One of my jobs now is that of a Virtual Assistant Philippines, meaning I now do administrative and secretarial tasks for a client company in Florida while I live here in the Philippines. These I do for about four hours around midnight.

The number of virtual assistants in the Philippines has been rising together with the rise of the Internet — the medium that has enabled developing countries such as ours to win lots of call center jobs.

The Internet has also given opportunities for lots of Pinoys to earn money from various online enterprises, such as writing for websites, designing websites, selling cell phone loads and various products from beauty creams to houses and used cars on websites like sulit, and selling to international buyers on eBay.

How did I get my job as a virtual assistant Philippines?

It started with my job as a freelance online writer and my hobby as a blogger. I worked for years in a U.S.-owned Makati firm summarizing published news items and magazine articles for U.S.-based clients, so when the firm decided to get change its focus, I gravitated towards writing online. And it was here online where I met this client who initially hired me to write articles for his and his wife’s company website.

How did I meet this husband-and-wife team?

I met them through Craigslist Manila. This is an international classified ads site where anyone can post ads for free. It provides a focused site for each major city in the world.

If you haven’t seen this ads site, you can type craigslist manila on Google, and then explore the site, particularly the JOBS section.

However, because Craigslist is free for all posters, there are a lot of scams on the site. I have heard of writers not being paid. Just be analytic about the offer, follow your feelings or instinct, and decide what risk you can bear. Prayers can help, of course. Do your best, and God will do the rest, sabi nga natin. Oftentimes, if I see blessings from this client, I thank God for leading me to go to Craigslist at the time this client advertised for a job, and to apply for this client’s simple ad.

Does being a Virtual Assistant Philippines pay well? And what’s the downside of the job?

Yes, it pays well, if one gets a good client. And it also fits snugly with freelance writing, particularly if you’re also writing for your own blog or other blogs. You also stay at home, and you don’t have to suffer the daily travails of a commuting worker.

The only downside is the night schedule. For some like me, sometimes the abrupt change in sleeping hours causes terrible headaches, but I hope my body clock adjusts soon.

Virtual Assistant Philippines

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.

I bought this one on the picture from CD-R King, where some of the cheapest electronic supplies are sold,  and it has been helpful.  It gives me up to 15 minutes of time to save my files or send a rush email before the PC finally gives out.

This UPS also has a voltage regulator, so it’s two-in-one. The white power strip beside it is also helpful and saves bits of electricity. PCs still use electricity even if they’re off but unplugged from the electric outlet. With the power strip, you don’t have to unplug anything everytime you stop working on your PC.

Related posts:

Freelance Writers — $5 Per 400- to 500-Word Article

Free HP Printer Scanner Copier with Smart Bro

If you’re a former OFW who paid membership fees when Philhealth was still called Medicare, most probably your record is no longer with Philhealth.  So when you want to be a member again, you will be applying as a new member.

You will use the new membership form, and you need to bring your birth certificate, your marriage certificate (so you can include your spouse as your dependent), and birth certificates (so your children will be enrolled as your dependents).  Bring original and xerox copies.

If your spouse is a former Philhealth member, he/she can’t be enrolled as your dependent even if he/she has not paid his/her membership fees for more than 12 months. This was my case. I was rejected as a dependent even if I haven’t paid for more than 12 months.

What I should do, according to Philhealth, is to write a letter informing them I haven’t paid my premiums for  many months and ask them to allow my husband to register me as his dependent.  I hope Philhealth will address this issue in the coming months, so this type of letter is not needed.

Anyway, I wrote the letter, telling them I’m already inactive, and now I’m a dependent of my husband, who’s a former OFW and now an Individually Paying Member.

Here are the offices of Philhealth:

Main Office:
Citystate Centre,  709 Shaw Boulevard,
Pasig City
Trunkline: new number is 441-7444 (as of July 2011, no longer 637-9999)
Office Hours: 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
info@philhealth.gov.ph

Update as of August 12, 2010: Starting September 1, this branch will hold office at DAP Bldg., San Miguel Ave., Ortigas Center, Pasig City, within the vicinity of SM Megamall. To be sure if the branch has moved before or on schedule, call the office before going there.

