online service—Knol. Knol is Google's version of Wikipedia . We’ll I think I don’t have to go further about Wikipedia . In simple terms, Knol, like Wikipedia , is a user-generated free online encyclopedia. How can I join Knol? The simplest way is to sign-up using your Google account. I’m not so sure if you can use other email accounts. What to do with Knol? Are you an expert on something? Maybe you are a teacher of Science? Then write a Science Knol! Are you are computer geek? Write a knol about computer...

Just this afternoon, I tried to open my twitter account to see my latest twits and here's what I saw. Yes, worlds leading microblogging network hangs out because of heavy traffic. Twitter has proven itself as the fastest way of getting the latest news around the world. It's real-time microblogging capability has enabled many to send out news faster and in a more efficient manner than conventional methods. Now, twitter has grown so big, so as the twits that it carry. Social networking has changed the face of the internet. We getting deeper into the Information Age!

As promised from the previous article, here is the step-by-step procedure on how to book tickets at Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) official website at www.philippineairlines.com . On the homepage of their website, you can see the form below. Fill up the necessary information then proceed to the next step by clicking the search button. Step 2 Immediately after clicking the search button, the website will take you to the page in which you will choose what specific date and time you will need to fly. Take note that prices of ticket varies depending on the day and time of the flight. You will see the form below. After selecting the day and time of the flight, you may now proceed to the next step.

Cheap airfare is really a must for me to get because it’s the only opportunity I could go back home and spend vacation with my family. And I know that many people have the same situation as mine. In this time of economic crisis, spending more than 4000 pesos traveling from Manila to Cebu is a big “No no” for me. To be able to avail of the cheap airfare though, you have to get the news fast and you have to book your ticket online. I have already written an article on how you could get the news fast. This time, I’m writing a comprehensive step-by step procedure on how you could do online-booking at Cebu Pacific’s official website . This procedure is based on their CURRENT system and may change after sometime. I am hoping that this will help many. Step 1 At the homepage of www.cebupacificair.com , you could see this form at the left side of the webpage. Fill up ALL the needed information here. Choose between “round trip and one-way”. Choose the flight date that you want. Check t...

One of my previous articles mentioned ways to keep you safe from the “goons” of the web. I mentioned there five tips: 1. Transact only on your trusted web sites. 2. Look for valid web certificates. 3. Install an antivirus. 4. Do not transact at pubic internet connections . 5. Have a good internet browser. I have here additional safety tips that can help you minimize the risk of being a victim of cyber crime . EMAILS 1. Do not open attachments to emails that you do not expect . Sometimes, you may receive emails from a person you do not know and asks you to see the attached files. BEWARE of this! There is a big risk that these attachments contain malicious programs designed to harm you or your computer. Some malicious programs can steal your private information and use it to commit cyber crime. 2.  No to Phishing Do you sometimes receive emails from someone you do not know containing links to a familiar website? If you do, then you are at risk of being a victim of ...

Image via Wikipedia Econolight is the cheapest seat Philippine Airlines (PAL) is selling. Some econolight seats can go down to as low as 800 pesos. Three days ago, I was surfing their website to look for promos for the coming holidays. Then I came across a very interesting announcement: Philippine airlines version of Cebu Pacific’s “Go Lite” has a very good update. I’m not sure when it was first announced, but it was good news to everyone who loves to fly on PAL . Effective for bookings made on or after November 18 and for those whose travel is on or after December 1, the following changes will take effect. SEAT SELECTION Before, Econolight seats are located at the rear of the plane. For me, it’s OK because it’s nearer to the comfort rooms. But for some, it was not a good position. Now, they already removed this policy. You can now seat other than at the rear of the aircraft. MEALS Before, Econolight seats have no free “merienda” or meals. They will distinguish you because...

PayPal is the world’s leading alternative for using credit and debit cards directly into internet transactions. It’s also relatively safe since you will not need to expose your credit card number and some important personal information. PayPal is also used for receiving payment online. I remember myself when I applied for an online job; I was required to have a PayPal account. The problem before is no bank here in the Philippines allows direct transfer of funds. Anyway, that was BEFORE! NOW you can easily add and withdraw funds to your PayPal account using a local (Philippines) bank account. As far as I know, only Unionbank offers direct fund transfer from your credit card or debit account to your PayPal account. It’s very easy, just set up an account with Unionbank. For debit cards, you can either have an e-wallet or an EON account . I recommend EON account since it requires zero maintaining balance and just 350 maintaining fee per year. How to connect to your Union (EON) Accoun...