Do y'all remember that one advertisement (I think it was for Jollibee or McDo or Nido) that showed the day-to-day lives of kids. Yung background music was a song about growing up or something about growing old and having gray hair (but I don't think it's kahit maputi na ang buhok ko) and the kids were singing it. Yung maalala ko lang na scene was that may bata na naliligo sa balde na malaki tapos yung face niya puno ng bubbles tapos may lola dun.

I DON'T REMEMBER MUCH OF IT. Sobrang labo na memory ko. Pero I remember how the song felt and what I felt watching it. Naalala ko na naiiyak ako sa advertisement na yun nung bata pa ako AHAHHA I just want to relive it :)

If anyone remembers the advertisment or the song. Tell me moree 🙏

I lived in condo that doesn’t allow pets I’m thinking I’ll register my current cat as an emotional support animal and get an ESA letter. I’ve been clinically diagnosed with bipolar disorder 1 and anxiety disorder. I live with my cats for almost 3 years now (she live with other cats in my sister’s house before, my sister will be moving abroad that’s why i have to take my cat back) but the problem is they dont allow any kinds of pet. Other tenants here have a fugitive pets(they keep it hidden). I’m having an emotional breakdown for the past week, i cannot imagine to be separated with my cat. My cat helps me to get through each day.

What are your thoughts on this?

I was planning to spend like 5 days in the Philippines, but I'm torn on whether or not I want to spend it in Manila or Cebu.

I like architecture, scuba, people, and culture. A good number of my friends are Filipino and they tell me to ignore Manila and go to Cebu. They said if I go to be careful because I'll prob come back to the US with a wife in those 5 days. Haha

Bonus points if anyone wanted to be a tour guide, paid or otherwise.

Ang dami kong tanong tungkol sa EDSA People Power Revolution. Tatlong beses na itong naipamalas, bagamat hindi naging matagumpay ang EDSA Tres na mapaalis si FPGMA at maibalik si FPJE sa pwesto. Anyway, given the current situation, what do you think would happen if there were an EDSA Four? I’m referring to a genuine People Power Revolution.

Sakali mang mapatalsik ang isa sa kanila o kaya silang dalawa, sino ang hahalili sa mga posisyon nila? May mga kilalang personalidad ba ngayon na pwedeng maging mukha o simbolo ng isang bagong EDSA? O susundin pa rin kaya ang mga nakasaad sa ating Konstitusyon?

is it fair that employee has to pay for a company laptop's repair?

i would like to seek advice (esp from lawyers) regarding the following situation:

• company has given company laptop to WFH employee (all dev teams are WFH)
• employee has been in the company for the past 2 years, using the same laptop
• laptop screen was suddenly not working one day, no damage or anything - it was kept in a desk and the screen just stopped working so it was sent back to the company. the technician quoted 9k for the laptop repair. employee tried asking about the cause of the damage, how it was determined etc but HR didnt really give an effort. HR just forwarded the quote to employee and employee's salary was reduced.
• they sent a different laptop to the employee.
• after 2 weeks, this current laptop's screen is broken AGAIN.

there is a signed agreement that the employer had the employee sign during the laptop handover, it states that any damage or repair should be paid for by the employee - it doesnt necessarily specify the coverage of the damage so it is quite vague. it is an unfair clause but it has been signed. would it be legally binding even though it is unfair?

my concerns are the following

• laptops go through normal wear and tear esp if not brand new and used 8 hours or more everyday. isnt it unfair that the company passes the burden of maintaining company resources to their employee?
• shouldnt it be proven first that there was intentional damage caused by the employee (like water damage or binagsak) - before it is charged to the employee?

i was thinking of sending an email to HR stating that it is unfair to cover the repair + if they still require payment then i would want to have the policy reviewed by DOLE.

would that work with DOLE? will they be able to help with this? is it possible to fight for this given that there is a signed agreement? probably the cost of repairing the laptop would be 9k or more again. this means that almost 20k would be spent in a matter of 1 month just to maintain a laptop that is a company resource.

