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Showing posts from May, 2014

Life Insurance - Demystifying Jargons Part I

A life insurance policy for ordinary folks can be confusing because it contains a lot of words or terms that may mean the same or differently from other words floating around in insurance jargons. When presented with a life insurance proposal, one would hear words like premiums, cash value, living benefits, cash benefits, sum insured, face amount, death benefits, etc.  It gets confusing when one sees those words and trying to grasp the meaning of words which would be the basis when planning to buy life insurance. For starters "premium" means the payment or consideration made to an insurance company, who in turn is bound to pay the the death benefits at the time of the insured's death.  Premiums are usually paid annually and thereafter renewed yearly.  It can also be paid monthly, quarterly or semi-annual, but the annual premium will be multiplied to a conversion table depending upon the frequency within the year. More importantly, the insurance policy

The Seventies - The "Disco" Era

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The seventies was undoubtedly the "disco" era.  As a teenager, I listened and danced to the distinct sound of that era. When "Saturday Night Fever" hit the movie theaters in 1978,  I became an avid fan of the Bee Gees and other bands that played the disco sound.   Besides listening to disco sound, I also mimicked dance steps like the "swing" and "L.A. shuffle" from a local popular TV show the "Penthouse Seven." I strutted my stuff every time  I danced with a partner at birthday parties held in friends' residences. Bands that dished out disco tunes during the '70s were  ABBA  with their  song "Dancing Queen";   Donna Summer 's   goosebumps-raising song "Last Dance."  Other bands like  KC and the Sunshine Band ,  The Trammps ,  Van McCoy ,  Gloria Gaynor ,  The Village People ,  Chic , and  The Jacksons   also flooded the radio airwaves in the '70s .   I even followed their progress over the loc

The Seventies - A Fun Decade (1970-1979)

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I was a child of the seventies.  I finished my grade school back in '75, and finished high school in '79.  There were a lot of things brewing in the seventies.  It was a cultural upheaval that probably originated from public dissent in the U.S. against the Vietnam War in the sixtees spawning the "hipee culture", which somehow washed up on the shores of our island paradise. In the Philippines, there was also a rising form of public dissent mostly from college students, because of the Martial Law era.  I am not an anthropologist, but my comments are merely observations when I was a kid and also as an adult looking back. Looking back though, I think it was the fun decade.  I say this because the fashion back in the days was flamboyant, stylish and loud.  I love wearing platform shoes, baggy (flare) pants and open collar shirts. I like copying John Travolta's hair style in "Saturday Night Fever".  Every time I catch a re-run of the movie shown on ca

Filing of Audited Financial Statement at the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines

Today was deadline of the filing of the audited financial statement  for corporations at the SEC Philippines. Our financial statement was still being audited by the commissioned external auditor. The auditor was only able to send a draft and not the final copy. Hoping to beat the deadline, I had to go the SEC to inquire whether they will accept tentative filing of financial statement. When I was at the SEC, they did not receive the tentative financial statement because they simply said that "they only receive audited financial statements once a year and they don't compromise receiving tentative financial statements unlike the BIR where you can make an amended filing". They only accept final audited financial statement and they are very strict on this. I asked what available options do I have?  The SEC staff said that the available option is to make a late filing instead.  But there was the question on penalty. I went to another department regarding the penalty.  The

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome "MERS"

News broke out in dailies, television and news portals that a new virus similar to the "SARS" virus is spreading like wildfire in the Middle East region.  News reports dubbed it as "Middle East Respiratory Syndrome" or for short "MERS" I did not pay much attention to it because the virus outbreak was far from my country- the Philippines. Sadly, however, the news became personal.  One of our family member, who is working in the Middle East region, fell victim to the virus.  We received news of his confinement in the hospital's intensive care unit.  We were all shocked about the news. This threw me in a frenzy for more information about the virus.  I searched the internet about the virus and I learned some facts about it.  The first known case of infection was reported in 2012 in the Middle East region specifically Saudi Arabia.  It was believed to have originated from Eqyptian bats and transmitted to camels.  Transmission to humans was believe