7 Ways to Keep Your Home Safe While You Travel – Part I

While we spend much time looking for a safe hotel to stay in when planning for a trip, we also need to take time to keep our home safe when we leave. There are certain criteria that thieves look for in targeting a house. The goal is to avoid these, making your chances of not being in their “hit list” much better.

A. Time

Burglars pick the most convenient time to break in to a house – when no one is home. Months of July and August as well as during the holidays are the favorite time for thieves. That’s usually the time when we take off for a family reunion or enjoy our hard-earned money on a vacation. Thieves prowl the neighborhood to see which homes are unoccupied. To not convey your absence,

1. Keep mails/newspapers from sight. Have someone pick them up regularly.

2. Keep some lights on. Just a light in an upper room window can signal the presence of someone.

3. During the holidays, keep presents out of sight. Don’t give thieves a reason to “shop” in your house. After the holidays, keep boxes of presents out of sight. You don’t want to let thieves know that you got the latest and greatest in electronics for Christmas.

B. Place

Thieves pick a house where there’s a place that they can hide in the dark or from public view. To keep them from targeting your house,

1. Add lighting. Light up any dark spots in your yard.

2. Trim bushes/trees. Keep bushes low enough so no one can hide behind it. Keep tree branches trimmed to keep it as far away from your house as much as possible so it can’t be used to access your upper rooms or roof.

C. Accessibility

Keep gates locked and put a “Beware of dogs” sign to add a bit of fear factor. If, for whatever reason, they still would like to try your house, make it difficult for them to break in. Hopefully, they’ll get frustrated and leave.

1. Use deadbolts. Make sure the area of the lock and door jamb that it’s bolted in is reinforced (such as Door Armor MAX from Armor Concepts) and will not easily break when pried with a crow bar or kicked in. Of course, the door must be solid so it will not break into pieces when forced open.

2. Use sliding door and sliding window security bars for additional protection from forced entry. A piece of 2×2 lumber from your local hardware or an adjustable one from an online store will keep sliding doors/windows fixed on its track.

Next time, we’ll look into how you can make your home smart as an additional option to keeping your home safe and give you a peace of mind while away.

How to Apply for Retention of Philippine Citizenship

Having experienced the process first hand, here are some tips to help those who are planning to get their Philippine citizenship back:

1. Forms and Documents
Download the petition form and the instructions/checklist form from the Bureau of Immigration website (http://www.immigration.gov.ph/services/citizenship-retention-and-aquisition/application-for-retention-re-acquisition-of-phil-citizenship). Obtain all the required photos and documents including an Affidavit of One and the Same Person if your current name is different from what’s in your birth certificate. A common example is a married woman who changed her last name to  her husband’s.

Fill out the forms except the Oath of Allegiance. This will be prepared for you at the Dual Citizenship office before the oath-taking.

Place all the documents (in the order of the checklist) in a long folder and attach them with a paper fastener. If you forget to do this they’ll ask you to buy the supplies from the ladies by the the main door. They also have copying service inside and attorneys outside to handle your last minute affidavit needs. To save time, check your official documents for any discrepancies and correct them before turning them in or you’ll get a letter from them after two months of your petition asking you to submit an affidavit.

2. Before the trip
Plan your trip to the Bureau of Immigration Head Office, Magallanes Dr, Intramuros, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines. This is the only place they do it when you’re in the Philippines. If staying overnight, I recommend the Bayleaf Hotel (https://www.thebayleaf.com.ph/). It is nice, fairly priced and very close to the BOI. Usually, Mondays are always the busiest so try other days. Before heading there, check to make sure that your scheduled date does not fall on a holiday. They usually have holidays in Manila only and sometimes declared on a short notice.

3. Parking
Once there, parking is along the road on the BOI side. There are parking attendants that will give you tickets which you’ll pay P20 for the1st 3 hours then P15 for every hour thereafter for a car.

