3rd time to leave PH, working freelance
First time I left 2015 was with my sister and two other cousins. The flight was MNL-KL-JOG-KL-MNL. I was still a student at that time, I showed my school ID and Certificate of Registration, and I was with my sister so she vouched for all the payments made from her credit card. STAMPED. The second time I left was 2016. The flight was MNL-SGN-REP-MNL. I paid for my all my bookings through ECPay (711), booked hotels through Booking.com, was also flying with a friend so we went through immigration together. The lady IO asked me the nature of my job (Project Supervisor at a firm), then asked me for my company ID, COE, and LOA. Honest to God, I didn't know these things were necessary. So I told her I left all of the above at home. So she asked me for Gov't IDs (TIN, SSS, PhilHealth card in particular) but my company at that did not provide us any of the above. So I said "probationary" pa lang ako sa work ko kaya hindi pa nila ako nabibigyan. (Been working for more than a year there pero walang kahit anong benefits and we don't pay taxes kasi wala kaming SSS, Pag-ibig, etc. I know dapat sinumbong ko sila sa DOLE but I really LOVED my job and kindness got the better of me. Eventually, I quit.) At this point kabado nako kasi unang labas ko everything was a breeze. She was not convinced, so she asked me our itinerary in Saigon and Siem Reap (which I know by heart because I planned everything: budget, time, places to go, etc.) And also I pointed out to my friend sa kabilang IO cubicle. Then, STAMPED.
Now, I'm leaving PH alone but meeting a friend (babae at Pinoy din) in Hanoi. She will be coming from Dubai because she works there and is only on one-week leave. My friends tell me I shouldn't be paranoid because I've already been to 4 countries. But some IOs, I heard, can power trip really hard. Mas okay na mag-overprepare. Hope you guys can help me out!
Log in to leave a comment