HR doesnt really bother to care that much, so I was thinking of raising DOLE to get them to work on the unfair policy/process.

would definitely appreciate any advice or legal help :(

totoo ba na noon dahil sa sobrang sadboy music sila sa isang concert/event pinagbabato sila? I remember this frequently and tonight I can't sleep and decided to dig for some info about this "incident" or rumor, but after page 2 of Googling I gave up, I heard this rumor back in high school

the weird thing is I'm not the only one who remembers this rumor, some of my work friends remember this rumor too and they didn't go to the same school as me so the thought that someone from my school spread this rumor.

Hi guys! May alam ba dito ang process at fees ng pagkuha ng PRC license ID after oath-taking? I passed my Professional Licensure Examination for Teachers nung March 2024. Nag oath taking na rin ako. But until now, I didn't go to PRC pa to get my ID. Sana po may maka answer. Thank you so much po sa mga makakasagot.

Magandang hatinggabi r/Philippines!

Hi, long post ahead. I hope fellow mothers/parents out there who are active SSS members can help me.

I am 2 months pregnant now and my EDD is in July 2025. I called SSS and they said I can still avail the maternity benefit if I paid months Oct 2024 to Dec 2024 by Dec 2024 (if I paid later than that which is Jan 2025 hindi na daw pwede). So I paid thru the online app for Oct - Dec 2024 and will continue to pay moving forward (Reference: I am a non-working spouse, and premium is at 560 as of 2024).

Story Time:

My last contribution prior to Oct 2024 was on Feb 2021 when I was still an employee. My first pregnancy was on Oct 2020, and I have submitted all my MAT requirements to HR during the pandemic. We had constant email correspondence, and I still have the thread on my email where she acknowledged receiving my MAT1 and MAT2 docs. But what happened was later in 2022 I received an email from SSS indicating that my employer's reimbursement was being rejected (I already resigned Feb 2021). I forwarded this email to my previous HR handler so they can fix it, but I did not receive any response. I have long resigned at this point, and I know it was the HR's responsibility to submit the documents (MAT1&2 documents were submitted by my hubby to the office and was acknowledged thru email). Based on the email from SSS, they did not receive the live birth cert and is asking to submit it asap or else they will ask for a still birth certificate. So, I did my best to forward everything to my previous HR contact and I was confident enough that I have all the emails as proof that the HR received everything.

Fast forward to today 2024:

I always updated my SSS/Pagibig/Philhealth accounts online after 2021. Now in SSS, there is a maternity benefit claim that is rejected. My concern now is that I do not know how much benefit I can claim for my 2nd pregnancy knowing I have just started paying contribution Nov 2024 and based on my research online, it is calculated based on the highest contri prior to my contingency. Looking back on my 1st pregnancy, there is a rejected claim, which means I can still claim my benefit for my 1st pregnancy. Is this correct?

I am torn even thinking about refiling for this benefit because I received the money from my prev company, but I also know that I did not lack any documents, and we have submitted everything on time and was even acknowledge by HR. So, in that sense, the company was rejected by SSS for their lack of submitting my documents and I would be more peaceful knowing it wasn't my fault. I guess I'm just here asking opinion from fellow parents if this is even possible or ethical on my end. What would the possible questions be from SSS on why I delayed on claiming it again? Would they communicate to my prev employer about it? Are there other parents who experienced the same thing? Should I talk to my lawyer about it? Please I need enlightenment before going to SSS office.

Thank you so much for taking time. God bless.

Recently, I’ve had the realization that I have no favorite food. I never had experiences with food that made me feel like “wow!”.

Now, I’m planning on actually going outside and find the best restaurant/food place for food that I frequently eat (outside of filipino food) which is burgers, pizza, ramen, shawarma, etc.

So, I’d like to know some of your recommendations! It doesn’t matter if it’s “authentic” just as long as you feel it tastes great!

Also for reference, my favorite right now is homemade and triple cb/ double qp from mcdo (it’s just too good when you put in the fries inside aha). Can also go outside of mm just for this quest.

What’s the best burger you’ve had in MM?

