The Philippines - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 593

MONEY AND BANKS
he Philippine currency is the peso (P). It
is divided into 100 centavos, with bills in
denominations of P20, P50, P100, P200,
P500 and P1000. Coins come in 5, 10
and 25 centavos, P1, P5 and P10. Most
banks will change sterling, euros and
dollars, though the last is preferred,
especially outside the cities. Changing
travellers' cheques requires jumping
through several hoops, and should only
be carried as a backup. If you're likely to
be going off the beaten track, you should
take a ready supply of cash, and keep
small denominations of pesos handy for
transport and tips. Breaking anything
bigger than a P100 note can be tricky
anywhere other than large businesses,
so stock up on change. At the time of
writing the exchange rate was P43 to
US$1, P62 to €1 and P65 to £1.
Visa, MasterCard and, to a lesser extent,
American Express are widely accepted
throughout Manila and other major
cities, and also in popular tourist
destinations such as Boracay. You can
withdraw cash from 24-hour ATMs (in
the Visa, Plus, MasterCard and Cirrus
networks) in all cities and even many
smaller towns. Most banks will advance
cash against cards for a commission.

Police in the Philippines are not Asia's
finest. Successive governments have made
some headway in cleaning up the force,
but it is still plagued by accusations of
corruption, collusion and an alleged
willingness to shoot first and ask
questions later. If you do get into trouble,
contact your embassy immediately
(see p.48).

MEDICAL CARE AND EMERGENCIES
here are pharmacies everywhere in the
Philippines, so if you have a minor
ailment and need to buy medicine over
the counter, finding one should not be a
problem. he biggest chain is Mercury,
which has branches all over the place,
but even the smallest village tends to have
some sort of store.
In Manila and other major tourist
centres, hospitals are reasonably well
equipped and staffed by English-
speaking doctors. Elsewhere your hotels
can point you in the direction of a local
clinic. Make sure you have arranged
health insurance before you leave home
- if you are hospitalized, you won't be
allowed to leave the hospital until the
bill is settled.
he 24-hour number for emergency
services (police, fire and ambulance)
throughout the Philippines is T 117.

8

OPENING HOURS AND PUBLIC
HOLIDAYS
Most government o ces including post
o ces are open Monday to Friday 8am
to 5pm. Businesses generally keep the
same hours, with some also open for half
a day on Saturday from 9am until noon.
Off the beaten track, hours are less
regular. Banks open Monday to Friday
9am to 3pm, while shops in major
shopping centres are usually open 10am
to 8pm, seven days a week. Restaurants
and cafés are generally open from early
morning until 11pm, seven days a week,
although they often close earlier outside
of the big cities.

INFORMATION AND MAPS
he Philippine Department of Tourism
( W tourism.gov.ph) has o ces throughout
the Philippines, but outside of the big
cities these mostly have small budgets,
poorly trained staff and very little in the
way of reliable information or brochures.
he best sources of information are often
guesthouses and hotels that cater to
backpackers. Another good source is
blogs; Filipinos are enthusiastic tourists of
their own country, and you'll find tons
more information online, especially about
trekking and diving on a budget, than
you will from the tourist o ces. A range
of maps called E-Z Map , covering cities,
individual islands and regions, is sold in
branches of the National Bookstore (P99)
and hotels, and is eminently useful.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
January 1 New Year's Day
February 25 Anniversary of the overthrow of Marcos
March/April Holy Week