Gift giving in the Philippines is a long-honored Christmas tradition. But in these tight times, one shouldn’t ignore budget constraints. To help you get more bang for your buck, we offer you the ultimate Christmas shopping list: places where you can put your bargain-hunting and haggling skills to the test.
Location: In the vicinity of Recto, Santo Cristo, Juan Luna and Comercio streets
What to buy: wholesale school, office and household supplies, clothes, footwear, fruits and vegetables, accessories, and many more. Name it, they have it!
What to Watch out for: Quality of goods. Check and re-check your purchases to make sure you get your money’s worth.
Location: Near C.M. Recto Avenue
What to Buy: Affordable DSLR cameras, bags, clothes, bags, and other accessories
What to Watch out for: Thick crowds, especially in the vicinity of the Quiapo Church.
Location: In Parañaque City, Metro Manila. It is also Near Mall of Asia in Pasay.
What to Buy: Quality but affordable clothes, toys, and plants.
What to Watch out for: Best to avoid it on a Wednesday, also declared as “Baclaran Day” as devotees flock to the Baclaran Church.
Location: In Ortigas Avenue, North Western St., in San Juan, Metro Manila.
What to Buy: Brand new to second-hand mobile phones, gadgets, tablets, clothes, shoes, bags accessories, toys for kids and for the young at heart at reasonable prices.
What to Watch out for: Overspending! Greenhills has a lot of attractions including restaurants and cinemas so make sure you bring extra cash.
Location: Near Quezon City, described as the gateway to Rizal Province
What to Buy: locally made shoes, slippers and bags
What to Watch out for: Make sure to visit all the stores to compare prices and to get a variety of designs
What to Buy: Everything under the sun! Shopping isn’t limited to shopping sites; you can also purchase through social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram.
What to Watch out for: Before making a purchase, make sure that the seller is legitimate. Scroll down to the buyers’ comments to check if they’re satisfied with the site’s services. Ask for recommendations from friends before swiping that credit card.
Be Shopping-Savvy
• Haggle to your heart’s content. Don’t settle on the first price offered. Canvass to make sure you get the best deal.
• Wear light and comfortable clothes to avoid heatstroke. Always bring bottled water and snacks to stave off hunger and thirst.
• Keep your belongings close to your body. Be vigilant of suspicious characters.
• With the harsh sun rays in the morning, and with the possibility of rainshowers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon, bringing an umbrella is a must.
• Bring your own eco-bags to lessen the use of plastic bags.
Earlier this morning, devotees of the Black Nazarene faced light rains during the Pahalik event of the Traslacion 2015. This weather condition will likely continue during the procession.
PAGASA explains this is due to the prevailing northeast monsoon affecting Luzon. This will continue to bring cloudy skies with light rains in Metro Manila, Aurora and the regions of Bicol, CALABARZON, Cagayan Valley and Cordillera. The rest of Luzon can expect isolated cases of light rains brought by the same weather system.
CARAGA, Central Visayas and the provinces of Leyte and Camiguin will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers caused by a wind convergence. The remaining parts of the country will enjoy fair weather apart from isolated thunderstorms.
Gale warning has been issued inthe seaboards of Luzon and Visayas, as well as in the seaboards of the CARAGA region. Apart from strong to gale force winds, rough to very rough sea conditions are also expected, making sea travel risky in the following hours.
Meanwhile, Panahon TV continues to monitor the low pressure area (LPA) outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). State meteorologist Jori Loiz states that the said weather disturbance is expected to enter PAR between Sunday and Monday.
Currently, it has a slim chance of intensifying into a tropical cyclone due to unfavorable conditi
THE FEAST OF THE BLACK NAZARENE
Every year, thousands of devotees flock to Manila to be part of the “traslacion” or the transfer of the Black Nazarene, which commemorates the transfer of the statue from a church in Intramuros to Quiapo Church on the 9th of January in 1767. It is one of the biggest religious processions in the Philippines.
The 248-year icon is considered by faithful devotees of the Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno as miraculous. In 2014, 3 million devotees attended the procession, with the parade lasting 19 hours. The longest parade was in 2012, which went on for 22 hours.
Due to a fire incident in Escolta, organizers of the feast have updated the routes of the procession. See below for changes:
