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Oh... you're the first business owner to register yourself.

You can add contact info and a location, but it looks like you haven't.

Has anyone recently left the Philippines without an ECC after staying over a year on a tourist visa?
Has anyone recently left the Philippines without an Exit Clearance Certificate (ECC) after staying over a year on a tourist visa?

Before, when I stayed from March to December 2024 and then went to Thailand, I wasn't asked for any clearance. This time I've been here since January 2025 and I'm leaving soon. I have a valid ACR I-Card, and the immigration office in Puerto Princesa said I might be able to get it at the Manila airport.

Anyone with a similar experience?

Is it possible to get the clearance at the immigration office at Manila NAIA airport?

Update:

Here's an update:

I just got through immigration.

I got to the airport less than 3 hours before my flight to China. (The airport immigration office told me yesterday that it would be fine.)

Like they told me, I went to the counter first, checked my bags, and got my boarding pass. Immigration needs the boarding pass. Then I went to the airport immigration office, which was just a few meters away. It took less than 45 minutes to get the Exit Clearance Certificate (ECC), and I paid 1,000 pesos. That's all.

No problems, easy and fast. They said it's always done this way for anyone who's stayed over a year. Anyone who's stayed more than 6 months has to do it this way.
If I'd known it was this fast and easy, I wouldn't have bothered you all lol

How did the people who joined recently find their way here?

I've been promoting on Google search and outside social media lately, but

all of a sudden there are people signing up these days

Please leave a comment... pretty please..

Selling Secondhand, PSA Documents and Bank Accounts — A Day in the Life of a Korean in the Philippines

In one line
A Korean–Filipino couple living in Bacolod sell their old stuff on Facebook Marketplace and share tips on secondhand deals, ordering PSA documents and closing bank accounts.

💡 Key takeaways

[Secondhand selling]
• There is no Karrot-style app here — Facebook Marketplace is the place.
• Check the going price and list a little higher. Most buyers haggle and always ask "LP?" (last price).
• Don't trust "I'll buy it tomorrow" reservations — sell to whoever pays first.
• Once it's handed over, that's it, so check the item carefully in person.
• Resale prices hold up well: a 5-year-old iPhone 13 listed at about ₱14,000 sold within 3–4 hours, and a DJI Mini 2 drone sold for what they paid (about ₱13,000).
• An air mattress bought for ₱2,300 was listed at ₱1,600 and a buyer came for it right away. Mattresses are pricey, so some households use air beds as their main bed.

[PSA birth and marriage certificates]
• You can now order online (PSA Helpline). It takes about 4 days, with delivery or mall pickup.
• About ₱325 per copy including delivery — four copies cost ₱1,300.
• Digital copies are not accepted for visas and similar; you need the paper original. Banks and visa offices ask for them often, so keep spares.

[Bank accounts]
• Each account has a maintaining balance, with a penalty if you fall below it: about ₱5,000 for a regular account, $500 for a USD account and over ₱12,000 for a checking account.
• You can't close an account online — bring an ID to the branch, and expect about 30 minutes per account.
• The rate at the time of the video was about ₱63 to $1.

⏱ Chapters
00:29 Selling an iPhone 13
02:47 Picking up PSA documents (Robinsons pickup)
04:59 Selling a DJI drone
06:03 At the bank — converting and closing a USD account
08:43 Selling an air mattress
10:12 Secondhand selling tips, wrapped up

💬 What viewers said (59 comments)
• Most-liked comments: "No country beats Korea for public services" and "The more I watch, the tougher life there looks."
• Many said the document fees are steep, though some noted online ordering is an improvement.
• Creator's reply: import tariffs make new goods expensive, so secondhand trading is lively and even well-worn items sell.
• Tip from a viewer: a GoTyme account is free with no maintaining balance.

Our goal is to bring all the information about the Philippines together in one place.

It has to be up-to-date and accurate.

You should be able to see event discounts all gathered together.

Information needs to be shared.

In the age of AI, people are ultimately the real asset.

I'll do my best to create the best possible environment!