Las Piñas Service Office
471 Editha Building, Alabang-Zapote Road,
Las Piñas City
Telephones: 5565374, 5565687, 8015256

Manila Service Office
Marc I Bldg., 1971 Taft Avenue,
Malate, Manila
Administrative – 5216776
Claims – 5232819
Collection – 5233959/5213610
Membership – 5217724/5239842

Caloocan Service Office
Remcor Bldg., Rizal Ave. Extension
between 10th & 11th Ave., Caloocan City
Tel Nos: 3652012, 3652014

Quezon City Service Office
F.R. Estuar Bldg., 880 Quezon Avenue,
Quezon City
Office of the Branch Manager – 3323022
Collection Section – 3323024
Membership Section – 3323132

Rizal Service Office
The Brick Road Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall
Cainta, Rizal
Tel No: 6815111

Makati Service Office
ITC Building, 337 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue,
Makati City
solp@philhealth.gov.ph
Tel Nos: 897-1598, 897-2759, 897-6329, 897-3337, 899-4506

For those in the Alabang area, the Philhealth office is near SM Southmall.  If you’re coming from Alabang, it’s to your right, after passing Southmall.

The minimum membership payment is 300 pesos (payment for one quarter, 100 pesos per month).  You can pay for 6 months or more.

UPDATE:

Effective October 1, 2010, Philhealth premiums for professionals with a family income of more than 25,000 per month will increase to 600 pesos per quarter, or 2,400 per year, and then further increases to 900 pesos per quarter, or 3,600 pesos per year starting in the second year of the implementation of the premium increase.  See Philhealth Premiums for Professionals.

Other Philhealth Branches Are in These Related articles:

Philhealth Branches in South Metro, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Lucena

Philhealth Branches in North Metro, Central Metro and Bulacan

Philhealth Requires Nine Months of Prior Payments

No Philhealth Payments Prior, No Philhealth Benefits

And I got this job through Craigslist just this May.  The only minus-point is that the workload is not that much.

But the good thing is, in this new project I earn in just two to three days what I’ve been earning in 6 days in the project I’ve been doing for the past 18 months.  Also, the new project does not have a lot of specifications and keywords, and it has prospects of increased workload.

Fellow Pinoy freelance writers have been asking others to accept only writing jobs for not less than $5 per article of 500 words, in order to improve Pinoy writing rates in general.  But it has not been easy finding these clients that really send the payments.

A lot of freelance writing jobs on Craigslist are bargain-priced.  Imagine getting paid for one dollar (that’s only 46 pesos!) for a 400-word original, researched article?  And others even require the articles to be ready for spinning or with some other attached tasks!

Lastly, I’m thankful that I found a  client that didn’t scam me.  Recently, a fellow freelance writer wrote a lot of articles for a certain website, which suddenly disappeared, and which didn’t pay him.  He got the client through Craigslist.

This January 11, 2011, Ash wrote something on the comments section, and I believe what she shared should be read by fellow starting and not-yet-there freelance writers:

“what an inspiring article. thank you for posting this. i had also recently begun freelance writing (used to work in an office) and i was surprised at the going rate of some.

my first offer was $.50/100 words, downgraded from my asking of $2.50/100 words. dirt cheap, i know, but i was new and didn’t have a thing to my name. plus, it was the holidays–i was unemployed, renting, sending a kindergartener to school and my post-shopping overall finances were running low. like P600 low. in short, i was desperate. lol.

good thing the employer added more subtopics bec he got inspired by what i wrote, so the word count increased by another 1000 words.

after 2 days, somebody interviewed me and, after showing him my written samples, he hired me on the spot for $10/hr. it’s only part time, though. which is just as well bec i very recently got hired for a full time home-based editing job that pays good.

i can research and write 1 article in 2-3 hours at my going rate. i don’t think i will lower it; i’m sure that i’m worth every penny i charge them. i know that some employers will tell you that if you don’t lower your rate, they can always find others who will work for much cheaper.

i don’t blame them, that’s their prerogative. my prerogative is this: if they can’t afford my rate, somebody who can will always find me.

and they just did. tonight, somebody contacted me saying they like my writing and will be letting me know when they have a job for me. i will be waiting. and writing and writing until i can justify upping my rate once more. in the future ”

Thanks a lot, Ash.

