Road Warrior : Philippines Business Traveller Guide
The Philippines is surging ahead with opening its doors to foreign investment and local companies are starting to spread their wings and taking advantage of business opportunities across the region and the world. San Miguel Corporation for example is in a deal to acquire stake Malaysian subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil, Jollibee and SM are among those already in the region.
To add to this, The Philippines is now more accessible from across the region. Flights from Japan and Korea have increased further expanding the tourism and business opportunities these countries already have with the Philippines. Increased flights from Singapore and Hong Kong are also contributing to the connectivity of the Philippines to the world.
For such a long time, PAL was the leading carrier bringing in travelers from North America and Europe, then came options to go via Hong Kong or Singapore now options abound with the increase in traffic from major asian airlines from Japan and South Korea.
The surge of the budget or no frills airlines have also helped connect the country to the region, with more direct flights to Cebu and Clark from destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. This has improved the accessibility of these cities and have fast tracked economic development.
Aside from all this, the Business Process Outsourcing industry is very well established, this already accounts significantly to economic growth and as the industry expands to Knowledge Process Outsourcing this industry will further cement it's position and further catch-up with the current leaders such as India.
As business scales up, despite the current world economic gloom, one can expect business travel to and from the Philippines to increase. With this expectation, this guide will aim to guide travelers to the Philippines.
Currency
Philippine Peso
0 to 99 Cents
100 Cents = 1 Peso
The value is not pegged and is market driven, but regulated by the Central Bank, check current exchange rates before your flight at www.bsp.gov.ph. It is also illegal to bring in any currency more than 10,000.
When exchanging foreign currency while in the Philippines, be sure to do it in well established or well located exchange dealers for security reasons. Best to do so inside Malls or better yet, on banks.
Do not bring too much cash with you, credit cards are widely accepted, but ask first before committing to an agreement or purchase, some establishments add a certain percentage if you use credit cards but you should not encounter much of them these days, especially if your in bigger Cities. If you are in a rural town, credit card acceptance will be scarce to none, be sure to bring cash but not more than what you expect to use and a little bit of contigency.
Automated Teller Machines or Cash Machines are widely available and most accept cards from banks members of Plus and other international networks. As with currency exchange dealers, transact at ATM located in safe locations, again, inside banks during bank hours or in Malls or Hotels would be preferable.
Bring just enough coins and small bills, don't expect everyone you deal with to have change, best to give the exact amount.
Weather and Attire
The Philippines in a little above the equator and weather is tropical, expect temperatures to be in the 30 to 35 degrees celcius almost all year round. There are not so many cities in the mountains except for Baguio wherein it will be a bit coulder, around 20 or below.
Summer starts around March and ends at the start of June, June to December is the rainy season and do expect tropical typhoons to be frequent during this period. It is very advisable not to travel when it is raining as the not so good traffic becomes worse quickly.
Casual wear is jeans with t-shirt or polo, during summer and while roaming around, shorts are very well common. The more common business attire is the traditonal Barong in short or long sleeved as well as long sleeved shirts, some times with tie but most of the time without. Black pants are the norm but grey, khaki and other variations is a good every so often alternative. Black or brown leather shoes and most will bring a handkerchief.
It would also be good to be a bit early for meetings so as you can adjust from the heat outside to the cold temperature in the meeting venue.
Getting in and out
The Major Airports are NAIA in Manila, DMIA in Clark and MCIA in Cebu, International travelers will most likely come-in from one of this 3. Clark and Cebu airports only have 1 terminal so its not so hard to figure out, NAIA on the other hand have 3.
Terminal 1, NAIA main is where all international flights from non-Philippine carriers are. Terminal 2 or Centennial terminal is where all PAL flights are while terminal 3 is where all Cebu Pacific and Airphil express flights are.
Land Travel
There are plenty of taxi, the best one to get from the airport is the yellow taxi, a bit more expensive than the regular taxi but definitely better as it uses the meter. In going around the city, the regular taxi will have to do, while in Manila, be sure to tell the driver where you want to go and ask to use the meter, if not, look for another taxi. While in Cebu and Davao, best to ask first but majority of them will use the meter.
The best way for business travelers is to rent a car by the day with a driver. It is not advisable to self drive. The Philippine only Jeepney and the common tricycle abound but its advisable to take if you are adventurous and will not be travelling for business.
Best to travel outside the city by rented car again, else it will be by Bus which is not that great for business travel. Depending on the location, the travel time could be hours and hours. Don't drink too much liquid, just enough to not be dehydrated, public toilets are not too great so make stops at better establishments when possible.
See Travel
Being and archipelago, most islands can only be reached by sea, through roll-on-roll-off ships, while some through fast craft. During such trips, get a cabin class if available, the next best thing if not would be tourist class. For longer over the night trips, this classes will have bunk beds, for shorted couple of hours trips, tourist class will be seats in air-conditioned sections of the ship.
Toilets are not the best so avoid when possible, don't eat or drink too much, just enough.
Air Travel
Most 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier cities are already accessible through air. The big 3 are Philippine Airlines(PAL), Airphil Express and Cebu Pacific, all three are good but only PAL is a full service airline. Be at the airport 2 hours before and allocate 1 hour for travel to the airport.
Only passengers are allowed to check-in, the same liquid restrictions on-board apply and one is asked to remove shoes going into pre-departure. Most airlines allow 7 kg of hand carry baggage not including purse, laptop and such.
Food and Drinks
There are national favorites but each locale will have their own specialty. Be prepared for a lot of calories and cholesterol, most dishes will have lots of both. As a business guest, you will be offered the best food in town. The host will almost always ask if you have dietary restrictions, so best to be honest.
The most senior host will almost always take care of the bill but it will be appreciated if the guest will do so for 1 of the meals. Some host will also offer for a night cap over drinks but its alright not to accept.
Business Hours
Banks usually open from 9 to 3, but some of the big 5 open till late and even on weekends. Normal business is from Monday to Friday, some might have Saturday but that is not common for offices, office hours are from 8 to 5 but some might be as late as 6 and lunch break is usually from 12 to 1. Malls are open from 10 to 8 or 9 on weekends.
Uniquely Philippines
Although the country is modern and up-to-date with the latest technology, there will still be a lot of instances when you have to write something, so always bring a pen. There might also be instances where you will be asked for an ID, so keep handy the least most important ID with photo you have.
Bring loose coins and small bills, be mindful of your wallet if you place it on your rear pocket. Place some money in other pockets and in your other bags. Don't loose sight of your belongings, especially when in public places.
There will be a lot of things to do and places to see, but if business takes up a lot of time, best to get some sleep. There will be a lot of malls and everything that will be required will be at easy reach so don't bring too many things.
Don't drink water from the tap, bottled water is available almost everywhere.
Majority of the population is catholic and are deeply religious, you can encounter 6pm prayer on some stores and what you can do is at the least stop what you are doing until the prayer is finished. Some would also go to Church in the morning or have first Friday of the month mass.