Announcement : Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Seminar for Real Estate Service Practitioners

 A joint CPD seminar of :

PHILIPPINE LEARNING INSTITUTE FOR PROPERTY PRACTITIONERS INC.

(PRC-Accredited Service Provider)

and

 PhilRES - Caloocan City Chapter

   CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)

  S E M I N A R

For All Real Estate Service Practitioners requiring CPD points/units for their PRC license renewal. 

This seminar is also recommended for real estate and marketing professionals who want to update their knowledge and skills necessary to ensure competent professional practice.     

Earn : 48 Hours

Schedule of Seminar : 

Nov.28,29 & Dec.4,5,6,12  Time: 9:00am-6:00pm

Venue: 14F San Miguel Properties Center, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City

Seminar Fee(entire seminar) : P6,000.00

For inquiry and information please contact :

Ms. Boots Saratan @ 0918-5859708 

Mr. Romy Abustan  @ 0925-8753278

Mr. Ric Umali     @ 0928-5024508
E-mail :          kapihangpinoy@gmail.com

Picture Source : 
http://www.baus.org.uk/EducationAndTraining/cpd

Information : One-Stop Government Center at Ali Mall - Araneta Center

Many of us ---Filipinos—are always complaining, some are even fed up, with how our government offices provide their services to the citizenry. In our dealings with these offices, we often encounter the arrogance and discourtesy of  many civil servants, corruption in the government, and the very frustrating bureaucratic  red tape. 

But just when we thought that the quality government service in the country is a hopeless case, we see some glimmers of hope.

I recently accompanied a relative to a DFA satellite office to renew a passport and was expecting a very long queue and endless waiting in a very hot cramped place, but to my surprise the whole satellite office was comfortable (air-conditioned, with spacious receiving area with good seats), with very courteous civil servants,  and fast service.

This new DFA satellite office is located at the recently opened Ali Mall Government and Banking Center-Araneta Center Cubao, a one-stop government service center where the following government offices and institutions are located : Department of Foreign Affairs; PhilHealth, PAG-IBIG; DTI; SSS; SEC; PhilPost; LTO; NBI; Quezon City City Hall Business Permit and Licensing Branch, and Barangay Socorro Barangay Permits Branch.(Barangay Socorro in Quezon City is the barangay where Araneta Center is included). Government and private banks are also located at the center : Land Bank; BPI; Union Bank; and Security Bank. All these locators are housed on the third level of the Ali Mall, the same level where you will find the cinemas and its sprawling fast food center. The fast food center is right outside the government offices which is very convenient for those who are about to start or just have finished their transactions to have their meals or snacks. Despite being on the same floor with the cinemas and the fast food center, the place is very spacious and not cramp. Most of the government office locators, e.g. DFA, NBI, are already open for service , but others like LTO are still to open.

There are also other satellite government offices in other malls but  they have limited government office locators. The government center at the Ali Mall is quite exceptional, and a (more) complete one-stop center for many different government services. I hope they will also include a PRC satellite office as one of the locators to service our professionals. 

Ali Mall Government and Banking Center at Araneta Center

Kudos to the Ali Mall management and the Araneta family for allowing this government center to be located in their shopping mall. Their partnership with the Quezon City local government and the national government will really do a great service to the mall customers, residents of Quezon City and of other nearby cities and towns. 

So if you are planning of renewing your passports; getting an NBI clearance; registering or renewing your business; paying your PhilHealth insurance, SSS and PAGIBIG amortization, etc., go now to the Ali Mall Government and Banking Center. 

Two Thumbs Up for this government effort to decentralize its services, and for giving good service and convenience to the citizenry! 

Announcement : Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Seminars for Real Estate Practitioners

The Philippine Learning Institute for Property Practitioners Inc. will be conducting a series of CPD seminars for real estate practitioners (licensed real estate brokers and salespersons) from July 'til October 2014. These seminars are PRC approved and accredited for CPD credits. Please see poster below for seminar schedules and registration.

Travel : Japan Eases Visa Requirements for Filipinos

Mount Fuji - Japan's highest peak

Many countries do not require visa for Philippine nationals to visit their country; but other countries require Filipinos to get an entry visa, and some of them have very stringent requirements. One particular country that is quite strict in issuing visa to Filipinos is Japan. This is understandable because some Filipino tourists overstay in Japan to find jobs when their visa expires. The high exchange rate of the Japanese yen, the high-paying blue collar jobs, and job referrals from friends/relatives who are already working there, are some of the  reasons  why these Filipino visitors are enticed to find jobs in Japan. 

There are also thousands of overseas Filipino contract workers all over Japan (working mainly in the entertainment industry) and it would not be an easy task for Japanese immigration to apprehend these overstaying visitors, so this could also be one reason for them to strictly qualify visa applicants from the Philippines.  For whatever reason, getting a Japanese visa is a hurdle to many Filipinos.

A couple of weeks ago, there were "unofficial" news that Japan would be easing up on visa requirements, and many Filipinos welcomed the news with anticipation. But last  Tuesday (June 17, 2014) the Japanese embassy in Manila released the news officially :

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan has approved “substantial relaxations of visa requirements” for tourism visas issued to nationals of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam, the Japanese Embassy in Manila said Tuesday.

The policy move is just an “initial step” of the ministry's “endeavor to realize the exemption of visa requirements,” the embassy also said.

A report by Kyodo News on April 15 said the Japanese government is “making arrangements” to waive visas for tourists from the three Asian countries.

A report on Nikkei Asian Review quoted a Japanese Tourism Agency official as saying that for the Philippines and Vietnam, Japan will launch "a substantive visa exemption" by simplifying visa acquisition procedures for participants of tours offered by the travel agencies designated by the Japanese government.

Tourist visa requirements were relaxed to help achieve Japan's goal of attracting 20 million foreign visitors by 2020, when Tokyo will host the Olympics and Paralympics, according to The Yomiuri Shimbun.

“For national of the Philippines multiple-entry visa requirements will be substantially relaxed, and requirements for single-entry tourism visas will be relaxed to a quasi-exemption-equivalent level when applied via specified travel agencies,” the embassy said in its statement.

However, other details, including “the beginning date of application” are still being worked out, the embassy said.

According to The Yomiuri Shimbun, visitors from overseas surpassed the 10 million mark for the first time in 2013 due partly to the yen’s weakening.

It said Japanese officials believe that by making it easier to obtain a visa, the number of foreign tourists to Japan will double from the 2013 level by 2020.

New Source : GMA News

Indeed this is a welcome development specially to Filipinos. Japan is geographically so near to the Philippines but it seems so far to many Filipinos because of this visa impediment. 

For the three countries specifically mentioned (Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam) who would be benefitting from this development, it is obvious that economic and political reasons had been considered for their inclusion------These three countries are the fastest growing economies in Asia these past years; and Vietnam and the Philippines are Japan's allies in fighting China's expansionist scheme in East Asia.-----

Japan is a very beautiful country with a unique and ancient culture; and the Japanese people are admired for their kindness and courteous manner. Many people would love to visit the country if given the opportunity. With the easing of visa requirements (and maybe even a complete waiving of visa requirements soon) this will give more people a chance to visit Japan. Im sure many Filipinos are already excitedly planning for a Nippon adventure. 

Let's forget Hong Kong (who likes unfriendly people anyway?). As one travel writer puts it : Japan will now be the "New Hong-Kong" for Filipinos. 

Picture Sources :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10029963/Mount-Fuji-to-get-World-Heritage-status.html
http://www.tourist-destinations.com/2011/06/kyoto-japan.html
http://www.japanfreeclassifieds.com/