PhilFAQS

I keep a stack of notes and papers next to my computer for background material on future articles.  I just noticed a leaflet someone stuck in my hand at the mall the other day for a Hyundai that I sat in recently (big enough for 4 Americans, not much else impressive about it that I could see).

But they did have the full price list and payment plans on the flier.  One thing you will find completely different here in the Philippines than in the US is, in general, there’s one price for a certain model car and that’s it. MSRP lists are readily available … in fact here’s a useful site with the price list for nearly all the cars sold here in the Philippines currently:



Auto Search Philippines

The other thing that’s probably pretty strange to most Americans is, there are virtually no ‘zero down’ deals, no cash backs, no zero interest specials etc. You can figure 15% to 35% down and while you can find loans up to 60 months (five years) hold on to your socks when you figure out what the total interest you will be paying on such a loan is … most car loans are 12% annual interest and higher and that’s just about the size of things.

The best way to buy a car here is enter into a program that hasn’t been seen in the US for years … ride public transpo and save your money in a bank until you have enough for Dave’s recommended “everything down and nothing per month” plan.

I know, I know, that sounds almost un-American … well you aren’t in Kansas anymore when you get here, Toto, that’s for sure.

Driving is fun here in the Philippines. buying a car is even “funner”.

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Update to the Update:

Recently my wife and I headed up to Pangasinan province to fetch her sister home for the holidays.  Finally the new SCTEX northern segment was completed in it’s current form.  Not nearly as impressive as the segment that goes west to Subic, that’s for sure.

Again I am completely unimpressed by the lack of coordination between the toll systems … every time someone decides to collect a peso they put up yet another toll gate and hire 24/7 staff to do so rather than use the facilities that are already in place an making money.

But at least the new segment of road dumps you off in the middle of rice fields far from the mess of Tarlac City, one of the big chokepoints on the road north.

Now, if we could just get the mayor of Urdaneta to stop digging, refilling and digging anain the same trenches across the same few blocks of the most congested city in the Philippines we would actually be able to make decent tme.  Life is slow here in the Philippines but then again, that is one of the attractions

A few times lately I have written about the NLEX (Northern Luzon Expressway) and the SCTEX (Subic, Clark, Tarlac Expressway), which recently ope4ned its segment from Clark to Subic Bay.  (The remaining segment, Clark to Tarlac is slated for opening next month … I have to go north early next month so I’ll be anxiously awaiting developments in this area, more as it happens).

Other foreigners I’ve talked to and more than a few Filipino friends are sometimes slightly mystified and often a little irritated by the mechanics of using these roads.  The toll systems, in particularly are not the same and not always intuitive.  Here’s a little rundown on what you would go through if you travel from Metro manila to Subic, about the farthest you can currently travel.

You enter the NLEX at the Balintawak toll plaza, just north of EDSA.  The lower 20 kilometers or so (first 5 exits) of the tollway are on a “flat rate” system … that means you’ll pay 38 pesos to go anywhere in this segment of the tollway.  There are electronic toll tags and special lanes available, but as of yet I haven’t explored getting one, because there doesn’t seem to be any time advantage … the lines at the electronic toll card (EC) gates are as long or longer than at the conventional gates.  What I do to save time is always make up little packets of 38 pesos, usually coins wrapped in a 20 peso note and keep them in a little compartment on my dash … then I can use the dedicated “Exact Toll” lanes or any other lane that is open and get through pretty fast.

When I am going home from Manila this is all the toll transactions I need to worry about, since the exit for my house is within the “flat rate” area, there is no toll gate and I just exit direct from the expressway ramp onto city streets.

At the town of Bocaue (bow-cow-a) the longer, metered or variable rate segment of the expressway begins.  There is a different toll for each of the remaining exits, based upon the distance you travel.  If you are already within the “flat ate” segment this is all transparent to you, the road sweeps around the Bocuae toll barrier and you just drive until you reach the exit you want … all cars without a special ticket indicating they entered farther along the road than Bocaue will pay the same toll, no matter which place within the “flat rate” segment they entered.

Maximum toll is at Dau (dow-uu) the last exit and the place you want to go to enter the SCTEX to continue your trip to Subic.  Total fee, end to end of the NLEX is PhP 180 pesos.  If you enter from the “Flat rate” area, you’ll owe PhP 142 … 180 minus the 38 pesos you have already paid.  If you entered at some point within the measured toll area, you will have been given a ticket upon entry, the “toll teller” at Dau will figure you required toll based on your entry point.