Hi everyone! 👋 I'm new to this group. My family just moved to Manila from Canada 🇨🇦🇵🇭, so I joined. I'd love to connect with other expats, make friends, and be part of the community!

I'm Papz, and I have two homeschooled sons. I'd like to meet other families, go to meetups, and find out about fun places to go.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Hope to meet some of you soon! 😊

Dollar-to-peso exchange rate from 2014 to now

In the Philippines, try an Uratex bed instead of latex.

I've never used a good bed in Korea, so I can't compare, but I went to a hotel for a massage and the hotel bed was firm and comfortable. When I took off the bed cover, I saw it was Uratex, and I bought one right away. I've been using Uratex for several years now, and the folding bed for guests is Uratex too. In my opinion, the Uratex foam bed is good value for the money.

I've hardly ever used any other brand, but it seems better than a spring mattress.

Buy it during a sale period. I recommend the king size. You can even lie across it sideways with plenty of room. 3 inches is fine too.

Hi everyone.
Does anyone have advice on where to start if I want to set up my own bee farm? Where can I get a queen bee and beehives? Thanks in advance.

A foreigner interested in your culture has a question: Why do so many people online mix English words, and even entire sentences, into their Philippine language (Tagalog, Cebuano, etc.)? Is it only like that online, or do Filipinos talk this way in real life too? (Example screenshots below)

Is it legal for a school to strip-search minor students down to their underwear?

Hello, I'm posting because I'd like a general legal perspective on something that happened at a school today.
This morning (between 9:20 and 10:00), school administrators (the vice principal, to be exact) made a group of 9th-grade middle school students take off their pants and stay in only their underwear. The reason given was a rumor that someone had been seen vaping on campus.
As far as I know, no formal law enforcement agency was involved at the time of the strip search. School staff carried out the search themselves on school grounds and forced it on the students.
Here are my questions:
1. Do school administrators have the legal authority to force students to strip down to their underwear on suspicion of prohibited items such as e-cigarettes?
2. Does this cross the line into an illegal search and seizure, psychological abuse, or a violation of laws protecting minors?
3. What legal procedures or channels should parents/guardians follow to file a formal complaint against the school?
I would really appreciate any advice or guidance on child protection laws or education-related laws. Thank you.

Thank you all for the great advice I've received here. One more request 😁 My 3-year exit deadline is coming up. I don't want to go back to the US and would like to stay somewhere nearby. Where would be a good place for a day trip?

A very important request: is there anywhere near Quezon City or Metro Manila where I can buy beer in bulk at a cheaper price?

LANY Davao Concert Canceled Over "Safety Reasons"

Live Nation Philippines announced on Wednesday, October 28, that the "LANY: soft world tour" concert, which was scheduled for November 14, 2026, at the Crocodile Park Concert Grounds in Davao, has been canceled due to "safety concerns and production issues."

I thought Davao was supposed to be safe?

Right now the narrative the trolls are pushing in the comments on every one of these posts is "ticket sales weren't high," but didn't the DDS always say everyone in Davao is rich? The moment something happens that's inconvenient for their city, or goes against the status quo they've always pushed about Duterteland and Davao City, they're so fast at spinning a narrative.

What's the best way to buy just a one-way ticket to Manila instead of a round-trip ticket? I'm going to apply for a visitor visa.

Watching my fiancée only watch AI videos is making me doubt everything

We've lived together for a year, and my fiancée watches AI garbage videos on TikTok all the time. And not just shorts, but 10 to 15 minute TikTok "movies" made entirely with AI. Sometimes she even says "this isn't AI" and argues with me about it. The movies barely make any sense, the English is gibberish, the AI voices drive me crazy to listen to, and when I'm forced to sit through them I can feel my brain cells evaporating.

I've told her several times how it makes me feel, and I've told her my view that "garbage in, garbage out." I know my fiancée knows a lot less about the world than I do, but I figured it would get better over time. It didn't. I kept telling myself it wasn't an IQ issue but a lack of exposure, and it's being proven wrong. Seeing her keep watching and enjoying this stuff makes me think she might be a person of very low intelligence. She does have a four-year university degree in education, but it doesn't mean much to me, since I feel like the education system here is way behind those of modern countries.

