What's New at SM City Bicutan Building C (Tower)

SM City Bicutan or SMB as we Paranaquenos fondly call it opened the doors of it's new building on the last weekend of July. We found out about it from friends, so we immediately planned a visit to find out what's new. 

The new building now has 4 levels. The lower ground level is dedicated for service shops. The upper ground level will have restaurants, coffee shops, a place for your pets, a sports shop etc. The second level is where the Cyberzone is located together with the cinema and a couple of snack shops. Level 3 will eventually have a couple more restaurants and a sky garden.

Here's a list of shops what are already open and will be opening soon:

If you're planning to visit, you can park in the new building (building C) or park in building B. The area is easily accessible through level 2 of either building A or B. We'll write more about our experience in the coming days :)

How to Apply for a PWD ID in Paranaque City

It took us more than half a year before I finally got my PWD ID. Normal process requires you to get a clearance from your barangay health center. The doctor in ours was always out and it was frustrating to get hold of her, so we decided to go to the PDAO (PWD Affairs Office) at the Paranaque City Hall. They said my guardian could apply for me as long as I have an ID with my Paranaque address on it.

Here's the normal process:

1. Bring a photocopy of the medical certificate. Make sure your doctor indicates your type of disability in the medical certificate.

2. See the barangay health center doctor at the Barangay Health Center to assess and determine type of disability. Do call to check for availability (we were told our barangay doctor only stays until 10 a.m. and they have a limit on how many they accommodate per day).

3. Go to the barangay admin to get certificate for PWD. 

4. Secure a Social Service PWD form.  

5. Prepare 4 1x1 photos. 

6. Go to Paranaque City Hall and bring all forms and requirements. 

7. City Hall will issue a PWD ID. 

8. Give 1 xerox copy of PWD ID to your barangay's Social Services (DSWD) for records.

Requirements:

Medical certificate with type of disability indicated (make sure your certificate is stamped by the doctor)

Four 1 x 1 photo with your name and signature at the back of the photo

PWD ID form

ID with your address on it 

*Photocopy everything

Since we couldn't get hold of our barangay health center doctor, we went straight to the PDAO at the City Hall. They processed my application since my Voter's ID had my address on it. They also advised to use my passport with my address written on the emergency contact page (last page of the passport). I had to ask my doctor to indicate my type of disability on the medical certificate and the PDAO accepted it. 

The process has been arduous, but as long as you're really qualified and have all the requirements you should be able to apply easily.

Polland in Paranaque City

Polland stores have been popping up across the metropolis.  In Paranaque City, you can get freshly made lumpiang sariwa and hopia at their store in Dona Soledad.

We dropped by the store last weekend and was amazed with the many variants of hopia, tikoy and mooncake. You can also have a snack with their many Chinese deli options. We've already had some fresh lumpia via delivery and it was very filling. We plan to try the siopao and asado roll next time. 

Hopia is one of our favorite snacks, so having a Polland store just around the corner has made us happy!

Polland (map)

29 Dona Soledad Ave., Brgy. Don Bosco, Paranaque City

Alert Level 3 in Effect, Curfew for Minors and Limited Government Workforce in Paranaque City

Hello mga kapitbahay! As you have probably heard from the news, NCR is under alert level 3 until January 15 (source). Nearby provinces have also been imposed the same stricter measures. At this time that we are in the middle of another surge, it is best to stay home. 

Curfew for Minors

The Paranaque Public Information Office has posted a reminder about the curfew hours for minors. Those below 18 years of age are not allowed outside from 10:00pm to 4:00am. Violators will be apprehended. 

Skeletal Workforce in Government Offices

Mayor Edwin Olivarez has also signed a memorandum stating that there will only be 30% workforce in government offices. Do call up the office you intend to visit before going to make sure it is open. We were supposed to register our car today, but was surprised that LTO is closed. 

Do monitor the Paranaque Public Information Office FB page for any updates.

Stay safe mga kapitbahay!

A New Chapter of Life in Paranaque!

Happy new year mga kapitbahay! We all hope you had a blessed and safe new year celebration with your family. 

We wanted to share with you a new chapter of our life in Paranaque. We're back home from our post in another country. We also moved to a new home, of course, still in Paranaque! We've been busy with the transition the past few months and we're settling in nicely in our new home. 

It was great to celebrate new year again here in Paranaque. New year was quieter compared to other years, but we were still able to see some nice fireworks from afar. There was even several cute smiley fireworks that appeared! We're not sure where it came from, but maybe it was from the city hall. Whoever it was, thanks for the amazing fireworks! 

We're super excited for this new year! When we got home we immediately ordered all the food we missed and we started to discover new restaurants. There are so many new places, we haven't even made a dent! That's one of the things we'll do in the coming months. 

Since we're in a new home, we realized there's a lot of things we need. We have been re-discovering service providers and shops for our needs. We visited Paradise Garden twice already for our gardening needs and discovered Happy Jinju right after. Did you know there are 40 milk tea shops when you search for MT on Grab? It'll take us a whole year just to try each and every one if we were to do it once a week! 

