DOLE releases guidelines on 13th Month Pay

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday released Department Advisory No. 2 Series of 2012, assuring Filipino workers they will receive their 13th month pay on or before Christmas Eve.

All wage and salary workers are entitled to receive their 13th month pay, as mandated by law (P.D. No. 851), which is equivalent to one twelfth (1/12) of their basic salary within a calendar year.

"This early, workers are already expecting the payment of year-end benefits, including the statutory 13th month pay, so the reminder to all employers to comply with the payment of the 13th month pay is timely," Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement.

The advisory also released the guidelines and formula and computation of 13th month pay.

It does not however include allowances and monetary benefits not considered part of the basic salary e.g. overtime pay, night shift differential pay, holiday pay, and cost of living allowance (COLA).

"Rank-and-file employees in the private sector shall be entitled to 13th month pay regardless of their position, designation, or employment status, and irrespective of the method by which their wages are paid, provided that they have worked for at least one month during the calendar year," the advisory said.

Employers are also reminded to submit reports of compliance for the 13th month pay to the nearest Regional Office not later than January 15 of each year.

Violators on compliance could be reported by reaching the Labor department or visiting the nearest DOLE offices in their area.

View DOLE's Advisory No. 2 s. 2012 here.

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The Conveniences of Having a Prepaid Card for Starters

Applying for one is expensive at first but the perks are endless as you use it

For starters like me who earns through freelancing and a startup job, having prepaid mastercard is a blessing as we cannot afford yet to have a credit card approved.

Amongst my cards, my favorite is the BPI My EPrepaid card which I use to shop online. Since I am a fan of Archie Comics, I downloaded Comixology, a Comic Store App for my android tablet and bought Archie Comics there. I connected my BPI My EPrepaid card through my Google wallet and load it through my BPI Express Online account which is connected through my Savings and Payroll account. I realize that is way cheaper to buy through Comixology than those in National Bookstore so I stucked through it and besides I can read wherever I am.

I had also used my BPI card through purchasing songs online through MyMusicStore.com.ph, though I haven't tried it outside, it also works when you pay for group buying sites, movies, airfare and even through grocery shopping.

Why lug around cash when it is safe on your card? Get one now.

The blogger thinks that amongst the Prepaid VISA Mastercards available, it is best to get from a bank who can give you convenience, thus citing BPI My E-Prepaid as an example.

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On Breaking Up and Moving On

Breaking up is never fun. The end of a relationship means the beginning of a period of mourning and healing for both people. If the break up was mutual both people will experience a period of adjustment where they are getting used to no longer being together. If the break up was not mutual the person who ended things may be dealing with guilt and feelings that they may have made a mistake. The person being broken up with will definitely have to adjust, first to being rejected and second to life without somebody they still care for. How do you get through those first few weeks? Here we list eight essential things everybody must do in the early days of a break up to let the healing begin.

1. Avoid the former love. Yes, avoid. No, this isn’t being immature. Seeing your former flame can bring out emotions and may cause you do to or say something you will regret. In the first few weeks the best thing you can do for yourself is not be where you know they will be.
2. Talk out your feelings with close friends. Get everything out so that you won’t hold it inside. Your friends may get sick of hearing you talk about the situation but you need to let out all your feelings and thoughts or they may come back to bite you later.
3. Cry if you want to. It’s OK to cry over a loss. Don’t hold back, let the tears roll just do it in a safe and private place where it is unlikely to get back to your ex. You don’t want your tears to be used as a guilt trip. Their purpose is to cleanse you of any pain not make your lover come back.
4. Let go of mementos. Put away or give away anything and everything that reminds you of the relationship. Hide them out of sight so they will be out of mind until you are able to remember the relationship without longing for it to still be going strong.
5. Don’t slip up and get together with your ex. When you are feeling sad or missing a relationship it can be very easy to fall back in to the arms of your ex but DO NOT DO THIS. This will only set you back and let’s face it, if things ended the relationship wasn’t perfect to begin with so why would you want to rekindle things?
6. Focus on all the things about your ex that drove you crazy, turned you off, or that you just plain found annoying. Think about these things often and replay them in your mind over and over. Dwell on them. It will make you feel better to remember that your former flame was not perfect and that there are things you won’t really miss.
7. Think about the mean, cruel or rude things your ex may have done in your relationship. Really give these things play in your memory. Remind yourself that somebody who truly cared for you would not have done such thoughtless things and tell yourself (over and over) that you are better off without that kind of ego crushing behavior in your life.
8. Maintain a strict no contact policy and stick with it. Don’t pass notes through friends. Don’t make any calls. Stay away from instant messaging or texting on your cell. Just don’t contact your ex until you are totally and completely sure you no longer want to be with him or her. It is the only way.