This road is built pretty much to any international standard,  The lanes are wide, well marked, there are a number of full service rest stops along the way … gas, repairs, rest rooms and numerous restaurants … and all exits are well marked.  Each ext sign carries the name of the next two exits for pre-planning purposes, and each exit has a 2km, 1 km and 500 meter announcement sign so you can get into the exit lane without hassle.

I highly recommend you that the last rest stop (just after the San Fernando city exit, because there are no rest areas at all along the SCTEX.

Once you leave the NLEX Dau toll barrier you’ll immediately see signs for the SCTEX which branches off in just 2 kilometers.  You exit to the right and the ramp sweeps you up and over the NLEX and into the entrance toll barrier for the SCTEX.  You use the same entrance whether going toward Subic or toward Tarlac, so at the toll barrier you’ll be given an electronic smart card indicating your entry point.  There are no toll barriers or different segments along the way of this road, just follow the signs for Subic and 55 kilometers later you will arrive at the final toll barrier in the tiny town of Tipo, situated on the main entry road into the Subic base proper.

The scenery along the SCTEX is worth the drive even if you aren’t interested in Subic.  Well worth a trip now, before it gets cluttered with the inevitable ugly billboards.

Your toll will be PhP 112 pesos, the smiling toll teller will make quite a show out of sliding your entry card into a reader and waiting for the computer to calculate your toll which will show up on an electronic tote board.  This expressway was built via joint venture with the Japanese and Philippines government.  Mostly this doesn’t show, but the toll system does.  I lived in japan for years and I’m familiar with their love of gadgetry for gadgetry’s’ sake, you may be amused at the show.

As soon as you leave the Tipo toll gate you enter on to a road built by the US navy as a commercial entry point for Subic.  Years ago it was sold to the NLEX folks who at one time planned to make their own tollway to Subic.  they never did, but they still control this little piece of road, so guess what?

Yep, one more toll booth … you’ll be asked for 19 more pesos to travel down the hill onto Subic itself.  I just pay and smile, I gave up figuring out the purpose of having multiple tolls along the same route long ago … I just live here, I don’t run the place.

After you pay your last toll you’ll drive a few more kilometers and be presented with yet another barrier blocking your path.  What?  Not another toll?  No, this is the entry control point for the SBMA itself.  The guards will look the car over and give you a little piece of paper known as a one-day pass.  Keep it in the car, because you’ll have to surrender it when you leave.

That’s it, enjoy your stay on Subic.  When you return, everything is the same in reverse sense and order except on the NLEX you’ll just get an entry ticket at the Dau toll plaza and when you reach Bocaue, on the south-bound side, you will pay the whole toll due .. 180 pesos.

There are some very nice sights along the way, though, so don’t let all this toll trivia spoil your day … about 2 hours, end to end, even if you observe the speed limits … mostly 100 km per hour (62.4 mph) the whole way.  Enjoy.

The Philippine Star has a write-up on the SCTEX here, goes into some detail on the basis for the tolls and future plans

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No secret that many roads in the Philippines are bad … and stories about the traffic can sometimes reach legendary proportions.  I wrote one I particulate back about "Three-lined Streets".  But to leave you thinking I go through that nonsense every day would be a failure to present the whole picture.

Tuesday last we drove up to one of my sisters-in-law’s home in Pangasinan Province, a trip of almost exactly 200 kilometers (about 124 miles for the "thinking impaired").  We trawled first on our local town roads to the entrance of the NLEX (North Luzon Expressway), about 2km from our house.

The NLEX is a greet private enterprise-government coop success story.  The was atoll road (sometimes called the North Diversion Road) that had been built by the government years ago.  It was cheap, and it was a mess … humps, potholed, people driving on the shoulders, swerving cross all lanes of traffic, etc.  Someone had a brilliant idea.  They turned the whole mess over to one of the "ruling families" who formed a corporation, got foreign investors in on the deal and rebuilt the road to essentially US tollway standards.  It cost more these days … PhP 180 ($4.23 USD at today’s rate) for the complete 80 km distance, but a fantastic time saver … you can drive end-to-end in an hour, even obeying the speed limit (I know, who does that? ).  What’s more important, it has an ongoing maintenance budget and makes money for its investors.  They even dropped the tools last year because they were making money and paying off the investors far ahead of schedule.