Hi po I'm from olfu pampanga kasi di ko gusto quality ng grading system as a shs student pati mga hidden fees, base on my own experience lang po, at mga naririnig sa mga ibang student na nag aaral sa Fatima. Kataka taka rin talaga yung grading system nila dito. Kung senior high school pa lang ako tapos ganyan na kasi kalala yung quality ng school na yan, edi pa'no pa po kaya kung nag college ako dito sa Fatima. Tapos sobrang mahal rin ng mga paninda sa canteen. Naaawa na lang rin po ako sa ibang Co-shs students na nawala sa with honors kasi kailangan 88 pataas dapat lahat ng grade mo kaya napilitan silang bumalik ng public school kasi kahit may 75 basta umabot ng 90 yung average nasa honor list ka na. Some people tinatawag itong "GREEN SCHOOL NA RED FLAG"

Sa mga nag aral sa NU clark how's the quality ng pagtuturo sa campus na yan? How to be in dean's lister? may hidden fees rin ba? Naka aircon po ba? Hindi ba boring or May mga events rin ba maliban sa intrams? And approachable naman po ba yung sa registrar and teachers pag may kailangan?

Magkano po ba yung tf ng psychology sa NU at mandatory ba ang pag gamit ng libro kaysa files?

Dini-discuss pa po ba yung Lahat ng chapter ng research sa 1st year ng college,,, and hindi na rin ba ididiscuss sa 2nd, 3rd, 4th year since nadiscuss naman na nung 1st year. Grade 11 ako tinuro pa hanggang chapter 5, grade 12 hindi na, eh kasi kahit nakikinig talaga ako hirap pa rin talaga akong makaintindi ngayong shs pa lang po eh sa research . :{

Thank you po.

I have a question because i have a problem with my old sim before thats registered with my gcash account so i tried the account recovery mode so that changed my gcash number to a new sim but i have a company that like send me money that uses my old number now i tried to recover my old number and i got it easy but now my problem i need to fully verify my old number again did anyone here have the same problem or something similar can answer pls need help

Can anyone recommend a parking slot near SM Aura that has available open parking for until past midnight?

I will be attending an event next week around that area and would be finished by 1AM so need help where to park. I know market market has a parking but it’s open until10PM? Same goes for SM Aura parking if I am not mistaken.

Many bastos na celebrities, pero some of them are nice naman, like we saw Roxanne Guinoo sa Pancake House SLEX, and i met Nancy Binay, who is eying Makati mayor seat in 2025 NLE, very nice naman si senator, unlike sa lalaki na si mayor junjun, wala akong masasabi kay Miles Ocampo.

Hello. I have a concern regarding my LERIS Account. I am married and I requested to change my status sa PRC Last month. I am planning to renew my license and today pag open ko sa account ko is same pa din yung name walang na change yung maiden name ko parin ang nandun. However, I still continue to make an appointment (iniisip ko na baka ma change lang yan dun sa PRC ID ko) but it says "Record Mismatch" pag appoint ko. Does anyone encountered the same or have any idea what to do?

Thank you and God Bless.

Hindi ko alam kung authorize ba ang mga Teacher ng school na mag tinda ng BSP neckerchief na nag-kakahalaga ng ₱1,000 to ₱4,500. Yung anak ko kasi gusto ulit bumili ng neckerchief sa Boy Scout Teacher nila at may discount daw silang mga student. Binigyan ko siya ng pera at dalawang beses na siyang nakakabili isang ₱4,500 at ₱1,000 ang pangatlo na balak niyang bilhin ay ₱2,500 naman mang gagaling daw ang pera sa ipon niya.

Gusto ko lang malaman kung ano ba ang rules and regulations pag dating sa ganitong mga sitwasyon. Sana may makapag bigay ng opinyon nila patungkol dito. Maraming salamat.

Mga kababayan ko akuy isang estudyante na Merong assignment ,na gumawa ng script about sa balagtasan " each line needs 16 syllables and dapat nag ra-rhyme ang bawat yugto ng sentence ang tema Ng balagtasan na ito ay selfishness vs selflessness

Pestang yawa ka bwerisit!!! Please help me my brothers and sisters please encourage me to make this fucking script (or just make one for me🥺🥺🥺 ) jk but to be honest your time is appreciated and I will be overjoyed to see some encouragement down there please of if not then please ignore this post and I will continue on with my life ❤️

Hello, is there an app of some sort or an online bank that does not require tin when you apply for a loan online, The reason for my loan is that i badly need the money for emergency and I cant ask any of my relatives for help since they are also in a tight budget.

