How to Rent A Post Office (PO) Box in the Philippines

What is a Lock Box?
A Lock Box or popularly known as the Post Office (PO) box allows you to have an alternative address to deliver your mail or package instead of giving your home address.

What is the size of the PO Box?
There are three sizes:
- Small (6 1/2 x 5)
- Medium (6 1/2 x 10 1/2)
- Large (13 x 10 1/2)

How long can I rent a PO box?
You may choose to rent out a box for an entire year or quartly. The quarterly period begins on the first day of January, April, July, and October. Regardless if you rent in February and pay for the full quarter fee, you rental period will still end at the last day of March.

How much to rent a PO Box?

Small
- Php1,000/year
- Php300/quarter

Medium
- Php1,500/year
- Php420/quarter

Large
- Php2,000/year
- Php550/quarter

For new box holders, an additional Php150 will be requested for the lock and keys.

Yearly Rates at the Makati Post Office

I was able to get the quarterly rates by conversation with the Postmaster.


What are the requirements of rent a PO box?
For personal use, you will need
- 1 pcs ID Picture (size 2x2)
- 1 Photocopy of any Valid ID
- Letter of Intent (addressed to the Postmaster)
- PO Box Application Form (Click Here)

Why I will NOT rent a PO Box:

1. The boxes can easily be accessed. Anyone can enter the vicinity of the PO boxes. The hallway is even offered as a parking space for motorcycles.
2. The PO Boxes are not maintained at all. Most of the boxes in the Makati branch were extreme rusty.
3. The price is too expensive given the condition of the PO Boxes. 

I seriously wanted to get a PO box for the privacy of my online purchases; however after seeing the condition at the Makati Central Post Office, where I obtained the information on this blog, I would rather sacrifice my preference for privacy. Though, I would really like to see this renovated or improved. Maybe with in the future? It has so much potential considering that people purchase a lot online nowadays.

How to get Non Professional license from Land Transport Office (with assistance)

Please take note that I enrolled myself in Smart Driving School so I had legal assistance with me through out the process of claiming my non professional license. Actually, this was the reason I enrolled in driving school.

Here are some tips when claiming assistance from your driving school:

• Inform them a day before.  Call them up (Smart San Juan, 722-0003) to let them know that you will be joining them so they can wait for you and/or to find out if the LTO branch is working because sometimes, they are offline.
• Be at the branch at 7AM! I was actually late, so I missed the general orientation. You will walk to the LTO branch. The LTO office open at 8am but you can take your medical at 7am - ish.
• Bring all requirements. Student Permit, Driving School Receipt and Assessment form.

• 

  Map of the SMART branch that would help you get your license.

   

Here are some tips when going to the Land transport Office (LTO):

• Don't pee in the morning. You will be taking a medical test that requires your urine so save it until your test. Haha! But if you can't handle it, just drinks tons of water.
• Free your day. I wasn't part of the lucky few who went and got their license in a few hours. So expect to spend your entire day there.
• Bring food. You will be waiting and waiting and you cant leave even during lunch time because they do not have lunch breaks (employees shift to take turns for lunch)
• Bring a foldable chair. There were soooo many people and so little chairs available. During my first day, I was standing up for 4 hours straight.  It was also hard to move around due to the number of people. Just find a spot beside the chairs and place your foldable chair there.
• Don't use earphones. They have one speaker that isn't loud enough if seated in a certain place and you really have to listen in for your name to be called or you forfeit your slot to do whatever.

My experience:

Step 1: Go to the Smart Branch to Sign up. They will give you an application form. But you can get this form when entering the San Juan LTO branch from the guy with the desk. His desk is literally in front of the entrance. He should be wearing a collared shirt with the LTO logo.

Step 2: Go downstairs to get your medical drug test. After you filled up your application form, you give it along with Php300, to the window. Sit down and wait for your name to be called. When the personnel calls out your name, you will be seated behind. Now, I'm not sure if I peed into a cup first then they took my picture or the other way around. But yeah, they will take your picture for the medical.

Step 3: Take your physical examination. Facing the booth where the personnel called you to take the drug test, on your right is a room. Head there for your medical. The doctor will ask you basic stuff about your body and you pay Php100 to get the certificate.