We then transitioned to the new SCTeX (Subic, Clark, Tarlac expressway). This is also a joint venture with private industry … a Japanese investment consortium provided funds to build the system and a private corporation will operate, maintain and pay back investors with profits.  The system goes in two directions from where we entered, southeast to the Subic Freeport (55 km, toll PhP 110), and north to the city of Tarlac, on the main route north to Baguio … the way we traveled to reach Pangasinan.  We hung a   right at the junction in the picture.  (that’s the Zambales Mountains, Mt. Pinatubo in the left background, by the way)

All good things come to an end, though, so we finished the trip to Pangasinan on a national road (roughly equivalent to a state highway).  You can see how the roads, outside the towns, look in the last picture.  This is MacArthur Highway which actually runs the entire length of the Philippines from north to south.  Yes, that MacArthur, many people in the US won’t even remember the name any more but you won’t find many Filipinos who don’t know about "Doug".

Anyway, that’s a little about how trips go here on Luzon … paradise it is not, but in many places the roads are very good and the driving is pleasant.  People who have the preconceived notion that foreigners can’t or shouldn’t drive in the Philippines sort of amaze me a bit.  I’ve been driving all my life and have pretty much always had a car available to go where and when I wanted to, I really see no reason not to do the same here in the Philippines.

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Last night my wife (The Unofficial Cook) and I had a good chuckle at a real estate ad she found on a Philippine   newspaper website.  It was an obvious typo, instead of describing a house as being on a tree lined street they had written that it was on a "Three lined street".  A simple sort of mistake that any of us could have made … but we laughed none the less.

Then I got to thinking about what a ‘Three-lined street" might really be like.  Did they mean there were three lines painted down the middle of the street, or did they unconsciously think of a street with an extra line of traffic jammed in where only two would fit?  (yes, I think strange thoughts, you already know that or you wouldn’t be here *smile*).

I really need to put up some videos on my own here … some of my readers have absolutely no how traffic flows and doesn’t flow here in the Philippines … I’ll get on that project right away soon now.  But for the meantime you might want to have a look at the basic driving in the Philippines video my friend Bob Martin posted recently.

Many streets here just don’t have lines painted on them.  And for those that do, the lines are nothing more really than a suggestion.  In the US, virtually no roads have lane widths less than 9 feet wide (the Interstate standard is 12 feet).  Nine feet is nearly three meters., twelve feet close to 4.  The average small car needs less than 2 meters of space.  So let’s consider a street with two 3 meter-wide lanes, one in each direction.  That’s about 6 meters of roadway width and only about 4 meters taken up by vehicles … hmm, 6-4 leaves 2 … another whole lane of traffic.

Now poor country or not, the Filipino has a great tradition summed up by the Tagalog word "simot", which translates into using up the very last bit of everything.  So if you were a driver and you saw 2 meters or so of excess pavement … paid for by the taxes of the poor and the rich alike, would you waste that space, or would you make simot?  I think you can guess the answer.

Now given this scenario you might be thinking, ok that extra two meter’s he’s talking about … I can see how it can be useful, but given that traffic flows both ways on that street, which direction is that traffic going to flow?  An excellent question, and an excellent, democratic answer (the Philippines is much more democratic than say the US, where everyone seems to wait for some central government to tell them what to do).  the democratic answer is, whichever way it wants to … he who gets there first rules, and if the timing is in question of who was first, he who is bigger wins.

Sometimes this practice is set up officially, where traffic is ordered to flow against oncoming traffic by public officials/law enforcement.  That’s referred to as "counterflow". such as the traffic legally on the ‘wrong" span of the bridge in Bob’s video.  However, "counterflow" is rumored to be apart of the Philippine Constitution (I haven’t, as yet, looked it up).  It’s authorized to be invoked by any citizen (or any foreigner who wants to pose as a Pinoy) at any time s/he decides to partake of the right. 

thus "Three-lined" streets are more the norm than the exception … if there is space, you use it.  As a parting thought, for our two-wheel (powered or un-powered) enthusiasts … consider that a two-wheeler needs less and a meter of space … so how many extra lanes cane you get in using bicycles/motorcycles.

The Philippines.  I love it.  Real democracy in action.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard about this scenario in the Philippines:

Someone in the family wants a car … often for a very good reason … let’s say to start a car service, which is often a good way to make a buck (slang for peso) here.

So the overseas relative(s) decide to help.

Money gets sent for a down payment.  Sometimes, for whatever reason, the down payment never gets made.  The car never gets bought and people on both sides of the ocean are disappointed, disillusioned and often mad at each other.

Or perhaps the down payment does get made and later the monthly payments get sent and something happens and the loan goes into default.  Again, recipe for financial disaster and long-term family feuds.  Trust me, you don’t want this.

