saan matatagpuan ang mga pinoy sa mongolia

pakalat kalat sila hehehehe, though i don't mean palaboy ha. meron nagtatrahabo sa chinggis hotel, sa mga NGOs, sa schools, sa mining companies, etc. matitisod din sila sa state department store, merkury market, narantuul market, shopping row sa 3rd district.

unfortunately, ilan sa mga pinoy ofw na domestic workers sa mongolia ang di natin nakakasalamuha dahil wala silang mga regular day offs at di napapayagan ng mga amo na lumabas.

pero surefire, every saturday and/or sunday, nasa simbahan ang karamihan ng mga pinoy.

shopping at pananampalataya -- mag kaibang antas, pero very distinctive pinoy traits. madaling hanapin ang shoppingan pero medyo effort ang alamin kung nasan ang mga simbahan.

here are some contacts for directions and other queries regarding churches... to worship and to meet the pinoys in mongolia.

Fr. Ronald Magbanua, CICM tel no. 99897921 - Good Shepherd Catholic Parish
Nelly Aranquez 99813423 - Cornerstone Church for All Nations (Protestant inter
demoninational)
Phidee Tagalog 95210368 - Seventh Day Adventist Mission

thanks fr ronald, nelly and phidee.

sagot kay Marisol na pupuntang Beijing to get her Mongolian work permit

Tanong ni Marisol na pupuntang Mongolia via Beijing. Sabi nya mag ti train sya papuntang Beijing (mula saan?).

"hello po, tanong ko lng po....pag po ba pupunta ako sa Beijing to get my work visa to work in Mongolia, kailangan ko pa po bang visa papunta Beijing?? pano po ako mka-enter sa Beijing"

Kelangan ng Pilipino may Chinese entry visa kung pumasok sa any Chinese territory, maliban pagpunta sa Hongkong at Macao. Ang mga Pinoy ay maaring pumasok sa HK (14 days stay) at Macao (30 days) bilang turista na walang visa.

Filipinos going to China must apply and obtain their chinese visas with the Chinese Embassy in Manila or sa Chinese Consultate in Cebu.

Hindi na nag iisue ng Chinese visa sa HK at Macao para sa mga Pinoy gaya ng dati. Ang exception sa Macao ay kung ikaw ay kabilang sa tourist group of at least 5 persons.

Marisol, i hope that you have read previous posts about working in Mongolia.

More information below on the issuance of Chinese visas in HK and Macao:

HONG KONG (AFP) - China has imposed further curbs on visitors, just weeks after it stopped issuing multiple-entry visas, Hong Kong travel agents said Friday, sparking concern among the business community.

"You now need a copy of your travel ticket both in and out of the country and a hotel voucher before they accept a visa application. Without that they will reject it," said Daryl Bending, a travel consultant with Concorde Travel.

Another agent said visitors from 33 countries -- including India, the Philippines and Indonesia -- were no longer allowed to apply for China visas in Hong Kong and would have to apply at their local Chinese embassies.

A statement on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said that there had been a "recent drastic rise" in the number of applicants.
"To spare applicants of the unnecessary trouble, for non-resident of Hong Kong, please apply for the Chinese visa at the Chinese embassy or consulate-general in his or her home country or resident country," it said.

A Hong Kong government spokeswoman said: "The Hong Kong government has reflected the views/concerns of the Hong Kong business community to the relevant mainland authorities."

Travel agents in several Asian countries previously said China had stopped issuing multiple-entry visas several weeks ago and that they had been told the service would not be resumed until after the Beijing Olympics, which take place in August.
Hong Kong residents will still be able to get a short-term visa from travel agents to the border city of Shenzhen without hotel and travel tickets, Concorde Travel's Bending said. (source : http://community.travelchinaguide.com/forum2.asp?i=45112)

But a visa granted at the border, popular among those taking day trips to Shenzhen for shopping or business, was no longer available, he added.

Filipino entrepreneur Jonathan Aquino, who runs a travel agency on top of several other businesses in Macau, said Filipino tourists may still stay for up to a month in the enclave on their first arrival. However, their limit of stay is often cut to just 10 days on their second entry.

But as in Hong Kong, crossing into the Chinese border city of Zhuhai from Macau has also become more difficult for Filipino tourists.

Aquino said the three to six-month visas used to be given to Filipino tourists are no longer available. Now, they can only apply for a group visa of up to six days’ stay in Zhuhai, and must leave and return to Macau at the same time.

To be considered as a group, there should now be a minimum of five, instead of the previous three people required before the new rules were tightened.