Step 4: Submit all your requirements and wait. Because I had assistance from my driving school, I had to submit to him, sir Ares. But from my hours in the LTO, I found out that you submit all the requirements to the desk where you got your application form. He will then give you a number (160 applicants per day only) and he will then submit it. Everyone (assisted or not) will be waiting for their name to be called at Window 1.

Step 5: Get your picture taken then wait. Once you get called to Window 1, it is officially the moment that will determine the picture on your license. Guys, take out your earnings but girls can keep it on. You can smile!

Step 6: Pay at Window 10. But don't go directly there. You have to wait to be called to Window 10 to pay. Total cost is Php168. 

Step 7: Go to lecture room, wait, Take The Test, wait. After taking your picture, you will wait again till they call you to head to the lecture room. Once in the lecture room, sit down and they will give you a quick review on the test then you will wait inside for your name to be called. Once called, you will move to the other area of the room, sign up and wait again. They will call you a few minutes later and give you the test.

Because I went to driving school, I was given a reviewer. But it's basically the same as this reviewer (and the test). So read up! Also, I suggest taking the Filipino test. I have to be honest, Filipino isn't my strongest language but according to the instructor, it is easier than the one in english.

For non professional, you need to score at least 30 out of 40 questions.
For professional, you will need a 45 out of 60 questions.

There is no use cheating and copying off from the person beside you because each test is different. The questions were jumbled up and the answer key varies per person. (I scored 37 out of 40... Achievement Unlocked!)

Step 8: Go outside and wait for your name to be called. Now, this is where it will vary if you went to driving school or not because the next step (if you passed the written test) is the actual driving on the site. Once you are called, go to the desk near the stairs and Window 1. Because of my assistance, I skipped the part of driving and just signed the pledge. But from what I overheard from others is that you bring your own car or pay extra to use their car for the test.

Step 9: Wait for your license. I don't know if there are other steps, but as for my experience, my next step was waiting for my name to be called so they could release my license. I had to pay Sir Ares Php620 for licensing fees, driving fees, etc. which he advanced - I think.

Optional Step 10: Buy your LTO Plastic Jacket. They sell it for Php20 at Window 2 but I think the vendors outside have better quality for the same price.

Luck wasn't on my side when I got my non professional license because just when they were printing my questionnaire, the printer broke. So, yeah. I couldn't get mad at them because it wasn't their fault but gosh. What is bad luck. Anyway, I spent a total of 14 hours in the LTO branch. 9 hours on the first day and 5 hours on the second day and I spent a total of Php1,208.

Hope you learned something!

SMART Driving School

 My parents have been pushing me to learn how to drive, but refuses to let me learn from any experienced driver at home. They claimed that they want me to an "educated driver"! So after researching, I agreed to enter driving school for the sole reason that once I graduate from their program, I will NO LONGER have to take the actual driving test at the Land Transport Office (LTO).

 But why did I chose SMART Driving School?

• They provide licensing assistance.
• Good reputation.
• They have very convenient locations. 
• They have the cheapest rates.
• Free orientation and lecture on driving and defensive driving.

SMART Brochure of the all branches, addresses and numbers.

 General Tips when Enrolling:

• You need to be at least 16 years old. To learn, you need a students permit from the government and the basic requirement is to be 16 years old. SMART can assist you to get the students permit or you can do it yourself. 
• Find the branch nearest you. Because if you are late for class, those minutes will be lost. 
• Know your schedule. Before enrolling at any branch, make sure you know your schedule so the person in charge could schedule you immediately.
• Schedule different times. Don't get the same times every time, because you want to experience morning traffic, the afternoon breeze, and night driving.
• Take the orientation and lectures seriously. In other driving school, you have to pay for these. Take advantage of the fact that this comes free when you enroll. 
• Bring 2 copies of your 1x1. I honestly don't know what it is for, but you need it to enroll for driving school. 
• You can bring a companion when you drive...if you're a girl. However, the boys are not allowed to have a companion in the car. Safety reasons, I guess.
• Keep the receipt. According to my instructor, if you have the receipt with you, you can keep coming back to the orientations free of charge. 

Among the entire of list of branches, I enrolled myself with St. Francis Square because it was conveniently located near my house. Shane Mallane (631-1663) graciously assisted me through the whole thing. And thanks to this blog, I knew which driver I wanted to take... Sir Clifford.

