Check again because this is often confused with a different company, Philippine Prudential Life Insurance Company (PPLIC), an insurance company headquartered in Pasig City and affiliated with Danvil Plans.  Prudentialife and Prudential Life are not affiliated with each other.

If you have decided to terminate your Prudentialife plans, these are the documents you need to bring to Prudentialife to apply for termination:

1. Plan or policy contract (Original)
2. Certificate of Full Payment (Original)
3. At least two valid IDs (Photocopies signed three times)
4. Benefits Settlement Application Form (3 copies)
5. Processing fee of 300 pesos (to be deducted from the proceeds of the plan)

You can view or download a copy of the Benefits Settlement Application Form here.

If you like to view or download copies of a special power of attorney or affidavits, go here.

Always remember though that if you terminate your plan, you won’t get back all the money you paid.  You’ll only get a small portion.  The percentages are written in your plan.

But as others say, mas mabuti nang merong konti kesa wala.

I don’t have a Prudentialife plan. What I have is a Danvil plan. There was one time I also considered termination because of the pre-need crisis, but I decided to wait.

Nevertheless, we have to decide for ourselves. We gather information and then decide.  Whatever happens, we have ourselves to blame or congratulate.

Main Address:

Website:  www.prudentialife.com

For addresses of Prudentialife branches, go here.

This is the only credit card in the Philippines which has no annual fee for life.

Except of course those premium cards for the very wealthy, and those cards whose owners accumulate enough points to get annual-fee waivers.

I’ve related in my other posts that I finally became free from the bondage of credit cards last February 15.   I had eight credit cards, and after paying off all the balances, I canceled all of them, except my local BPI Classic.

But because I need a credit card for my Internet payments, I had to choose one credit card good for international purchases.  I like BDO Shop More, but if I have to cut costs, I should retain one with no maintenance fee.

So I finally chose the M Free Mastercard of Metrobank.  After canceling my old Metrobank card, I requested for the no-annual-fee card, and it was given to me.

More than a year ago, I applied for this no-annual-fee Metrobank card, but I was told I need to first use an annual-fee Metrobank card for at least a year before I can qualify for the free annual-fee credit card.

If you need to maintain just one card, consider this no-annual fee credit card.

Pag-ibig does not consolidate the records of members whose employers are located in different Pag-ibig jurisdictions; it depends on 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.

Amid the pain of selling something meaningful to us, my husband and I sold the lot we bought in the 1990s just so I can be free.   Over the past few years I became a slave to lenders, as I accumulated more than 200,000 pesos in credit card debts.

Even with a higher-than-average salary, I couldn’t make a dent on the principal balances even if all my payroll money goes to paying the monthly card bills.  I had to work overtime everyday, even on Sundays.  I couldn’t even visit my aging parents in the province because there’s nothing to set aside for fares.

There’d been a lot of pain… and other awful things too embarrassing to describe here.  It’s enough that now I’m free.

(by bluesemotion, photobucket)

And I thank God that amid my many grave financial mistakes, there’s one good  investment that I did when I was younger — that is to buy a lot in a good location and pay the amortization faithfully through the years no matter how hard.  And now, it was the one that saved me.
Credit cards are not evil per se. They can help. They have helped me when people I love had to be hospitalized and when tuition needed to be paid.

BUT credit cards are like knives — they can kill if not handled carefully.

There are many important things I have to tell my children.  But there’s one  thing they don’t have to hear about — the consequences of credit card use. They’ve seen how I suffered and almost got drowned in torment.

Credit cards in the Philippines

Philstar chooses and publishes three essays every week,  and if your essay is chosen,  you’ll receive 2,000 pesos,  and a chance to win the first, second or third prize of 15K, 10K and 5K, respectively,  in December this year.

You should be:

• 18 years old and above
• an OFW or ex-OFW
• a Filipino living abroad or has lived abroad
• a foreigner living in the Philippines
• a Filipino with a friend or relative abroad

Your essay must:

• be in American English
• about a real Filipino experience

This runs from December 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.

Read more details and chosen essays at The Philippine Star website.

• you cannot pay the total amount due each month
• you can only pay the minimum due
• and you may have to be late some of the time,

then do not get credit cards that have high late-penalty fees and that are strict on payment dates.

NOT RECOMMENDED:

HSBC — charges 600 pesos for every month that you are late even by just an hour or a day.

If you call them and explain your situation, your 600 may be reversed only once in every 6 months, and that depends on your reasoning and the mood of the bank representative at the time you are calling.

Next month, I’ll be receiving some money  (Thank you, Lord!),  and this HSBC card will be the first I will pay off fully and say goodbye to forever.  Good riddance!  Wow, how nice it would be to cut my HSBC card!

I was late in paying after the Ondoy floods, but the HSBC never heard my explanation.  No soul!  Only business for them.

STANDARD CHARTERED — also charges 600 pesos for every late payment… even by just an hour.  Remember, the date changes at midnight?  Or maybe the cutoff hour is every 6 am?  So, after midnight or after 6 am, and your payment is not there, the 600 pesos is charged, presto!

How do I know?  I have both of them.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Fortunately, there are credit cards in the Philippines that have retained some bits of kindness,
and I’m glad that the local banks  (although they have foreign shareholders) are the leaders.