UPDATE on my blogpost on freelance writing:

It’s now January 2011, and my working relationship with these clients I talked about in the blogpost has been going great. The primary client turned out to be a fellow Pinoy who has immigrated to the U.S., and when he vacationed here last October, we met and treated me to a great expensive lunch.

He and his foreign-born wife are again coming over here this February, and again I received an invitation for another lunch. Last December, he gave me a bonus.  No one else in my past and present freelancing work has given me a bonus.  My other employer, based in the Alabang corporate world, didn’t give a bonus.  I didn’t mind it much though as bonuses weren’t in the homebased-employment contract that I signed.

Additionally, my work with this U.S. client doubled, as I helped bring traffic to his and his wife’s sites.  Surely, if we give our best effort and we comply with the deadlines (although this client is flexible with the deadlines, but I don’t abuse it), we reap great fruits.

Related Article:

My Personal Make Money Online Version

Fellow New Freelance Writers in the Philippines — Some Tips

UPS Uninterruptible Power Supply for Freelance Writers

Pag-ibig does not consolidate the records of members whose employers are located in different Pag-ibig jurisdictions; it expects its members to consolidate their records.

It takes months to consolidate, so start now.

My husband, who had two employers and who also continued paying as a voluntary member while working abroad, had to track his contributions and consolidate them in one branch before he was allowed to submit his retirement claims.

The dollar-denominated Pag-ibig Overseas Program, however, is really separate. You make your claims separately at the Gil Puyat, Makati branch.

By the way, my husband has paid more than 240 monthly contributions, so he was to able to file a claim. But he’s still waiting because of the consolidation process.

Update as of March 2011:

My husband’s claim, which was processed over a span of several months in 2009, was rejected because Pag-ibig counted only 231 contributions. Pag-ibig advised my husband to pay nine monthly contributions, either monthly, quarterly, or at one time, but has to wait for 9 months before he can file his claim again.  We didn’t yet refile because we decided the money can earn more with Pag-ibig than with a time deposit. We can use it for my daughter’s tuition fees in her higher years in college.

Related Articles:

PAG-IBIG Branches in Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan
Pag-ibig Retirement Linked to Pag-ibig Housing Loan

Whenever the power goes off, we can always turn to our gas burner or our Superkalan to cook our food. There is always the pamaypay or the shade of the mango tree to make one cool.

At work, as soon as the lights go out, the building’s generator automatically takes over.  If a certain online connection gives out, another Internet provider takes over.

But now that I’m working at home researching and writing articles for U.S. clients after being laid off by a U.S.-owned company downed by the U.S. recession, my income now is dependent on Meralco and Smart Bro.

Unlike a company, I don’t have enough funds to subscribe to even just two of Smart Bro, Globe, PLDT, Sun, Bayantel or Sky at the same time so that when one gives out, I can always turn to the other provider.

I can’t also have an alternative to Meralco because I can’t afford to buy my own generator.

This makes me totally at the mercy of Meralco and Smart Bro.

What compounds my problem if these services give out is the reality that I live in a mountainous part of Muntinlupa.  It is a beautiful area because it has retained its rural feel and people know and help each other.

But it is not conducive to home-based workers in relation to utilities. If either Meralco or Smart Bro gives out, we have to travel 10 kilometers to get to the nearest Internet cafe.  If one doesn’t own a car, one has to endure over an hour of waiting for the public jeepney or AUV to get filled up with passengers before it starts its journey down the mountain.

Additionally, because our place is on the highest level of the city, our Meralco lines are prone to disruptions whenever heavy rains, storms or lightnings occur.

To be fair, both Meralco and Smart Bro have served me generally well in the past several months.  But Meralco gets higher points from me because it has been quick in responding to disruptions even during nighttime. Since I started subscribing to Smart Bro last May 2008, the longest period I endured lack of Internet connection was 2 days.

This week is a record breaker for Smart Bro.  Since Wednesday, we have not had stable connection.  I had to go down the mountain every day and suffer the fees, chatter and inconveniences of an Internet cafe.

It’s now Saturday and the answer from the Smart Bro hotline officer is still the same:  Your base station antenna has problems.  What I couldn’t understand is why a big corporation like Smart cannot solve a problem related to an antenna on top of a simple school building for several days now.

