BLOGGED PHILIPPINES

Effective October 22, 2012, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) will implement an increase in fees for cardholders withdrawing from non-BPI ATMs. The announcement was made through BPI website. From the current 10 Pesos charge, it will become 15 Pesos. But withdrawals using BPI ATMs will remain free though. BPI is the third largest bank in the country in terms of assets (behind BDO and Metro Bank). It is also the oldest bank in the country and is owned by the country's oldest conglomerate, Ayala Corporation.

Oppa Gangnam Style meme continues to spread around the world and more and more version of the popular video have already been uploaded to video-sharing sites like YouTube. The videos range from funny to corny. Well, our very own MMDA traffic enforcers has their own version too. Posted by MMDA "traffic czar" Yves Gonzales, the MMDA men will show the world that they deserve a space in YouTube, by dancing to the tune of PSY's Oppa Gangnam Style. What do you think? Funny or corny?

7 Eleven sign in L.A. (Photo credit: Tommy Ironic ) Following the move of the low-cost airline Airphil Express , Philippine Airlines (PAL)  now allows customers to pay online bookings via Seven-Eleven stores . This would mean that you don't need to have a credit card to avail of their latest promos and deals. Furthermore, PAL will install ECPAY Payment Center facilities in all 766 7-11 retail stores nationwide to accommodate as many customers as possible. Procedure of Purchase The customer just need to go to PAL's website, input  the travel details including the destinations and the dates of flight. After clicking next , you will be taken to a page where you will be asked to choose whether to Proceed to Payment or Reserve and Hold. If you chose to reserve and hold your itinerary, then you have to log-in with your username and password. If you don't have an account, click on the " Create New Account"  link to register. Upon succ...

San Miguel owned low-cost airline  Airphil  Express website had a major face-lift featuring a cleaner and clearer interface for easy booking and management of of your bookings. Here's a snapshot of the new Airphil website: Just like the previous designs, Airphil Express still maintained its motif: orange. But this time, the contrast between the white background and the graphics make it easier to find the function you are looking for like the Manage Booking, Web Check-in and Flight Status. New Payment Options: 7-11, Petron, M Lhuillier One major change aside from the looks is the addition of new payment options. Before, you need to have a credit card to book online. Now, even without credit card, you can avail of Airphil Express deals and promos. Just go ahead with the normal booking procedure until the Payment portion. In that portion, choose "other" payment choices. Just take note of the reference number and the amount. On that same ...

American Idol logo 2008–2011 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Jessica Sanchez along with the top 10 American Idol Season 11 finalists have arrived in Manila early this morning. The 10 finalist will be having a concert this coming September 21 and from today until then, they will be very busy touring the malls in Metro Manila to promote not only the concert but also their album: American Idol Highlights. Jessica Sanchez is the first runner up of AI Season 11. She has a Filipino-Mexican roots. Well loved by the judges because of her powerful voice and fearless renditions of her songs during the contest, she went all the way to the finals despite an instant where the votes wasn't able to save her. Philip Philips ends up the the winner and Jessica as the runner up.

As early as last month, August, the Office of the President have already issued the list of holidays for next year, 2012. Proclamation No. 459 s. 2012 list all the regular, special non-working, special working (for schools only), and movable holidays. Unless otherwise deemed necessary to move any of these holidays, the dates were already fix. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) was given the charge to promulgate guidelines for this Proclamation. Regular Holidays  January 1 (Tuesday) - New Year's Day March 28 -  Maundy Thursday March 29 - Good Friday April 9 (Tuesday) - Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) May 1 (Wednesday) - Labor Day June 12 (Wednesday) - Independence Day August 26 (Last Monday of August) - National Heroes Day November 30 (Saturday) - Bonifacio Day December 25 (Wednesday) -  Christmas Day December 30 (Monday) - Rizal Day Special Non-working Holidays March 30 - Black Saturday August 21 (Wednesday) - Ninoy Aquino Day Novemb...

What is a universal bank or unibank? Well, universal banks are licensed to do many kinds banking activities covering both the activities of a commercial bank (loans, time deposits, savings) and an investment bank (underwriting, issuance of securities, assisting companies in mergers and acquisitions). In the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral  or the Central Bank has the sole right to issue licences to banks who wanted to operate as a unibank. As of August 1, 2012, the Philippines has 21 Universal Banks. Here' the list of them. 1. Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc. 2. Bank of the Philippine Islands 3. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company 4. Land Bank of the Philippines 5. Philippine National Bank 6. Allied Banking Corporation 7. China Banking Corporation 8. Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation 9. Union Bank of the Philippines 10. United Coconut Planters Bank 11. Security Bank Corporation 12. Development Bank of the Philippines 13....

I've been flying domestic flights for about five years now since I started working in Cebu. Through the years, I have witnessed the growth of the number of travelers and the changes in policies of local airlines. For instance, before the second half of 2010, you can still bring your umbrellas with you inside the cabin. But, sometime on the on the second half of that year, things changed: you are now required to check-in your umbrellas. In my opinion, in some if not most, of the changes, people are not well informed. So they usually find themselves arguing with the ground personnel. But in most of my experience, the airline companies is less considerate when it comes to making exceptions. For example, because of the "umbrella" policy change, my friend was forced to leave hers at the airport just to make it to the plane. In some cases, people paid extra baggage just to check-in their umbrellas. But to be fair to the local airlines, they are now more considerate than bef...

I've been studying for over four years now regarding investments and personal finance but it seems that I don't have the courage to take the first step. Well, it was my brother who told me about it. He started investing in 2006 starting with his company cooperative and then later, he entered into Mutual Funds. English: Phillippine stock market board (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) It Started with F.J. Colayco's Wealth Book My bother showed me a book, written by Francisco J Colayco entitled "Pera Mo Palaguin Mo (Wealth Within Your Reach). It was a best-seller book in personal finance. Actually, when my brother told me to read it, I was a little bit skeptical. You know, I'm not fond of reading books. But when I started reading the first few pages, I was amazed on how simple the words are. Actually, the book is written for OFWs according to the author. That event opened-up my mind to personal finance. But I was still jobless at that time. I am freshly out o...