Retire In Philippines

Lacson eyes retirement in 2 years

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Panfilo Lacson on Thursday disclosed that he plans to retire in 2013, when his term as a lawmaker ends.

However, Lacson did not close the door on serving in the government if he is appointed by Malacañang to lead a state agency.

"By the end of this month, I shall have served the government for 40 years," he said.

Lacson was in the Philippine Constabulary for 20 years, spent 10 years in the Philippine National Police (PNP), and another 10 years as senator.

"Minus one year wasted," he said, referring to the period when he went into hiding after being implicated in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

"But in 2013 I would have served government for 42 years. I think that's more than enough," Lacson added.

Lacson said he does not plan to enter local politics in Cavite. "I don't think local politics is my cup of tea. National politics napakahirap to grapple with, what more with local politics? Umaga pa lang may bisita na sa bahay. Mahirap makipagsapalaran sa local politics."

He also downplayed rumors linking him to a position in the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). "Mahirap tanggapin ang rumor."

Lacson said he will not refuse an offer to serve in the Aquino administration.

"It depends. When the time comes, kung makita mo may pagagamitan sa iyo o may mai-contribute ka o kaya mo gawin ang gusto mo ipatupad, then why not? But iyung wala namang offer, one thing I won't do is apply for a government job. I won't do that. Kasi sa akin taboo yan," he added.

"You should wait to be tapped to perform a job. But for a person or someone like me, a senator, to apply for a government job parang it doesn't sit well," he added. "Di ko sinasabi maghihintay ako ng offer. Actually, mas gusto ko mag-retire after 2013."

On writing a book He said he may write a book after he retires. "(Baka gumawa) ako ng libro, sasabihin ko kung saan ako nagtago. I'm thinking about it."

"All my years in government masyadong colorful. Maraming ups maraming downs," he said. "Ganoon naman ang buhay ko, parang roller-coaster, na nasa taas nasa baba, minsan lumalagapak talaga. Pero minsan naman may mga high points."

Lacson said his position as PNP chief was the most satisfying point of his career in government. "Doon nakita ko appreciation ng mga tao. But there are so many low points in my career na minsan sinasarili ko na lang. And I'm thinking of including everything, even those that I did not share with media, in that book that I am thinking of.

RetirePhilippines.com » Preparing for retirement in the Philippines

Upon living here full time you may find preparing things in advance would make life more comfortable and also a bit easier on the pocket which is why visiting the Philippines ahead of moving here permanently is strongly advised. Not only to see if its the country for you and the location you want to reside at but also to see what things are missing due to the protective government here restricting imports.

Power issues

Not only is there an issue that the Philippines runs on a 220v system in comparison to the U.S. and several other countries 110v not all power supplies on equipment you want to bring will work and will require an added transformer or dual sockets in homes. The problem with having both sets of sockets though is that the 2 pin U.S. plug and socket are the same as the Philippines 2 pin for 220v giving risk that some of your equipment may actually blow if plugged into the wrong socket. Transformers are expensive here and quality isn’t guaranteed so worth looking around for transformers to ship with your equipment if sending from abroad. On top of that voltage regulators are strongly advised as this also damages and blows equipment here due to the irregular voltage levels in the country. Installing an AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator) at your mains board will deal with this problem for you as I know myself its an expensive issue if you don’t I have lost several power tools due to this power issue. At the same time earthing or grounding isn’t done in most properties which means you pickup electric shocks off nearly every appliance when you touch it, so making sure you get your property adequately grounded is also essential for a quiet life.

Electrical items

There is always a shortage of good electrical equipment in the Philippines as it seems to be the junkyard of Asia where second hand goods are often polished up as new and sold at more than it would cost new. At the same time surplus and factory rejects line many stores which as you can guess won’t last 12 months in many cases. Its why taking a look at what you need and what is available is worth pondering time over as its not always obvious e.g a good pump for a swimming pool for example or maybe good junction boxes for lighting.

Send stuff in advance

If your looking to move here within the next couple of years and already married it is worth while sending goods from your home country in advance of your arrival. Balikbayan Boxes are a common box sent by OFW’s to families back in the Philippines and you can use the same route to send your items to the Philippines or even via your own shipping container but worth doing an entire container via a clearance house or even better get an international forwarder to do it for you and agree on fixed price door to door. There is a surprising amount of stuff you will struggle to find or miss in the Philippines where by using the Balikbayan services you can get round many of these problems.

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