"Bat nga ba eh di naman sila nagcecelebrate ng pasko". Narinig ko kanina sa bus. Natatawa ako sa lakas ng boses ng pagkakasabi niya Kase seryoso siya. May point naman which begs to my question meron nga ba silang Christmas bonus or other religion receiving Christmas bonus on top of the company incentive pagchristmas??

Alright, here’s my two centavos as a Pinoy urban planner - it’s great that we’re finally shedding some light on the Philippines' declining fertility rates. Still, I would caution the alarmist tone that the OP u/fdt92 used when discussing the total fertility rate because there’s much more to population demographics than just the birth rate.

No 1: Philippine Population Statistics

In January 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) published a report outlining the Philippine population projections under three likely scenarios: Scenario 1 - 1.9 children, Scenario 2 - 2.1 then 1.9 children, and Scenario 3 - steady decline down to 1.7 children by 2055. Take a wild guess what all three scenarios played-out concluded to? 

“The Philippine population is projected to increase for the next 35 years across different TFR scenarios. By 2025, the Philippine population is projected to be about 114.12 million, 113.86 million, and 113.63 million under Scenarios 1, 2, and 3, respectively. At the end of the projection period (2055), the Philippine population is projected to be about 145.37 million, 138.67 million, and 132.32 million under Scenarios 1, 2, and 3, respectively.” 

Something to understand from an objective demographics perspective is that the current trajectory of the Philippines population, despite a decline in birth rate, is that our population will continue to increase well into the mid-2050s. With our current birth rate, the Philippines' year-on-year growth is 1.5%, which is high compared to our ASEAN neighbors Vietnam at 0.7% and Thailand at 0.1%. Moreover, this article from The Diplomat states, “By 2035, Laos, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste are likely to be the only Southeast Asian countries with a fertility rate above 2.0.” The facts are that the Philippines is very, very far from reaching the kind of demographic timebomb crises that Singapore, Japan, and South Korea are facing. 

I would say that it is alarmist and borderline spreading disinformation to claim that the Philippines will be facing a population dilemma this early. Moreover, OP’s data is based on a Twitter/X post referencing the difference in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) from 2023 to 2024 as a 23.3% drop. Any decent social studies student should know that when discussing macro factors such as population data, a single year cannot be used to establish a trend.

No 2: The Philippine Housing Crisis

Earlier this year, I attended the Urban Land Institute (ULI) real estate market trends of the Philippines conference event. I listened to various researchers explain variations of the same: “The Philippines is facing a severe shortage of affordable housing for the rising population.” Upon reflection on my experiences attending that event, I find myself questioning the OP’s alarmist tone about population decline - because all the data that has been presented points toward a greater and far more alarming issue: the increasing population of the Philippines guarantees a housing undersupply crisis - one that we are already in the midst of. 

As Mr. Ed Lacson, Chairman of the Employees Confederation of the Philippines, summarizes in an op-ed, “Today, with 119.1 million Filipinos, a staggering increase of 6,300%, we face a housing crisis with a shortage of 6.5 million homes projected to rise to 22 million by 2040, behind these numbers lie millions of families enduring substandard living conditions in shelters that can hardly be called a home.” (Read here: Housing Crisis - A ticking time bomb ) 

Indeed, with so many of our fellow Filipinos living in horrific conditions in shelters, shanties, or shacks - there needs to be an industry-wide shift away from luxury apartment condos. Instead, a push towards affordable housing to help our fellow Pinoys find proper homes, whether that be financed via programs like Pag-ibig or subsidized by the government. Lowering prices is not the solution - it is not feasible to expect or demand real estate developers to reduce the selling price of their housing inventory, whether it be due to their selfish for-profit reasons or the slimmer margins affected by the rising costs of construction and materials.