It’s no secret I am a big fan of Mitsubishi Philippines.  They make good cars and trucks, made in the Philippines for Philippine conditions and supply taxes and jobs for the Philippines.  I own a 2006 Mitsubishi Adventure and it’s one of the best cars I have ever owned, and it was pretty cheap too, in terms of purchase price and running costs.  Mits makes several other great cars and trucks for the Philippines as well.  their L-300 is one of the all-time most common commercial vehicles.

Well here’s a neat partnership between Mitsubishi Motors, Philippines and BPI (Bank of the Philippines islands), one of the oldest and most reliable banks … with convenient remittance centers in the USA.

The overseas Filipino/former Filipino contracts for the purchase of the car, makes the payments direct, and the Philippine family gets the car, the use of it and whatever profit potential.  Sounds like a win-win to me.  It’s also a smart sounding way to get a new car all set up and delivered for your own use when you arrive …. because buying a car here, like many other common tasks … is not the same as in the US.

By the way, the sales manager of the local dealership is a personal friend of mine, I’m happy to field any queries at no charge or obligation, I enjoy having a car and driving too much not to help others be happy

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The latest podcast from Bob Martin and I on getting around within the Philippines.  You can listen or download it here.

I write quite a bit about domestic air travel.  Airlines don’t go everywhere, though, and a lot of people come here with the idea that they should rent a car and drive themselves around, much the same as they would when visiting a city at home.

Think this through.  It may not be the best solution.  I go into this on the podcast in some detail … but the short answer is it’s more expensive that you think, it’s hard to get around, and if you don’t have experience driving here, you may have quite a bit of difficulty … or wind up in places you don’t want to be.

here’s some sample prices for renting a car at NAIA,the main Manila airport:

CAR     CAR MAKE/MODEL   EQUIPMENY   DAILY/WEEKLY RATES PESOS/US DOLLARS AS OF 3 Mar 2008

Toyota Corolla XL  Gas, Manual, Aircon      P1600/$40   P43,000/$1067  

Mitsubishi Adventure Diesel, Manual, A/C P2800/$69   P75,000/$1845

Dodge Grand Caravan, Gas, Auto, A/C        P5000/$123 P135,000/$3322

There are bigger and more expensive vans to be found also.  I have nothing against Dodges, but frankly $3300 a week, plus gas, tolls, insurance and who knows what other charges that get lumped on (ever rented a car in any country that only cost what you thought the rate was going to be?  No, me neither.) is a lot of money for a Dodge mini-van.

Note that the Dodge is the cheapest model I could find that has an automatic transmission, too.  Some folks can’t even drive manual transmissions in today’s world, and for sure the traffic in the Philippines is much easier to deal with using and automatic … but they are difficult and expensive to find. 

One point that’s important well, before I let you go … I don’t believe I mentioned it on the podcast either … do not plan on driving after dark, except perhaps in large cities.  Philippine highways are virtually totally unlighted, huge holes in the road with no warning, abandoned unlighted trucks in the middle of the highway, stray animals, etc.  And night is the time of the mag na naka … for those who don’t know the word, another reason not to be on the roads after dark.

Don’t mean to paint too gloomy a picture … I like traveling and I even like driving myself, some of the time, but it is not like flying into Orlando and stopping by the Hertz counter.

Popularity: 5% [?]

I just got through posting on a very popular subject here … prices in the department store … when it occurred to me I haven’t talked about car prices in a long time.  Looking at the Saturday paper I see that ‘Zero Interest’ is the name of the game this season … when I bought my Mitsubishi Adventure last year no one was pushing zero interest loans, the promos were more on the order of a free laptop and free first year maintenance.

Here’ s a few deals at random:

Toyota Avanza (this is a mini-van style not sold in the US, about the size, overall, of a Corolla.  P 700,000 through 890,00 or so, (1.3 or 1.5 liter gas engines, manual and automatic transmission models).  20 % own and zero percent loans for 2 years.

Mitsubishi Adventure .. and AUV (Asian Utility Vehicle), resembles an undersize Ford Explorer.  2,5 gas and diesel engine offerings, manual and automatic, 770,000to 910,000 pesos.  20% down and/or 2 year zero interest deals, 1st year insurance, tax and license plates free, 35% discount on all service labor.

Ford Everest SUV 9agin, a lot like a shrunken explorer), p199,000 down, zero percent, 2 years to pay, other promos at dealer.

Full coverage insurance on a vehicle like these will run 15,000 to 24,000 per year 9really pays to shop around), license plates about 1,200 a year, gas is running 39 or 40 pesos per liter right now, yesterday’s diesel price was 38.35 per liter in the Metro Manila area.