We've also been trying to discover and try food prepared by our neighbors. We enjoyed this a lot when we were still at our condo. We tried silog meals, pasta, pastries and we got to try street food when they hosted bazaars. It's been a little challenging finding them where we live now, but I'm sure we'll find more in the coming months. 

Stay safe mga kapitbahay and have a happy & blessed new year! 

Paranaque Food Finds: Happy Jinju

We were just making a u-turn to go back home when we happily stumbled into "Happy Jinju". "Milk tea" was the first thing I read on their signage. I immediately said yes when Sweetie asked if I wanted to try it out. 

Whenever I try out a new cafe I always ask what's their bestseller. For the drink they recommended the white rabbit cream cheese. I ordered it and was a bit anxious that it might be too sweet. It was a burst of flavors when I finally tried it. What I enjoyed was the taste of White Rabbit which is one of my favorite childhood candies. The sweetness was just right. 

They started frying some chicken while we were ordering. The smell was amazing! We ended up ordering 24 pieces so we could try four flavors. We got smoky BBQ, garlic mayonnaise, soy garlic and honey lemon garlic. We liked the smoky BBQ and garlic mayo the best. We ate the chicken wings as a snack and also had it with rice. It's great for both merienda and dinner! Woohoo!

We would have loved to hang out in the cafe. It was all pink! It's a perfect place to hang out in for merienda. For safety though we just waited for our order in the car. We realized though it'll be better to book your order ahead and then just pick it up. Or better yet just have it delivered to you. We plan to try the other beverages and chicken wing flavors next time!

Happy Jinju 

36 France St., Better Living Subdivision, Paranaque City

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/HappyJinjuuu/

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/RTxGDGkPxuMrPidVA

How to Get Cedula at Your Barangay Hall

Need a cedula (community tax certificate)? Just head over to your barangay hall and get one. All you need is a valid ID. Here are the steps on how we got it at our barangay hall in Sun Valley -

1. Bring a valid ID to your local Barangay Hall 

2. Go to the room where the cedula is issued 

3. State your reason for getting a cedula (bank transfer, barangay ID, etc) 

4. Give your valid ID, then wait for a few minutes 

5. After a while, the issuer will return and have you press your thumbprint on the document 

6. Pay for it, with a minimum of Php5 but the cost will increase depending on your gross earnings 

7. You have your cedula!

Paranaque COVID19 Vaccinations Update

As of April 22, 2021, the Paranaque City Public Information Office announced a halt of the vaccination drive due to unavailability of the vaccines. 

Source: Paranaque PIO

You may continue to register to get vaccinated at this link: https://www.paranaquevip.ph/registration.

NCR Plus is Back to ECQ, Paranaque Active Cases Now at 11,958

Mga kapitbahay! As of 4pm today, March 27, 2021, confirmed cases is at 9,595*. One thousand two hundred fifty six (1,256) of these confirmed cases are from Paranaque City or 13% of total confirmed cases in the Philippines today**.

NCR Plus (Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal) will be on stricter ECQ for one week. This will start on midnight of March 29 and will end on April 4.

We are awaiting announcements from the Paranaque City Public Information Office if there will be updates to the ECQ policies. Please check with your local barangay also for calibrated containment areas.

Here's the Paranaque City COVID-19 cases as of March 27, 2021 -

*Source: CNN Philippines

**Source: Paranaque City PIO

Updated Paranaque GCQ Guidelines as of March 21, 2021

The Paranaque City government has updated the GCQ guidelines on March 21, 2021. Please find below the guidelines:

Source: Paranaque City - Public Information Office

Please also find below the updated guidelines for businesses:

Source: Paranaque City - Public Information Office

As of March 22, 2021, there are 145 new COVID19 cases. This brings the total of active cases to 939. Please find below the breakdown by barangay:

Source: Paranaque City - Public Information Office

Please stay safe and stay healthy mga kapitbahay!

Registration for Paranaque COVID19 Vaccine

The Paranaque City Public Information Office announced on their FB page the pre-registration/screening for the COVID19 Vaccine lead the City Health Office. 

Register for screening on this link: https://m.oneparanaque.info/ (or use the QR code below).

https://m.oneparanaque.info/

To verify your registration you may call this number: (02) 8829-2808.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/pioparanaqueofficial/posts/186992126550252

For update on Paranaque City COVID19 case, please visit the Paranaque City - Public Information Office page.

  

Southeast Asia's First Olympiad Figure Skater is Paranaqueno

According to the article by CTV News the 17-year old Filipino delegate to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Michael Christian Martinez, was born in Paranaque. The only representative of the Philippines for the winter olympics is also the first figure skater Olympiad to come from Southeast Asia.

Here's a video of Michael competing -

Coupe Coffee Station

Coupe Coffee Station is located at Petron gas station, Dona Soledad Avenue in Better Living. They serve cakes, sandwiches, coffee and an array of meals (pasta and rice meals). An important thing to note is they have FREE WIFI!

Nice place to hang out at especially in the evenings.

Coupe Coffee Station
Petron Gas Station


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Missing in Paranaque