RATES

The system of how much you will pay depends on the total hours you want to drive, how long you want to drive in a day, if you want to have a specific instructor, or what car you would drive. The best selling lesson, according to Ms. Shane, is 10 hours for 2 hours per day. This costs a total of Php 5,500.

Although I did enrolled myself for 2 hours per day for 10 hours total,  I wanted Sir Clifford as my instructor all through out. So I had to pay extra and spent a total of Php 7,000.
Click here for the all the rates!

ORIENTATION
Before you consume your hours, you will need to go to orientation. I took my orientation at SMART Shaw Blvd. cor Pioneer Pasig. It was in front of Caltex. They said it would take 3 hours, but it was only 2 hours. They just added the extra hour to pad for the late comers or for the questions.

Schedule
Monday: 3:00-6:00 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 - 12:00 NN
Saturday: 9:00 - 12:00 NN

We had Sir Vincent orient us and boy was he energetic on an early Saturday morning. He actually articulated the information very well. He was clear, and added anecdotes to make us remember how to drive. He seems like a very capable instructor.

DRIVING CLASSES
Classes begin depending on what time you scheduled it. So again, make sure you be there on time because if you are late, you lost those minutes. Here's the lessons you will learn more or less:

The lessons you will learn.

I heard that they don't limit you to the structure in the image above. If they feel like you can U-Turn on the first day, they will teach you even if it's initially for the 4th day. (that's what happened to me!)

Oh, and... Sir Clifford was great! He reviewed all the things I learned at orientation, and let me drive right after. He did not shout at me, nor did he get mad. He knew when to let go of the breaks and when to grab the stirring wheel when necessary. He easily broke the awkwardness by cracking jokes - some were funny, some weren't. Haha! I also appreciated that gave me extra tips and tricks when driving. I really felt like paying extra was worth it to have him as my instructor all though out.

(We took a picture at the end of classes but it got erased! So sad.)

LECTURE
After you have completed your driving hours,  you will receiving a lecture at the same place you did your orientation. Luckily, I had Sir Vincent again to instruct us.

Schedule
Wednesday: 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 1:00 - 5:00 PM

 It was around 4 hours in deed. Or maybe 3hours and 30 minutes? It was LONG. But it was okay. Because it was really informative and the presentation included a lot of videos so we could visualize what he was saying.

ASSISTANCE
This is an entirely different blog entry because it deals with LTO and not so much SMART driving school. Check it out here.

OVERALL
My experience with SMART Driving School was good. No regrets whatsoever. I am probably more paranoid that ever to drive but, I really felt like I learned how to drive. I'm officially an educated driver! Haha.

How to Commute to EAT Danao Adventure Park

Ever since I found out that the highest canyon swing in the world was in the Philippines, I wanted to experience it. But because I was initially planning to travel alone, I could not afford the Php1,500/van that would conveniently bring me to Danao from Tagbilaran. Even if my friend agreed to join me last minute, it was still too expensive. So we opted to commute!

Step 1: Book a flight to Tagbilaran
To my knowledge, these are the only flights that fly to Tagbilaran from Manila:

• AirPhil Express
• Cebu Pacific Air
• Zest Air 
• Philippine Airlines

I personally prefer AirPhil Express because it's cheap and they have a legitimate 24/7 customer. The only downside to the airline is that they have limited time slots. Cebu Pacific Air has an edge when it comes to flight availability.



Step 2: Go to Dao Terminal / Island City Mall

After checking-in where we were lodged, we went to the Dao terminal, which is literally infront of the Island City Mall (ICM). We tried two ways to get there from my pension house (All reviews of hotels, attractions, et al. are on TripAdvisor.com):

• Take a Tricycle. It costs Php 30/per trip from wherever you are in Tagbilaran. Take note that regardless of how many you are in the tricycle (single, double or trio) the fare will still be php30. (source: my friend from tagbilaran)
• Take a Jeep. It costs Php7-8/per trip. Look for a jeep that has the sign "ICM" or "Island City Mall" or "Dao Terminal" and they will bring you to ICM directly.

While it is cheaper to take the latter, finding a jeep that was not full was quite a challenge for us so we often took the tricycle. But on that one lucky occasion where we found a semi-filled jeep, there was a moment when everyone just got down and it wasn't the ICM yet. We waited for about 5 minutes before the driver headed towards the mall/terminal. 