To Smart Bro, and of course, Meralco:  kindly understand that the work place in the Philippines has been changing fast. There are now thousands of Filipinos working at home using PCs and the Internet, as can be read on blogs, forums and ads for home-based workers.

You have committed to give Internet connection and electric power to us as we pay your services on time, kindly continue doing your end of the agreement so we can keep feeding our families on time.

Note: At 10 a.m. Saturday, the Smart Bro connection was finally restored, worked for an hour, then went off again. Before it got dark, Smart Bro finally worked.

If you’re a parent whose high-school or college-age kid is living in a dorm or studying in another city or an OFW who likes to control your child’s weekly allowance, take advantage of free Internet banking services offered by local banks.

Most large banks now in the Philippines offer free Internet banking, and they offer lots of services that prompts you to say Wow.

However, in this article, I would describe only two, BPI Express Online and My BDO Internet Banking, because they’re the ones I use.

1. If you already have accounts with BPI and/or BDO, then you’ve
done the first step. Your savings account or checking account
would become the wallet from which you would get money to give
to your child weekly.

2. Next is to get an ATM card for your child, or ATM cards if you have more than one child to support.

If you get a regular ATM card, you are required to maintain a balance  –  2,000 for a BDO account;  1,000 for a BPI Family account or 3,000 for a BPI account.

For most children, this maintaining balance is a temptation — a cake on the table ready to be consumed.

So the best option is to get a BPI Express Cash Card or a BDO Cash Card.  Both of these ATM cards do not require a maintaining balance.

You can get a BDO Cash Card for only 120 pesos or a BPI Express Card for only 120 pesos also.  (Update for BPI Express Card:  There’s now a 15-pesos fee for ATM withdrawal and a withdrawal amount minimum of 500 pesos.)

If you like to know other cash cards,  go to this post:  Best Savings Accounts for Students in the Philippines.

For OFWs, a better account is available — BDO Kabayan Savings.  It only has a 100-peso maintaining balance, and it has other benefits too.  Info on BDO Kabayan savings account.

OFWs can also get a BDO Remit Cash Card.

Other banks also offer accounts for OFW remittances.

3. Then enroll your BPI savings or checking account with BPI Express Online or your BDO account with MyBDO Internet Banking.    You enroll online and then print the filled-out form for submission to your BDO or BPI bank branch.

Just prepare your user name and password and be ready with your account number and your BDO or BPI cash card numbers.

4. After your Internet banking account is activated, you can plan and schedule when and how much money to put into your child’s cash card.

If your child needs 200 a day, you can reload your child’s cash card 1,200 or 1,500 every week. Just adjust the amounts when your child needs to pay the dorm or buy something.

Just tell your children that the minimum withdrawal for BPI Express Cash is 500 pesos and for BDO Cash Card, it is 200, (changed to 100 pesos as of March 2011).  Tell them to withdraw,  if possible, only from these banks’ ATMs to avoid other banks’ ATM fees  (about 10 to 12 pesos for each withdrawal).

5. For OFWs, Internet banking can save you remittance costs and at the same time prevent your children from having access to large amounts of money, which can be tempting.  One-day millionaires among OFW children are common.

You don’t have to send money every month or every week, so you’ll save on remittance fees.  Just remit an adequate amount to your own savings account and then transfer controlled amounts to your kids’ accounts through your Internet banking account as often as you like, as there’s no transfer fee.

Related Articles:

OFWs Can Send Money to the Philippines Thru BDO Remit
List of Banks in the Philippines — Universal Banks, Commercial Banks
Cheapest Checking Account in the Philippines
BDO Kabayan Savings, BDO Remit Cash Card for OFWs
BPI, BDO, or Metrobank Fees — Why Keep Paying Them?
Savings Accounts in the Philippines with the Lowest Maintaining Balances

BDO Kabayan Savings for OFWs

This is a special savings account for OFWs and their families in the Philippines.

You can open an account here in the Philippines, or abroad if you work near BDO partner remittance firms chosen to issue this account.