Happy Motoring.

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UPDATE: The information here is certainly applicable to my non-US readers as well … there are not special LTO regulations for different countries … as long as those countries offer reciprocity to Philippine citizens driving on their Philippine license.  Just substitute your home country terms for the places I refer to US state licenses.

I’m using a really great software to maintain my blogs called Windows Live Writer and up until a few days ago I have to say I absolutely loved it …but lately it has developed the apparent trick of posting earlier drafts of what is supposed to be a finished, spell checked document.  I’m a lousy typist and a darn poor speller but I do proof read better than it appears the way this post went live yesterday … sorry for all the typos, I shall try to fix them now.

Recently I posted some notes about driving here in the Philippines and it occurs to me that I didn’t give very useful instructions about getting a Philippines driver’s license.  This is not a hard thing to do … but like everything else it is a bit strange to the "first timers".  You need to do this within your first 90 days in the Philippines if you plan to drive … and it’s worth doing anyway because the picture ID license with your local address is a useful form of ID for other business transactions you might need to do. (Some law enforcement officers have the idea your foreign license is only good for 30 days … that’s not what the law says, but you likely won’t be in a position to argue if you get stopped … word to the wise)

The Philippine equivalent to what most of us know as the Department of Motor Vehicles is the LTO … Land Transportation Office.  They handle driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations, license plates, mandatory insurance laws and in general anything to do with vehicles with wheels (yes, there is an ATO and a MARINA also, for vehicles that fly or float).

The first step (if you want to do things the easy way) is to download, unzip and  print out the application form. (Yes I wish it was already online in PDF Fillable format but this is good enough(pwede  na)).  As you can see the form is quite simple … you are applying to convert from a Foreign License to a Non-Professional Philippine License.  Don’t worry about blocks such as restrictions … if the LTO decides to add any (like a requirement to wear glasses, etc.) they will take care of what is needed.  There is no written or practical test for a conversion license (no, you won’t have to give up your US license, it will be handed back to you) so I see no reason to print out both sides of the form … the back side is the examiner’s score sheet for practical exams … print it only if you are extremely concerned with being a stickler for instructions )

Next make a copy of:

1. Both sides of your US license (remember, your "real" state-issued driver’s license, the so-called International Licenses do not convey driving privileges except those that your US state has granted and they are not needed and essentially useless in the Philippines)
2. The identification page of your current passport
3. The page in your passport that authorizes you to be in the Philippines … 13 series Visa, latest Tourist Visa, SRRV, etc. 

Might as well do this now … in case you aren’t aware of how things work in the Philippines, 90% of the time for any government procedure is waiting for copies and/or walking somewhere to have copies made for a fee … government offices often don’t do this for you.

Next step Is to call or visit your closest LTO serving office.  They are all listed here.  I suggest calling because not every local office can/will issue licenses … some do renewals only.  Since I live in the metro Manila area I got my license at the LTO headquarters on East Avenue.

Where ever you go there is one important thing to remember: Avoid "fixers"!  The LTO is actively trying to stamp out these "parasites" … in addition to being illegal they often screw things up.  Just have a little confidence in yourself and do this on your own … no matter what office you visit there will be a security guard at the gate/door and he’ll tell you where to go.  Signs are in English … just look for a window that says "Applications" and do what you are told there.  The officer will look at your paperwork and direct you to an accredited drug testing and medical testing center outside the LTO proper.  Again, go to the one he recommends and avoid the ubiquitous "fixers".  You’ll simply fill up a simple form, be asked to give a urine sample and then directed to a doctor who will test your eyes, take your blood pressure and make sure you have no disabling injuries … 5 minutes, most likely.  Cost will be about 200 pesos.  Take the forms from the screening center back to the application window and hand them in.

You’ll likely be given a number and/or told to listen for your name.  You’ll be called to sit in front of a camera, sign your signature into the computer and then, after another wait, you’ll be called to the cashier to pay about 300 pesos more and then collect your shiny new license.  Some provincial offices may not issue the actual license on that date, you’ll be given a receipt (which is valid for driving) and instructions on how you get your permanent license.  Whole process took me less than an hour.

Whether you get your "real" license or just the receipt remember one thing … the OR .. Official Receipt you get from this transaction is very important.  Essentially nothing is valid in the Philippines without the OR … so keep it, even when you have your license.  Carry it with your license.  Whatever the government document … keep the Official Receipt!

Drive Happy!

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