Aside from forgiving late payments, they also charge lower fees.

BPI EXPRESS CREDIT has been very kind to me in terms of late payments. As long as my payment-due doesn’t remain unpaid until the next statement date, I don’t get charge a late-penalty fee.

Kahit ma-late ako ng 5 days or 10 days! But, of course, I don’t abuse it. I oftentimes pay very early too. An I’ve been using this BPI credit card since March 2000.

And when a late-penalty is deserved — because the next statement date has passed and my due remained unpaid — eto yong times na may mga unexpected major expenses –
the penalty fee was only 6% of the total amount due.

One time I was late in paying 1,715.40 by 13 days (almost 2 weeks!).
And you know what?  My late payment was only 102.93!  Compare that to HSBC and Standard Chartered which charge cardholders 600 pesos for being late for only an hour or a day!

EASTWEST is also kind.  It forgives a few days of delinquency.  And the charge is only 200 pesos — when the next statement date has already passed.

BDO SHOP MORE charges 300 pesos or 5% of amount due, whichever is higher.

METROBANK charges 600 pesos or 7.5% of amount due, whichever is higher. This is one local bank that charges high, although this bank offers an annual-fee-free card and a low-interest Cash2Go loan.

BPI EXPRESS CREDIT charges 6% of the amount due for the month — no fixed fee, no whichever.

This rule considers the poorer ones like me — 6 percent of 1,000 is only 60 pesos, but when a rich credit card holder is late, the 6-percent fee for 100,000 is 6,000 pesos.  But, oh well, I’m not a gold cardholder; the late-penalty rules for gold credit cards could be different.

When charged a late penalty fee, call the bank.  Give a valid reason.  Oftentimes, they forgive, as long as you are not late often.

Jobs: Document Analysts

Ad Source: January 24, 2010 issue of the Manila Bulletin

Company:  Athena e-Services Corp.
30F IBM Plaza Bldg., Eastwood City
Cyberpark E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave.
Libis,  Quezon City 1110

You need to be:

• college graduate, any course
• computer literate with a typing speed of at least 35 wpm
• excellent in written and spoken English
• preferably experienced in abstracting and indexing

Athena e-Services is a BPO specializing in medical

services, legal services, contract management services,
content creation and pre-press services.

Send or bring your resume to the address above,

or email your resume to jobs@athenaeservices.com

You can also check this writing job.

Jobs:  Freelance writers

posted January 26, 2010 on jobsdb.com

You will:

• work for a company, but work at home
• write business, technical and creative articles
• accomplish other writing projects

You need to:

• conform to citation styles and grammar rules
• attend to revision requests
• submit projects promptly
• be a college graduate with excellent reading skills
• computer literate
• have Skype ID, Yahoo Messenger ID and Globe mobile subscription

Employer is a Filipino firm called EHB Business Process Outsourcing, which do outsourced projects from the U.S. and which aims to become one of the best home-based employment in the country.

You can email your resume at recruitment@ebipbpo.com.

Include your Skype ID, Yahoo Messenger ID, and mobile number. EHB will communicate through email, chat, SMS, or phone.  Communication will be done mostly online.

Apply now because the need for writers is urgent.

For more detailed information, visit jobsdb.com.

Check another writing job posted in the January 24, 2010 issue of Manila Bulletin.

Jobs:  Editors
Ad Source: Manila Bulletin, January 24, 2010

Company:  St. Bernadette Publishing House Corporation
1373 E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave. Kristong Hari, Quezon City
Tel.No. 725-3792, 726-3662, 410-0700

You can apply if you are a:

• Graduate of Journalism or Communication Arts
• Good in Math and Science
• Preferably single, 25-32 years old
• Proficient in written and oral English and Filipino

You are requested to call for the exam schedule.

You can also check this writing job.

This morning, our neighborhood was stirred up by the sudden piercing cries and screams of a 10-year-old girl inside a long vacant unit beside her family’s house.  “Kuya! kuya! kuya!…”

Neighbors ran to see what happened, and they were shocked to see her 13-year-old brother hanging from a rope tied to one of the exposed beams.

It appeared that the boy has been dead for hours. He must have died during  the night.

The immediate conclusion was that he killed himself. According to most of the stories that soon circulated, the boy has just gone home after running away for a few days, and must have been punished severely.

Several in the neighborhood say that the boy was always being scolded and was always ordered to do chores, barring him from playing.

What must have worsened the situation was that the boy was naturally quiet.  He may have not spoken about what he’s going through with his friends.

The mother of the boy is working abroad, earning for this boy and his two younger sisters.  She left the children with her parents because her husband was apparently irresponsible.

I came to know later that these three kids at one time were taken by the DSW from the husband because he neglected them when they were living with him in the province.

OFw parents are heroes.  They sacrifice.  They bear hours and hours of lonely work in foreign lands… for their children.

But they should ensure that their children are in good hands.  They should instruct their children how they can be contacted directly and easily in case there are problems.

Texting, calling and emailing are now affordable.  Even financially struggling neighbors are willing to lend their cell phone loads, especially if children are involved.  They should talk to their children directly and not always through certain people.

Who am I to judge the people who took charge of the boy?  They are good people too.  The boy is their own flesh and blood.

But why did the boy kill himself?