(source: GMANews.TVnewhttp://www.gmanews.tv/story/92066/China-visa-restrictions-hit-Filipino-tourists)

queries from ellen

another Pinay, Ellen, sent the following message ..

" Hi! have u heard of the Naran group. They said that they have a dept store in UB. their website can be accessed. would u know about them? They’re hiring some pinoys to work for them and im one of them. just need to know more about the conditions there. is it easy & safe to go around the city. are there a lot of english speaking mongols. how do they work?what do you do there? thnks for the replies…appreciate it!:)"

dear Ellen,

Naran department store is one of the more up-scale stores in the capital, Ulaanbaatar (UB). I have done a bit of shopping there but do not know enough of the working conditions. There are no big malls like SM or Robinson’s. Most manufactured goods including food items are imported, hence, expensive.

On the whole, don't expect the same work ethics that you may be used to in the Philippines. If you will be assuming a managerial/supervisory position, stock up on patience, tolerance and good strategies to train your staff to be efficient, professional and customer service oriented.

UB, it seems, is comparatively safer to go around than most cities elsewhere, although the usual safety tips apply, ie. avoid walking around alone late at night, etc. I said comparatively safer because unlike other cities, most street violence does not involve deadly weapons that result in serious injuries or death. Mongolians can be hot tempered and very aggressive such as in traffic encounters and resort to fist fights.

No serious break-ins, robberies or hold-ups have been frequently reported. Be careful of pickpockets as these abound. I could not ascertain the rate of assault against women, such as rape and kidnapping, but there have been incidences involving Mongolians and even expatriates.

The main modes of transport in the city are the trolley and gas-fueled buses, private individually-owned non-metered taxis and "cadillakad." There are one or two companies with metered taxis that may be called by phone. One sticks out the thumb to hail a cab. Fare is calculated based on the number of kilometers ran at about Mnt400-500 per kilometer.

English is not widely spoken. Strive to learn basic essential phrases to get by -- shopping, giving directions, etc.

UB is known as the coldest capital city in the world. Temperatures can go as low as minus 40 degrees celcius or lower during winter, especially from midnight to dawn. Daytime temperature in the height of winter may average minus 25-30 celcius. However, buildings -- homes, offices, shops -- are usually centrally heated during winter, as well as cars and buses. Central heating is turned on in mid-September and turned off in mid-May. Hot and cold water is also open all-year round, except for some weeks in summer when repairs and maintenance of the water system are done.

Except for a very thick jacket if you arrive in winter time and preferably some thermal underwear, don't bother filling your luggage with winter clothes. These are easily available cheap in UB, especially at Narantuul Market. Fill-up instead with tuyo, daing, sinigang mix, essential medicines such as biogesic or whatever if you have a special medical condition, cuticle remover and such paraphernalia if you are the type who'd do your own.

The staple food of the Mongolians is flour-based (bread and noodles), eaten with meat (mutton, lamb and beef) and a limited variety of vegetables. Don’t expect to find kangkong, daing, labong, fresh seafood, bagoong. Imported ampalaya and sitaw sometimes appear in some markets. Pork, chicken and rice are also imported. Mongolian food is mostly boiled or broiled, flavored with salt and pepper. If you are picky with food, then you have a problem.

Undergo a thorough medical check up before coming. If you have a serious medical condition and have no health insurance, think twice about living in Mongolia, or at least be armed with a medical evacuation provision in your work contract. The Mongolian health system is not well developed and cost of medical care is very high.

The Pinoy community in Mongolia is small but well-bonded and could be your support system. Know more about them in this blog site. I will later post some contact information.

If this is your first time to go abroad, remember that everything will be different from what you're used to. Open yourself up to adjustments in the Mongolian environment and culture, behaviour and ways of the people. Do not judge harshly , yet stand up for your rights. You may encounter bouts of loneliness, depression and misery, but you must learn how to manage these. You will need to draw from deep within you for strength and tenacity. Your ability to survive will be defined by the firmness of your decision to take the risks and leave home in the first place. Put your faith and trust in God.

Good luck …

hatel and friends on overstaying penalty problem

we have this message posted on the message board of the filipinos in mongolia website. i thought i'd post a response as a blog becase the message board is way down and kinda easy to miss.

hatel says " OS (overstaying) na po kami dito sa ulan abtor..galing po kami sa china..its our 6th day of being OS..ang sabi po kasi ng attorney na nakilala namain na mongolian eh we are allowed 30 days..only to find out na hindi naman pala. they are asking us to pay 250,000 tugruk and exit after 10 days..so meron na po kaming 3 days left..any advice po jan please..thank u..we are very desperate."