Mending a broken heart is not easy but it can be done. Just stick to the game plan outlined above and before you know it you’ll be just fine. Good luck!

This was an old speech I used for my Speech class in college, I wanted to share it with you.

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Two Cents Worth: Student - Teacher Relationship

The author starts Two Cents Worth with her personal opinion about Student - Teacher Relationships. All views presented are of the view of the author (Michelle Constantino) and no views are intended to hurt other people, Two Cents Worth is an outlet for information which could be taken accounted for in one's daily experiences or have related to once in their lifetime.           

           A normal student – teacher/professor relationship is seen in the classroom: Teachers facilitate the daily lesson to a group of 40 or more students. Each student take on a minimum of 40 minutes to 1 hour class everyday on a certain subject and they have consultation hours to consult their professors if they do not understand the lesson. After the semester or grade level is over, the closeness of the student & teacher weakens and when they meet in corridors, they just greet each other with “HI’s or HELLO’s”.

          What I’ve described above is a normal view on a student-teacher relationship. Nowadays, there are 2 different views on this kind of relationship apart from it being a part of the academe which was considered as normal by the society: the “parent” relationship and the “lover” relationship.

          The “parent” relationship happens when a student tend to find attention/seek help to a teacher/professor. Because teachers play a “second-parent” role to students, some teachers consider it innate to listen to the problems of their students. They would spend some time talking about “Life” and trying to help the student amidst all their problems. – nothing special, however, this tend to be misunderstood by fellow students when the student/teacher are of opposite sex.

          The second type of relationship that happens between a teacher & a student is the “lover” relationship. The “lover” relationship nowdays happen when the student – teacher are close to each other, of the same age and would find each other attractive. This situation may seem to be odd but it does happen because no one can control what one heart should feels. However, if it should happen, teachers should understand that it is against school’s policy to have a relationship with a student, nevertheless, schools maintain a strong policy to prevent it from happening.

          I do not promote the concept of a student – teacher relationship being “immoral”, my two cents to this is they must learn their grounds in what they do in the academe. The teacher in the relationship should always play “fair”, no special treatment to his or her love. They should keep things private and they should not make it feel for other students that being close to a teacher is bad.

I can talk seriously about this because I was a victim of this kind of talk, I had to endure all the branding that students could ever think of: boyfriend, pet, straw… any brand you can think of. I just had to endure the fact that the teacher was pretty much of a dad to me. So next time you think that you are close to a teacher particularly of the opposite sex with nothing to hide, do not hesitate to get out in the open, do not hide while conversing and make people see you, that way they could realize that this is not another student – teacher relationship in the offing. 

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Gayness at Supreme Court? Be the judge....

Amidst the trouble between President Noynoy Aquino and SC Chief Justice Renato Corona highlighted in the 1st National Criminal Justice Summit held at the Centennial Hall, Manila Hotel, there has been one great speaker on behalf of SC, its Court Administrator and Spokesperson, Atty. Midas Marquez. 


Far from his line of work as a Court Administrator/Spokesperson, he became an internet sensation in a Youtube video where he reacted to the microphone falling off the podium. In less than 24 hours, this video has been shared more than 11,000 times in Facebook and has had more than 12,000 views and more than 100 comments on Youtube (reference: http://digitaljournal.com/article/314864) 

I don't see his action as something being gay. I've always admired someone like Atty. Marquez in sharing his stand points on behalf of the Supreme Court. I guess he was just a victim of circumstances because of the recent issues that involved questions on sexual preferences (Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby). After all, Atty. Marquez does his job for the SC, nothing else. 

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