Virtual Assistant

by Jomvie
(Francis’ Full-Time VA)

This is an audio recording of my thoughts regarding typhoons here in the Philippines. I find this topic relevant for employers outside of the country and never have been in this part of Southeast Asia. I hope this article will give an idea about the geographic attributes and weather conditions in the Philippines.

I just want to start by describing that this kind of natural occurrence is common here in our country.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 15-20 typhoons per year. And people, especially from the northern parts like the Luzon area as well as in the middle part, the Visayas area, are practically expecting typhoons to hit their area any time during the months of June to February.

Luckily, I live in the southern part, in the southern island of Mindanao wherein our place is rarely a landing point of typhoons.

In the last couple of years, I think, there were just a couple of typhoons that hit our area, but still it was considered to be a rare event here.

Because basically, when typhoons start in the Pacific ocean, they usually hit our country in the north-eastern parts of Mindanao, which is about 10 hours away from where I live; and it goes through the Visayas area and then to the Luzon area – where it also will be exiting the country going to Taiwan and the eastern part of China.

Now, going back to the experience of having such natural events here in our country, typhoons (particularly), I would say—in describing a typhoon you can imagine a really, really bad weather with strong winds which is mostly accompanied by heavy rains.

So, basically, when the typhoon hits inland, it is pretty much sure to say that a large area would be destroyed or devastated and it is expected to have some casualties.

Considering our country is an archipelago and we are pretty much surrounded with bodies of water; like the majority of areas in our country. These bodies of water could get elevated whenever a typhoon hits and strong winds are extremely strong where homes, buildings, and even natural structures could be destroyed causing landslides and widespread flooding.

A certain percentage of the population will surely be affected whenever a typhoon enters the country’s Area of Responsibility. Here in the Philippines, we are practically prepared and expecting that kind of natural disasters will hit our country anytime. Nevertheless, casualties keep on coming whenever typhoons hit our country.

Comments for Typhoons—A Part Of Life for Virtual Assistants from the Philippines

by Jomvie
(Virtual Assistant from the Philippines)

In the Philippines, if you happen to know someone in a private company of a higher rank and even in the government offices, you are likely blessed to know them.

Why?

They are going to be your reference in applying for a job. And mind you—hassle free!

This is a common knowledge, an open secret to every Filipino, most especially in the world of politics. But, let’s go back to our main topic—job application.

Job Application

Getting a job is not as easy as counting one, two, three. It will take you heaps of effort, leave a big hole in your pocket, require long hours of walking and a queue for job interviews before you can get a decent job.

But, wait! In the Philippines, “Palakasan” is a system where you are allowed to get a job without hassle—only if you’re a family member, good friends with, or referred by someone you know from the inside.

Yes, this is going to be a great opportunity for those who are looking for a job without going through the hustle and bustle.

Open Secret

The “Palakasan System” has been the most notorious, corrupt and dirtiest system for decades and centuries in the Philippines. It is common knowledge, but no one could ever bring it down, nor tear it up and put off this kind of system because the people practicing this infamous system have gone too far to let go of the fame and wealth they are experiencing.

Politically, the “Palakasan System” is an open secret where political families pass their throne from one generation to another. Yes, it is like a dynasty, a tradition that’s chronically eating the government of one’s greed and thirst for fame or wealth.

It’s not that I have selfish desires for myself and that gave me a reason to hate this ill fate system, but if you will just look around our surroundings, even on our streets, you’ll see lots of less fortunate people sleeping at night hungry and waking up in the morning hungry and your heart will crush and melt because there’s nothing that you can do to help them.

This kind of battle won’t win if I were the only one with this kind of guilt and concern.

This has something to do with the governing body of the state and that they should create a master plan to help minimize this kind of problem, which has been growing in numbers over the years.

And it’s not just those less fortunate, but it also affecting us as regular and common citizens of the Philippines. We need a job that will help us live and get a little leisure out of life.

Will you believe me if I tell you that a worker’s minimum daily wage only at PHP 350 ($8)? Let me say it again, three hundred fifty pesos, or eight dollars only, per day.

by Full-time Virtual Assistant
(Philippines)

During the summer months, we hardly experience any rain here in the Philippines. There came a time that we didn’t experience rain for weeks. Our power supply provider can’t accommodate the energy that our city requires 24/7.

The main reason is that we’re experiencing summer weather along with the El Nino Phenomenon. They’re like a perfect combination to generate more heat.
Living on the Tropical

Summer weather is already too hot to handle. How much more hot does it get if it is accompanied by a phenomenon? It greatly affects our livelihood, especially farmers, who greatly contribute to the whole island; I think no one is exempted from this tragedy. Because of this, our local government decided to utilize cloud seeding.

Cloud seeding is a weather modification where it creates rain with the use of silver iodine or dry ice into a cumulonimbus cloud.

Yes, they don’t just seed it to any of the clouds above. They should look for a particular cloud to have it seeded with the use of a plane.

Its effectiveness is not really satisfactory, considering the earth rotates and they can’t water their prime objective—into the farm.

We, as citizens who are greatly affected, are happy to have at least experienced some rain during these months. Actually, it happened in July of this year where summer has supposedly ended during the month of June.

The reason why I wrote this post is that, it affects my job as well. I am often compromised from my work since the power supply is not enough to provide for the whole city. Four hours brought about a big loss already, and often it will end up making up for my loss.

And if this happens more often, I will no longer be able to have my own relaxation time since I have to spend it catching up.

And it has to do with how we handle Mother Nature. People are becoming abusive and this is why we suffer from our own mistakes. And only if we could fix it easily—but, alas, we cannot.

Please share your thoughts about this post. Do jump in on the comment box =)

Comments for Dilemma in Summer – Weather in the Philippines