Search for Top Overseas Filipinos by BPI for its Fifth BPInoy Awards
Do you know of any Filipino living overseas, or an individual of Filipino heritage, who has contributed to the betterment of the Filipino community abroad, or who has elevated internationally the Filipino image?
Then you can nominate her or him for the fifth BPInoy Awards of the Bank of the Philippine Islands. Any individual or organization can nominate by writing a short article about the nominee, describing:
- how the nominee has contributed to the improvement of the Filipino community abroad
- why the nominee deserves recognition
- what is unique or exceptional about the nominee’s achievements
Nominations must be submitted to bpinoyawards@bpi.com.ph on or before September 15, 2010, addressed to Ms. Athena G. Balleza, Marketing Department, Overseas Customers Segment, Bank of the Philippine Islands.
Last year, the BPInoy awardees were:
- White House executive chef Ms. Cristeta Pasia-Comerford
- Dr. Eli Remalona, chief representative for the Asia and the Pacific of the Bank for International Settlements
- painter Mrs. Anita Magsaysay-Ho
For more info, visit www.bpiexpressonline.com.
Fellow New Freelance Writers in the Philippines — Some Tips
Recently, I wrote about a $5-per-article writing project that I got through Craigslist. The article didn’t only attract good and bad comments, it also attracted a lot of applications for freelancing writing jobs. I wondered why applications were sent, when I didn’t mention anything about a job opportunity from me.
The applications I received prompted me to write this post, as I realized that some new freelancers still looking for writing gigs need some guidance. I’m still fairly new in the business — there are a lot more experienced and high-paid Pinoy freelancers out there — but I think I can give some useful tips.
1. Follow the instructions of the clients on how to apply.
Clients are already testing your ability to write starting with the way you follow their application instructions.
Some clients want you to apply through a specified email; others want you to fill up a form on a certain website. For most Craigslist clients, you apply using the email created by Craigslist for the specific ad.
Some clients want only your letter and your writing samples, so don’t send your long resume. I’m certain they don’t have time to read resumes. Include your resume only if asked. There are others who like to see your blog or website.
If they ask you to send one or two writing samples, send one or two, not three or more. Mention also if these samples were already published by other clients, or are still to be published. If the client is asking for more than three samples, especially long articles, do a little sleuthing. Is the client serious, or just collecting samples? I’ve seen one ad on Craigslist in which the job poster was asking for six sample posts for every category, and there were 12 categories!
I’ve also received applications which are links only, and there are no accompanying letters. I clicked the links for curiosity, and they’re on Scribd or other online storage sites. Are these how they’re applying? And do clients like these?
2. Apply only to the writing job that you know you can do well.
If one job ad says you need to be on the Internet for 8 hours every day for 5 days a week, and you’re looking only for a part-time job, the prudent thing is to ignore this ad. If the ad is looking for someone who knows a lot about sports or stocks, and you’re not confident about your knowledge of these topics, the better decision is to again ignore this ad and look for another.
You can always research on these topics, but it will take you time. Worse, if you don’t enjoy writing about these topics, it will show in your articles.
3. Weigh the price if it’s worth your effort.
This is always a sensitive topic, as it concerns livelihood. If we advice other freelancers not to accept $1 to $2 jobs, those who are accepting these rates would argue they need the money. If we explain to them they’re pushing down writing rates, they would say give us the higher-paying jobs.
So, I’ll just say, if we can, let’s not accept the $1 and $2 dollar 400-word jobs. I’m sure the clients will increase their rates if there are no writers accepting these rates. They would try writers in other English-speaking countries, but as I’ve observed, most clients prefer Filipino writers.
Read the comments on my other article on freelance writing jobs, and you’ll read how one American writer condemned me for accepting $5 dollar articles. She explained that her freelancing rate has plunged by half because Third World writers are accepting low rates. In one article I wrote for another website, I said that the American clients paying low freelance writing rates are also to be blamed for their exploitation.
4. Lastly, let’s lift up the image of the Filipino freelance writer.
If we agreed to write 5 articles a day and submit them before 8 pm everyday, then we should submit 5 articles before 8 pm everyday, not just 3 articles, and not after 8 pm. If we no longer like to write for the client, let’s inform formally the client in advance.
Most of the complaints I’ve read about some Pinoy writers point to lack of commitment — that they don’t submit on time.
We can sustain writing for a certain client if we like the price and if we like the topic, so it’s important that before we apply for a writing job and commit to it, we should be satisfied with the price and we be confident we can write about the subject easily.
Notes below added March 19, 2011:
How do we know if a writing job ad is a scam?
Except for ads that are obviously fraudulent, we can’t really be sure if a certain ad is worthy of trust or not. I’ve read about ads by previously good-paying clients who have not paid their writers.
Nevertheless, there are signs that we can look out for:
1. A prospective client who asks for more than two 500-word samples and who requires that the articles are new and unpublished.
I think a client should be able to evaluate a writer by just one or two samples and by the application letter.
2. A client who says he’s going to pay monthly and after all articles of the month are in. You’re taking a big big risk if you respond to this kind of client.
3. The client quotes a very high rate, perhaps $25 for a 300-word article, but says only those which pass his standard will be paid. I bet all the articles won’t pass his standard.