• Can be in pesos or in U.S. dollars
• Initial deposit of 100 pesos for a peso account or $100 for a dollar account.  (Update as of November 2010:  was changed to 50 pesos. On brochure seen on June 2011:  50 pesos)
• No maintaining balance as long as you make at least 6 remittances a year.  (Update as of November 2010:  was reduced to ONE remittance a year )
• You will receive a Passbook and a Mastercard ATM Debit Card.
• Additional update for seafarers:  You can open a BDO Kabayan Shipping dollar savings account with passbook for only US$10.  Show one valid ID and your valid seaman’s book.
• With your Kabayan savings account, you can arrange with BDO for the payment of your home loans and insurance premiums through BDO’s Auto-Debit Arrangement (ADA).

Check here BDO correspondent banks.

Check also this blogpost:  What happens if your BDO Kabayan account DOES NOT receive at least one remittance in a year?

BDO Remit Cash Card for OFWs

This card is similar to the regular BDO Cash Card,
but you can get this card abroad — in selected BDO accredited remittance
services.  There are thousands of BDO Remit offices, partners and agents worldwide, particularly in countries where there are a lot of OFWs.

This also has a higher load balance and deposit limit, compared to the regular BDO cash card.  While the regular cash card is limited to 10,000 pesos,  BDO Remit Cash Card can be loaded with up to 100,000 pesos.

You can send money directly to this BDO Remit Cash Card account.

Your and your beneficiary can also check the status of your remittance through the BDO Remit Status Inquiry on the BDO website.

Related Articles:

OFW Parents: Take Advantage of Free Internet Banking to Manage Your Childrens Weekly Allowance
BPI and BDO Internet Banking — Free and Quick Ways to Send Your Children’s Allowance
Savings Accounts for OFW Remittances
Savings Accounts in the Philippines with the Lowest Maintaining Balances
Cash Cards for OFW Remittances to the Philippines
List of Banks in the Philippines — Universal Banks, Commercial Banks
Top 27 Savings Banks in the Philippines — or Top 27 Thrift Banks

OFWs Can Send Money to the Philippines Thru BDO Remit

But that is water under the bridge now.

Some worse developments happened, and I’m now out of the company. Since the company is U.S.-owned, it was greatly affected by the U.S. recession.

It was good I had another job waiting, so I was able to continue paying our seemingly unending bills.  The Lord made a way for me.

We were given separation payments, but they were not as substantial as those given by multinationals.

Last January 29, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) released its advisory on flexible work arrangements, allowing companies to resort to several types of work schedules to cope with the effects of the U.S. recession.

DOLE emphasized that the flexible work arrangements were better than total closure or termination of a big number of employees.

Among the work arrangements approved are:

Compressed workweek

A workday is increased to more than 8 hours,  so the usual number of 6 work days per week can be reduced, but the regular total of 48 work hours per week is achieved. The increase in work hours per day is not treated as overtime and the addition should not be more than 4 hours. This work day reduction should not last for over 6 months.

(Our firm used this to reduce the building’s electric and other maintenance costs and at the same time help cut employees’ transpo and related expenses.)

Worker Rotation

Employees are given work alternately within the workweek.

Forced Leave

Employees are required to go on leave for several days or weeks using their leave credits if there are any.

(The “if there are any” phrase seemed to mean that firms are allowed to implement extended forced leaves even if the employees have no more leave credits to use.)

Last December, when many of us were put on forced leave, the firm clearly was trying to avoid paying our unusually high holiday payments, although the bosses did not admit it. Through the years, we always did our best to boost our individual production 7 days before the Christmas holidays to receive big holiday payments. Last December, the firm was always talking about costs, more costs and cost cutting.

Broken-time schedule

Work schedule is not continuous, but the regular total number of work hours within the week or day remains.

Flexi-holidays

Employees avail of holidays at some other days, but there should be no diminution of holiday benefits.

Other flexible work arrangements

DOLE allows companies and its employees to explore other alternative arrangements.

Grievances

Differences in the interpretation of  flexible work arrangements are resolved by the company’s grievance mechanism.

If the grievance mechanism is unable to fix the differences, the grievance is referred to the DOLE Regional Office which has jurisdiction over the workplace.

Notice Requirement

Companies are required to notify their area’s DOLE Regional Office of their implementation of any flexible work arrangement.

DOLE Advisory No. 2 Series of 2009

Signed by DOLE Secretary Marianito D. Roque                                              January 29, 2009