Affordable housing is just the tip of the iceberg here, according to HLURB research paper Statistics for Housing Policy 2016-2030; feel free to download and take a look at their data table. The regional breakdown of which housing market segment has the greatest volume of housing demand falls to the categories: Cannot Afford, Socialized, and Economic housing - in total makes up approximately 5 million (5,013,885) as compared to the housing segments Low, Medium, High which together make only 702,287 or 12% of the total volume of housing demand.

In layman’s terms, this means that the Filipinos who are truly being screwed are those who are not even considered middle class - it is the Filipinos who fall under the market segment of Cannot Afford a home, or qualifies for Socialized or Economic housing - that are the ones who are being screwed the most. It is most unfortunate that the Philippines housing crisis has come to this point; as an urban planner, it deeply saddens me that this is what it has come to - our most vulnerable and poorest are those most affected by this deeply unjust system.

For more reading about the Philippine Affordable Housing crisis, I highly recommend this report published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS): Measuring Housing Affordability in the Philippines (June 2024) - kudos to the authors; it’s one of the best scholarly journals I’ve read discussing the issue thus far.

No 3: Urban Planning for the Future

I guess this is a question that I ponder quite often as an urban planner - a professional who is both affected by and hopes to implement better effects on the issue. The problem is effectively planning the future of urban life in the Philippines to accommodate our growing population through affordable and feasible housing means. My thoughts on this vary; as I think about it every day, I see two avenues that the Philippines can go down:

No 3.1: The Government Steps Up (or When Pigs Fly)

In the aforementioned journal published by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS): Measuring Housing Affordability in the Philippines (June 2024) - the authors conclude and summarize the issue better than I can, “The government’s policy to provide indirect subsidies like interest rate subsidies and tax incentives to the business sector to help households, especially low-income families, access housing in the market, will not suffice. The disconnect between housing affordability and housing programs requires the government to reform policies to address distortions in the housing market.” (Ballesteros, Ramos, & Anchenta, 2024) 

Indeed - the government’s current policies are entirely insufficient, with an underwhelming lack of robust government urban planning and a poor understanding of the extent of unaffordability in the Philippines, which means that our government has yet to implement effective policies.

This can change, though, maybe when pigs fly, but yes - the optimistic urban planner in me believes it can change. It must start with a national push toward addressing the undersupply of socialized, economized, and affordable housing for our growing population. The government must find ways to subsidize and incentivize real estate developers to take on the task of building housing for the Filipinos who need it most but have the least to pay. 

The government ought to have a more robust framework for urban planning to create agglomerated economies, maximizing urban density while providing adequate public infrastructure to support the city. Policies that make the rules for where and when the private sector can build to ensure supply meets demand while business and industry continue growing and people have places to live. Much more can be done; we must try.

No 3.2: The Private Sector Steps Up (or Capitalism Wins)

Essentially, this is where we are at right now - real estate developers continue to build what they want, where they want, and sell to the markets that they want. Building luxury condominiums in the wealthiest parts of Metro Manila or constructing new luxury gated communities in provinces where the vast majority of people live in poverty and squalor. 

The housing crisis will continue to worsen as the population steadily increases through 2055 and possibly further, when land becomes scarcer and the economic or financial incentives to build adequate, affordable housing become lesser and lesser. It’s the Philippines we are on track to live in a few decades into our collective future.

Hello. I would just like to ask about the legalities and fees on selling agricultural land in the Philippines. We want to know if were being scammed.

Here the facts. My grandfather inherited a piece of land from my grandmother. Portions of this land, he decided to sell. 540sqm. for 1000 pesos per sqm. Now, How much should we pay for the estate tax? (Context: we are from a 3rd class municipality in Pangasinan)

Another, we have to apply for DAR clearance and we were being charged with 25,000 php for that 540sqm. We were also charged for sale tax for 17,000 php.

BBM said handa ang "limpak-limpak na salapi" para sa kampanya ng mga kapartido at kaalyado. So sunod ka kapag sinabing walang impeachment. https://politiko.com.ph/2024/09/17/limpak-limpak-na-salapi-marcos-announces-huge-campaign-war-chest-for-partido-federal/headlines/