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 miraso
From: temiraso@vela.acs.oakland.edu (thomas e mirasol)
Subject: Manila visit
Organization: Oakland University, Rochester MI.
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1992 14:49:17 GMT

I recently came back from a 3-week stay in Manila after having
been away for almost 5 years.  I was surprised to see a lot of
changes have taken place . . .

1.   I was surprised by the "flyovers".  This was definitely a
     good move on the government's part to alleviate the already
     worsening traffic conditions over there.

     In spite of this, traffic is still bad.  I was particularly
     surprised with my ability to drive in all that traffic even
     after a 5 year absence.  Just on my second day there, I
     immediately dove into a traffic jam on the south expressway
     and found it quite amusing and adventurous.  I enjoyed
     driving through numerous pot holes, zigzagging through
     crowded lanes, and yes . . . even blowing my car horn.  I
     drove every single day I was there and am happy to report
     that I was accident free.

2.   I was particularly impressed with the Mega Mall complex
     located at EDSA in Mandaluyong where the new ADB offices can
     be found.  This is a huge 5-story structure filled with so
     many, many stores.  And I couldn't believe all the people I
     saw over there.  It was just filled with people, especially
     on the weekends.

3.   And all those cellular phones . . .  Just 5 years ago, I
     swear I never saw those damn contraptions around.  Today, I
     see lots of people carrying them around.  I even saw a
     college student (I know because it was inside the university
     campus which I visited) pull out her cellular phone from her
     school bag and use it.  Cordless phones are very much in use
     these days too.

4.   Credit cards are now widely used.  Almost every bank issues
     their own credit card.  Payment terms, however, are
     structured differently than what they are in the US.  I have
     seen print ads that offer 12-month, 24-month, etc. payment
     terms for purchases.  Some car dealers even allow you to
     make a car payment using your bank card.

     Speaking about car payments, I noticed that interest rates
     are extremely high.  I read in a newspaper article that a
     12-month car loan carries a 24-36 percent interest rate.
     Imagine what the interest rate would be for a 24 or even 60
     month car loan.  And this is for a brand new car.  Interest
     rates on used cars are even higher and banks will only
     finance 50% of the cars value.

5.   I was very surprised by how much things costs these days in
     Manila.  You can expect to spend over 2000 pesos for a group
     of 12 people (4 of the 12 were young children) at a good
     restaurant such as Nandau.  Beer can range anywhere from
     7.50 to 30 pesos depending on the place you get it from.
     Speaking of beer, San Miguel has a new dry beer called San
     Miguel Super Dry.  It's pretty good and costs a little more
     than pale pilsen.

     Clothes, however, are still much cheaper in the Phils than
     in the US.  You can have a custom made suit done for about
     3200 pesos ($133).  Jeans can be bought for about $10.
     Shirts with collars for about $8.

6.   The new Ramos (or FVR as he is called) administration seems
     to be widely accepted by the people.  I read about a lot of
     changes the new admistration is trying to do to revive our
     economy.  FVR seems to be a sincere leader that wants
     nothing but the best for the country.  To show how austere a
     person he is, I have seen the first lady riding in a not too
     luxurious Nissan Pajero along the South expressway
     accompanied by only a few bodyguards, i.e., no long
     motorcade in a stretch limo.  I hear even FVR travels the
     same way but with more bodyguards of course.  FVR still goes
     home everyday to his home in Ayala Alabang since Malacanang
     is not yet ready, thus, he travels everyday by car to
     Malacanang.  He does not even take a helicopter.  He was
     even caught in a terrible traffic jam along the south
     expressway one evening.  I admire him for that, it sets a
     good example.


For those of you interested in the PBA, the championship series
for the all-filipino conference was taking place when I got
there.  It was San Miguel Beer versus the Purefoods Tender Juicy
Hotdogs.  SM was favored to win the series easily and PF was a
long-shot to win it.  The series turned out to be a nail-biter
and there were several cardiac finishes (two 1-point games and
one 3-point game).  On the SM side some of the good players are
Samboy Lim, Ato Agustin (a hot shooting guard), Hector Calma,
Ramon Fernandez, Alvin Teng, Yves Dignadice.  On the PF side
there is Alvin Patrimonio, Elmer Cabahug, Jerry Codinera, Dindo
Pumaren, Ely Capacio.  The results were as follows (I apologize
for the scores since I can't recall what they were):

     GAME      WINNING TEAM
      1        SM by 7
      2        PF by 3
      3        PF by 1
      4        SM by 6
      5        SM by 1
      6        PF by 9
      7        SM by 19

After game 1, Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala promised the PF team a
brand new car to each player if they swept games 2-5.  They
almost made it and had a good chance.  Overall, it was a good
series.  For those of you who don't know this, Alvin Patrimonio
of PF is the highest paid local player in the league.  He got a
25 million peso 5-year contract.  Even better than superstars
Samboy Lim and Allan Caidic.

Overall, I had a good vacation in Manila.  Like they say, it's
always good to be HOME . . .
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