hatel, if you are here on a tourist visa, you're allowed 21 days to stay, based on a reciprocal agreement between the Mongolian and Philippine governments. obviously you got the wrong advice. the most reliable thing to have done was to look at your passports and took notice of your supposed exit date. if you wanted to stay longer, then should have applied for an extension.

we don't know the context of why you're here, whether you're dealing directly with the immigration office or through an intermediary, etc. nonetheless, if you have exhausted the allowed period of stay, of you have to pay the penalty. in a way, it seems that the rate and conditions (Mnt 250,000 plus allowance of ten more days stay and exit), are rather lenient given that by law the lowest penalty rate is Mnt300,000.

domestic workers, visas, penalty for overstaying foreigners in mongolia and related matters

Last week I had a meeting with a senior officer from the Mongolian Immigration Agency, kung saan naitanong ko ang tungkol sa penalty for overstaying foreigners in Mongolia. Sabi nya walang standard daily penalty para sa mga overstaying foreigners sa Mongolia. Ang penalty ay kino compute on a case to cases basis ayon sa nakasaad sa batas, which is Mnt 300,000 to Mnt 1 million.

Naibahagi ko rin sa kanya ang problema ng ilang mga kababayan na andito, lalo na ng mga domestic workers, kaugnay ng work permits at visas. They are aware of this, kaya nga isa ito sa magiging laman ng pag uusap with the offcials ng Philippine Immigration Bureau, na bibisita sa Mongolia nitong September.

All the same, sabi nya na mahirap nga maging legal ang pag employ ng mga domestic workers dahil ang provisions sa labor law, ina-allow lang mag hire ng foreign workers kung mapapatunayan ang pangangailangan, kagaya ng mga trabahong nag rerequire ng expertise or skills na either kulang or wala sa mongolia at ang mga ito ay may kinalaman sa technology, education, atbpang pang professional jobs. Ang mga binibigyan ng permisong mag hire ng foreign workers ay mga registered organizations at mga business companies.

Eh bakit nakakalusot? Kung magkakaroon man ang domestic worker ng visa, yun ay dahil nadidiskartehan ng employer, lalo na yung may pera at may kapit. Ang foreign worker ay hindi di nire-register as domestic worker at ang kontratang pinapakita ay hindi nakasaad ang kanilang totoong position at gawain. Ganunpaman, ang bottomline, ito ay illegal dahil ang kontrata ay hindi mapanghahawakan bilang legal na document ng worker sa isang banda. May violation din ang employer sa pag hire illegaly.

Karamihan ng mga Mongolian employers ay pinipili na wag i register ng kanilang mga Pinoy na domestic workers. Usually dalawang main na dahilan. Una, mabusisi ang pag-apply sa pag hire ng foreign worker -- maraming requirements at medyo komplikado ang proseso, mga papeles na dapat ihanda, ilang government agencies ang dapat magbigay ng approval. Pangalawa, dapat mag babayad employer ng Work Placement Fee na equivalent sa doble ng sahod ng worker bawat buwan.

Mukhang kapwa pinag aaralan na ng Philippine and Mongolian governments ang mutual cooperation on labor and related matters. Inaasahan na magbubunga ito (sana) sa madaling hinaharap ng mas malinaw na patakaran na maging paborable sa pagpasok ng Filipino labor sa Mongolia.

Ang payo ni Tia Dely (ako yun hehehe) na sa ngayon, mas maigi siguro na iwasan either manghikayat, mag recomenda o magiging tulay sa pagpapasok ng mga kaibigan at kampag anak ng mga non-professional workers kabilang ang mga domestic worker sa Mongolia. Hintayin natin hanggat dumating ang panahon na magkaroon ng formal agreement or kasunduan ang Philippine and Mongolian governments sa usapin ng labor and employment.

Hindi kagaya ng mga Pinoy OFWs sa ibang, medyo mas dehado tayo dito sa Mongolia dahil:

a] walang kasunduan ang Philippine and Mongolian governments kaugnay ng labor hiring, etc. na maaring maging gabay sa mas maayos na proseso at ang maging kalagayan nating mga Pinoy OFWs dito sa Mongolia;

b] and pinakamalapit na Philippine Embassy na ating matatakbuhan ay sa Beijing - medyo malayo - altho inaasahan na ang pagkakaroon ng Honorary Consul to Mongolia (na nakabase sa Mongolia) ay magpapalakas ng kakayanan ng ating gobyerno na maka tugon at makatulong sa mga Pinoy dito;

c] maliit di hamak ang Pinoy community. although malakas ang bonding at willing tumulong, di nito kayang isabalikatt ang burden ng pag alaga at ayuda pag dumagsa ang mga nagkakaproblemang mga kababayan.

Sa muli...