Am I overreacting?

When someone says "don't panic," it usually means it's time to panic.

Has anyone been in this situation? I love my wife very much, and have for years now. I love life in the Philippines, I had a beautiful home there, and I consider the Philippines my home. My wife got her visa, and we've been living in the US for several years now. We're in the same line of work, the business is doing well, and my wife is very happy. The problem is that I don't want to be in the US. It's not that I dislike America, I just love the Philippines so much. If I lived there, I could retire easily, but if I stay in the US, I have to keep working. I worked with a lot of Filipinos for a long time, and I'm very close with many of them. If I insisted, my wife would move back to the Philippines. But I'd feel guilty, like I was taking away her joy. She was very successful in the Philippines too, and because she's smart and hardworking, she's been very successful here in the US as well. I love scuba diving, cliff diving, and surfing, so I miss the Philippines terribly, especially when a Jimmy Buffett song comes on. I'm torn between being a drunken sailor and being the most selfless husband (bana).
Age is a factor too. I'm very healthy and so are many of my friends, but who knows what God has in store for my health down the road. Has anyone had this experience?

Guide to the Digital Consular Authentication Financial Power of Attorney Service

The Overseas Koreans Agency is operating the "Digital Financial Power of Attorney Service" to make domestic financial transactions more convenient for overseas Koreans. If you wish to use it, please refer to the information below.

○ Key details: Through the [Overseas Koreans 365 Civil Service Portal], we provide online preparation of a digital financial power of attorney for domestic financial transactions, along with consular authentication and transmission to the financial institution.

1. Service Overview and How to Use
- Overview: This service digitizes the paper power of attorney previously issued at overseas diplomatic missions and delivers it electronically to financial institutions.
(※ Authentication of the existing paper power of attorney will continue to be offered alongside this service.)
- Procedure:
1) Prepare the power of attorney on the [Overseas Koreans 365 Civil Service Portal: https://www.g4k.go.kr]
2) Visit an overseas diplomatic mission (bring your original passport; the fee is paid on site)
3) Give the issued document verification number and your date of birth to your agent
4) Your agent in Korea visits the relevant bank and handles the transaction

2. Required Documents and Notes
- Required documents: ID (passport, Korean driver's license, or resident registration card)
- Restrictions: One digital financial power of attorney can be sent to only one financial institution, so if you need to grant authority for multiple financial institutions, a separate application is required for each one.
- Follow-up after authentication:
1) Once authentication is complete, give the "document verification number" and the "principal's date of birth" provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines to your agent in Korea (do not share them with anyone other than your agent, to prevent misuse).
2) Your agent in Korea visits the relevant financial institution with the document verification number, the principal's date of birth, and their own ID to handle the transaction.

※ Detailed instructions on using the digital financial power of attorney

📎 Attachment: Digital Consular Authentication Financial Power of Attorney Leaflet_20261028.pdf — You can download it from the original post below.

Source: Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines, Notices · Posted 2026-10-29 · Korea Open Government License Type 1 (Attribution)
https://ph.mofa.go.kr/ph-ko/brd/m_3640/view.do?seq=1346561

2026 Overseas Missions Consular Service Satisfaction Survey

The Overseas Koreans Agency is continuously working to improve various consular services, including ensuring the safety and convenience of Korean nationals who are staying or living abroad. To hear the valuable opinions of those who use the consular services of overseas missions, we are conducting the "2026 Overseas Missions Consular Service Satisfaction Survey." We ask for your active participation.

Survey target: Customers who have used overseas mission services
Survey period: September 7 ~ December 7, 2026
Winner announcement: December 17, 2026, 2:00 PM (※ Korea Standard Time)
Participation link: https://kon.kric.com/project/2607038_A/INDEX.asp(클릭) or scan the QR code

Source: Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Philippines Notice · Posted 2026-10-27 · Korea Open Government License Type 1 (Attribution)
https://ph.mofa.go.kr/ph-ko/brd/m_3640/view.do?seq=1346562