4. Windows, Windows
At the entrance, you will be required to leave your identification card with the guard. Head over to the Public Information and Assistance Unit (PIAU) right across the main entrance and turn in your petition. It will be forwarded to the attorneys in a room behind the counter. Wait for your name to be called. The attorney in charge of your petition will review your documents with you to make sure everything is in order.

After passing the review, take your documents to the Alien Registration Division (window 18) then Central Receiving Unit (window 19) and finally Central Receiving Unit (window 20) for payment of application.

5. Taking the Oath
Go up to the 4th floor to the Dual Citizenship Office (room 401) for the oath-taking preparation. You’ll have to make one last payment of P2,510 at the window of room 404. All the applicants will then be called to make the oath before a legal officer.

The whole process should be finished in a day if you have all the documents needed.

6. The Certificate of Citizenship
The Certificate of Re-acquisition/Retention of Philippine Citizenship will be available for pick up only. The waiting time is 2 to 3 months after the application date. Call (02) 301-0756 or (02) 485-2400 locals 458 or 459 to inquire about the status of your petition.

Basically, you have to throw all the nice rules you have learned in driving school out the window if you dare to drive in the Philippines for the first time. There is no right of way, only “my way”. You have to be a defensive driver or plain lucky to make it home unscathed. Drivers here have some kind of an unwritten rules of the road that you just learn as you go. Knowing it would make your driving experience here less intimidating. Here are some of what I have observed:

I. Oncoming vehicle is flashing its headlights.
1) Move out of the way. He needs your lane to pass another vehicle.
2) Give way. He is going to make a left turn.
3) Don’t try to pass. He thinks you’ll not make it.
4) Go ahead and make a left. Either he’s being nice to let you through or frustrated that you’re blocking his way.

II. A vehicle is veering in front of you. Let him pass. It’s your fault if you hit him.

III. Don’t be alarmed when a vehicle is driving against the traffic flow on the side of the road. That’s normal.

IV. It’s okay to make your own lane to avoid traffic. You’ll be fine as long as you can maintain a space of a couple of inches (measured from the tip of your sideview mirror to theirs) between vehicles.

V. The inner lane at the traffic light is for left turn. But others ignore it, so you can make a left turn from where you are if vehicles ahead are not turning.

VI. Generally, it’s your duty to prevent traffic jam by letting a vehicle through when it’s entering from the left. You can use the flashing headlights gesture as in rule I.4 above.

VII. Entering a traffic is a game of psychology. If you wait for the traffic to become clear, you’ll be late for dinner. Instead, poke your way in inch by inch until some driver gives way. This usually works with smaller vehicles, though. Trucks and buses have the priority.

VIII. Use your horn liberally. Two short beeps for thanking someone or when passing another vehicle and one to two long beeps if you’re frustrated.

Driving around Urdaneta and surrounding towns is similar except for the excessive number of tricycles, motorcycles and trees on the road. For some reason, trees are not removed when roads are built. This makes travel time estimates on driving apps like Waze rarely reliable. Just like in other places, the common practice is that the inner lane is the slow lane and the outer lane is the passing lane but watch out for the pedestrians, dogs and trees there.

The outer lane is a multi-purpose space used as a sidewalk, rice-drying area, parking area, opposite-direction driving lane, store signs space and other purposes.

Be watchful of bikes, tricycles and jeepneys with no lights when overtaking at night.

Sometimes it’s unavoidable that travellers get the Montezuma’s revenge specially if they are not used to the drinking water in the area. There’s a place here in Urdaneta City called Bayaoas. Its name means guava in the local dialect. According to the folks here, this place used to be a guava orchard, hence the name. The plant is very common not just here but in all parts of the country.  Old people have used it as a remedy for the common diarrhea. Medical researchers have proven that guava leaves extract helps control the effects of diarrhea.

My father’s recipe for making a decoction is to boil about ten guava leaves in a cup of water for about 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the liquid in a cup, let it cool and then drink it. One serving should be enough to ward off Montezuma’s revenge.