Step 3: Board the bus.

(or you can take a van. I didn't try this but the information is here: EAT DANAO Transport Service )

• Bus trips per day from Tagbilaran to Danao:
  • Morning:
    • 5:00 am, 6:00am, 8:00am, 9:00am
  • Afternoon:
    • 12:00 noon, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 4:30 pm, 5:30pm and 6:30 pm last trip

Tips and Infos:

• Leave in the morning. It is a 3 hour bus ride from Tagbilaran to Danao and it takes around 7-10 mins to get to the park from the terminal in Danao. Go early to experience everything!
• Be there at least 20 mins before your selected time because there is only one bus per time slot so a lot of people will be rushing to get in. 
• The bus heading to Danao is at the end of the terminal.  Enter the bus terminal, turn right and walk towards the end of the terminal near a Dunkin Donuts stand. It should be the station of Danao.
• Swiftly enter the bus because seats fill out fast! Run to the side of the bus with the DANAO sign on it. It's a 3 hour trip and you do not want to stand up the whole time.
• Be ready to share seats. Because there are limited seats, it is standard to share the seat with someone else. The one qw rode at 8:00am was a tiny bus so a seat that is supposedly for just 1 person, is for 2 people.
• Bring shades or a shawl to cover yourself. It will be an open air bus. From research, there are no air-conditioned buses that travel to Danao from Tagbilaran. So the wind, dirt, and dust would be coming in and out of the vehicle.
• There will be a est. 30 min stopover at Sagbayan. The location is fairly modern, so finding a washroom or a medical boutique is nearby. Pace yourself. Here's the list of cities you will be passing by:

How much it would cost coming from Tagbilaran and the list of places you will pass by.

•  
• Relax and Enjoy. The bus will be passing in between the chocolate hills. The uniqueness of how the hills were forms is fascinating. There will be several chances to take a picture due to the fact that the bus will erratically stop to discard passengers along the way; although this will be done quickly.
•  
•  

Step 4: Take a Habal-Habal or Tricycle
After exiting the bus at the Danao terminal, take a habal-habal to the adventure park. It won't be hard to find one because they will be swarming around the bus. One-way, it costs Php40/person and each motorcycle needs to take at least 2 passengers. The practice is, one hires the habal-habal to wait, because there will be no other means of getting down. So normally, Php80/round trip to/from the terminal. Oh, you also have to pay Php25/per person to enter the park (you don't have to pay for the driver)

My friend was scared to ride the motorcycle so we spotted the only tricycle in the area and hired him. We paid for 3 people costing Php120/one-way. We then hired him to take us back down (and to Corella - but that's another entry!)

Kuya Ben and I with his tricycle.

Contact him if you are afraid to take the habal-habal. He is from Danao. Ben (0928-408-5848). Great guy! Down to earth and really friendly.

Step 5: Enjoy the the adventure park. 
One of the signs I was fond of says, "You are not paying for the ride, you are paying for the experience." ~or something to that effect. It did cost a lot of money but it was worth it (and I saved a lot by commuting)! :-)


Step 6: Head back to ICS.
We actually didn't head back to Tagbilaran right after but as indicated in the website:

• Trips per day from Danao to Tagbilaran:
  • Morning:
    • 4:00 a.m., 5:30 am, 6:00 am, 7:00 am, 8:00 am, 9:00 am, 11:30a.m.,
  • Afternoon:
    • 1:30p.m., 4:00p.m., 5:00 p.m last trip
    
    
    

Overall, it was a great experience. It was probably my most challenging planned trip, but it was worth it to experience the highest canyon swing in the world! 

HELPFUL SOURCES:

• I was guided and assured by Weina (0917-302-1700), an employee from the EAT Danao park. She was patient and kind when answering all my inquires. Thank you.
• http://www.eatdanao.com/
• Coming from Cebu?
• http://kathangisip.com/2009/09/e-a-t-danao-in-bohol-a-review/
• http://streetsmartgirl.blogspot.com/2011/03/day-2-danao-adventure-park.html
• http://www.calvinshub.com/2011/02/took-the-plunge-at-e-a-t-danao/

*I do not know these bloggers but they all contributed to my knowledge and confidence to commute.