Stressful Incidents before our Trip to Singapore

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After almost a month, I'm back at Singapore with my husband Roel, JoAnn my bff and her son AJ. But before this trip, napakaraming stress ang pinagdaanan namin. I wrote about this para na rin sa information ng mga taong may pagkakatulad sa sitwasyon namin. 

Our flight was originally scheduled August 10-13, 2013.

STRESS #1. Two months before our flight, bigla ko lang naalala na ang kasama pala naming bata, si AJ ay US Passport holder. Tinanong ko si Jo Ann kung parehas lang ba ang procedure at requirements when traveling abroad ang Filipino Citizen sa American? Napaisip kami. Then tumawag ako sa Bureau of Immigration Office dito sa Clark.

Heto ang conversation namin ng Immigration officer:

IO: Immigration Good Morning!
ME: Hello, magtatanong lang po ako. We will be traveling to SG pero may kasama po kaming bata na US Passport Holder. May additional requirements po ba para sa ganitong case pag mag tour sa ibang bansa?
IO: Saan po ipinanganak ang bata?
ME: Dito po sa Pilipinas
IO: May Philippine Passport po ba siya?
ME: Wala po
IO: First time po ba niyang lalabas ng bansa?
ME: Opo
IO: Paano po nakuha ng bata ang US Citizenship niya?
ME: Yung tatay po niya ay US Citizen at inapply po niya ang bata ng CRBA sa US Embassy sa Manila
IO: Ah, kailangan ninyo ng Exit Clearance or ECC
ME: Paano po makukuha yun? Kailan po pweding makuha?
IO: Punta lang po kayo dito sa Immigration Office mam, isama ninyo ang bata for picture-taking at finger-printing. Magdala po kayo ng Letter of Intent to Travel, copy ng flight itinerary ninyo, 3 pcs 2x2 picture ng bata, NSO birth certificate ng bata, marriage certificate ng parents at iba pang supporting documents. Pwedi pong kumuha at least 1 week before the travel dahil 30 days lang po ang validity nun. Makukuha niyo rin po after 2 hours.
ME: Magkano po ang bayad?
IO: Mam, hindi po namin ma-aasses ang dapat bayaran hanggang hindi po namin nakikita yung mga documents. Punta na lang po kayo dito.

Ayun, mukhang madali lang naman diba. Kaya nag search kami sa internet kung magkano ang binayaran ng ibang kagaya namin. May Php 3000 - 5000 daw. So, Jo Ann prepared Php 5000 for the ECC.

STRESS #2. One month before our flight, I received an email from AirAsia:

Dearest Valued Guest,

Philippines’ AirAsia has always taken great care when implementing any flight changes that may inconvenience you, our valued guest. Unfortunately, we have to suspend services between Singapore and Clark effective 1st August 2013 due to commercial considerations.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this flight suspension may cause you and we would like to offer you the following options:

   1. One-time transfer, at no extra cost, to an AirAsia flight on the same route on or before July 31st, 2013 (subject to availability)

  2.  One-time re-routing to any Philippines’ AirAsia flight within 30 days of the original flight date, subject to airport-specific taxes and surcharges (subject to availability)

  3.   Conversion of the value of the total fare to an online credit shell with a validity of 180 days

  4.   Full refund

OMG! Aigoo! What to do? We already have confirmed hotel booking for August 10-13 and it can't be refunded or modify. Nagmadali akong naghanap ng ibang flight sa ibang airline at mag re-refund na lang kami. Yung Cebu Pacific sa Manila ang lipad, Php 8000 ang amount. Sa Tiger naman walang flight sa Clark, Manila din at Php 7500 and amount. Meron pa akong nakita, Jetstar, Manila din Php 6500. Yung ticket namin sa AirAsia Php 3250 lang. Hay!

Tumawag ako sa central booking department ng Fragrance Hotel sa Singapore at nakiusap kung pwedeng i amend ang aming reservation. Kahit saang branch ng Fragrance okay lang. (We prefer Emerald kasi but it's fully booked kaya sa Sapphire kami confirm) I explained the situation and out of goodwill, he modified it to July 27-30 but we have to pay an extra $150 for rate difference.

STRESS #3.  I called AirAsia to move our flight to July 27-30. OMG again.... fully booked na ang July 30! Paano kami uuwi? Then the agent gave me another option, July 23-27.

Crossing our fingers, I called Mr. Edmund again of Fragrance Hotel, and with a lot of luck and prayers, pinagbigyan niya ang request ko. May available na rooms sa Emerald branch pero July 23-26 lang. I said it's ok at nagpabook na lang ako sa Sunflower branch para sa last day namin.

STRESS #4.  Five days before our flight, nagpunta ng BI si Jo Ann at AJ. Akala namin ok na ang lahat. Tumawag si Jo Ann informing me na kailangan magbayad ng penalty ni AJ dahil overstaying siya. BI computed the charges from the date his US Passport and CRBA was released. Php 12,000! Hay hindi namin alam na may binabayaran pala ang mga US Citizen dito sa Pilipinas. Wala namang nag inform sa amin. Wala din kaming alam na ganito pala. Wala naman ibang dapat sisihin. Bigla ko tuloy naalala ang prof. namin sa CEU na laging sinasabi "Ignorance of the law excuses no one!" Sabi sa BI, if may Philippine Passport lang ang bata, hindi na niya kailangan magbayad. Kinabukasan, bumalik si Jo sa BI upang magbayad at nakuha na niya ang kapirasong papel na nagkakahalaga ng Php 12,000++.

STRESS #5. On the day of our flight, ninenerbyos pa rin kami dahil baka hindi kami makaalis. Nakalagay kasI dun sa ECC ni AJ na subject for dero pa siya sa mga IO sa airport. At marami kaming nabasa at nabalitaan na marami daw passengers sa Clark na hindi pinapasakay kahit lehitimong turista naman. Offloaded kumbaga. When it was our turn na, medyo bata pa yung IO na na-assign sa pila namin. Medyo nagtagal din kami ng ilang minuto bago kami nakalusot. Yung babaeng nauna sa amin ay offloaded.

Sa tindi ng pinagdaanan naming stress para sa SG trip na ito, parang ayoko ng tumuloy, kaso nandito na e, marami ng nagastos.

Sa awa ng Diyos, nakarating na din kami ng Singapore.

Posted in: Bureau of Immigration, ECC, Exit Clearance, personal, Singapore, Singapore Trip, South East Asia, Stressful Incidents before out Trip to Singapore, US Citizen