4. A client which lists a lot of requirements, such as 500 words, links to references, one keyword mentioned for every 100 words, one secondary keyword mentioned in the second and fourth paragraphs, summary to be provided, Copyscape to be performed, and keyword density to be followed, and then offers one dollar per article! This is probably not a scam, but his rate is SCAMDALOUS!
5. A writing job ad which refers to a legitimate writing opportunity, but which misrepresents how the job is paid. These ads link you to Adsense revenue-sharing article sites such as mahalo.com, Demand Media Studios sites, Associated Content, etc. In these sites, if your article doesn’t get hundreds of impressions and doesn’t earn cents, you’ll not get any cent.
No. 5 leads me to write about Revenue-Sharing sites.
I write for about three or four Google Adsense Revenue Sharing Sites, but I found them as I surfed for blogging tips, and not through job ads. As these sites depend on Adsense, Amazon, Ebay, etc. for their revenues, writers should treat these only as possible sources of income in the future. You write for these sites only after you’ve finished your day job.
Whenever I have time, I write for hubpages, best-reviewer, xomba, snipsly, excerptz and some others. Many times on these sites, I write primarily to get backlinks for my blog sites. Backlinks from good sites help in pushing up the Google ranking of my blog sites.
Among these sites, hubpages is the best. It loads fast, has a lot of writing tools, and its instructions are easy to follow. There are a lot of people earning $,$$$ from hubpages, but these are the ones who have started writing more than a year ago and who have learned about keywords, SEO, linking, niche topics, affiliate marketing, etc. that are effective.
I also like hubpages because of its high online ranking. As of today, March 19, 2011, hubpages is the 76th top U.S. website on Quantcast and 140th on Alexa.
If you’re looking for an easier way to get backlinks and possibly earn Adsense too, check out Best-Reviewer.Com. Here, you don’t have to write a long article. Just make a list of at least three something interesting — the most beautiful Pinay singers, the best U.S. banks, the cheapest new cars, etc. — put in some notes, and then put in your links, and you’re done. This site is much lower in ranking than hubpages, and it’s relatively new, but last week, my first $2.89 from this site appeared on my Adsense chart.
Hope these notes helped a bit.
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Licensed Insurance Companies in the Philippines
A number of readers are asking about insurance company Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Co., so I decided to present this list. Data is based on information presented by the Insurance Commission on its web site.
List of the 35 Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines Whose Licenses Were Renewed for the Year 2009 to 2010
1. AsianLife and General Assurance Corp.
(formerly ATR Professional Life Assurance)
2. AsianLife Financial Assurance Corp.
(formerly All Asia Life Assurance Corp.)
3. Ayala Life Assurance Inc.
4. Beneficial Life Insurance
5. BF Life Insurance Corp.
6. BancLife Insurance Co.
7. CAP Life Insurance Corp.
8. Caritas Life Insurance Corp.
9. Cooperative Insurance System of the Phil.
10. Coop Life Insurance and Mutual Benefit Services
11. Country Bankers Life Insurance Corp.
12. First Life Financial Co.
(formerly First Guarantee Life Assurance Co.)
13. Fortune Life Insurance Co.
14. Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance Co.
15. Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp.
16. Great Life Financial Assurance Corp.
(formerly Nippon Life Insurance Co. of the Phil.)
17. Insular Life Assurance Co.
18. Manila Bankers Life Insurance Corp.
19. Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Phil)
20. Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Branch)
21. Manulife Chinabank Life Assurance Corp.
(formerly Pramerica Life Insurance Co.)
22. National Life Insurance Co. of the Phil.
23. Paramount Life and General Insurance Corp.
24. Philam Equitable Life Assurance Co.
25. Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co.
26. Philippine AXA Life Insurance Corp.
27. Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Co.
28. Philippines International Life Insurance Co.
29. Pioneer Life Inc.
30. PNB Life Insurance Inc.
31. Pru Life Insurance Corp. of UK
32. Sony Life Insurance (Phils.) Corp.
33. Sun Life of Canada (Philippines) Inc.
34. United Life Assurance Corp.
35. United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp.
Based on paid-up capital as of Dec 31, 2009, the top ten firms are:
- Philam Life and Gen
- Sony
- BPI Philam Life (Philam and Ayala Life of BPI)
- United Cocolife
- Sunlife
- Great Life Financial
- Manulife Chinabank
- Manulife Phils
- Beneficial PNB (Beneficial Life and PNB Life Insurance)
- Grepalife Financial
Philippine Prudential Life is ranked 22nd among 35 insurance companies based on paid-up capital.
Based on net worth as of Dec 31, 2009,the top ten firms are:
- Philam Life Gen
- Insular Life
- Sunlife
- United Cocolife
- Manulife (Branch)
- Grepalife Financial
- Manulife (Phils)
- Phil. AXA
- Beneficial PNB
- BPI Philam Life
Philippine Prudential Life is ranked 28th among 35 insurance companies based on net worth.
Based on premium income as of December 31, 2009, the top ten firms are:
- Philam Life and Gen
- Sunlife
- Insular Life
- Phil AXA
- BPI Philam Life
- Pru Life
- Generali Pilipinas
- Manulife (Phils)
- Grepalife Financial
- United Cocolife
Philippine Prudential Life is ranked 17th among 35 insurance companies based on premium income.
UPDATE: List of Licensed Life Insurance Companies in the Philippines for the year 2011
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