NOAH Shares Which Areas Of Paranaque City Experience Floods

It is well known that Metro Manila experiences floods during typhoon season due to heavy rains. 

If you are a local of Paranaque City, you probably already know which streets and barangays are prone to flooding. If not, the extent of flooding in your area can be looked up online if you're unfamiliar with it.

An online web tool, made possible by the National Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH), reveals areas vulnerable to floods, landslides, and storm surges. You can enter an address or see a map of your current location to see an instant visual representation of the affected areas. The map's magnification range extends from street level to barangay and city. The map is not a real-time tool for tracking floods; rather, it relies on historical information. Because of this, drivers may learn whether places are at risk of flooding without having to go through one.

To use the tool, go to https://noah.up.edu.ph, and enter your location or a different one. It will return results of possible places based on the street level of the address you enter.

Project NOAH is still in beta release. There are ongoing developments to stabilize the platform and complete the hazard maps.

Buying Pots and Plants in Paranaque

I had held off buying gardening supplies online since there is a lot of gardening shops in Paranaque. In fact, we made a list of gardening supply shops in Paranaque last year. We looked forward to buying items in person. We were finally able to visit some shops, but realized that they didn't have all the items available all the time. Tried buying pots via Lazada and Shopee, but found it too expensive. 

I've been apprehensive at clicking ads from FB and IG. Got scammed trying to buy a bookshelf*. Some friends though said to try the FB marketplace. I was also wary because I tried to look for furniture makers via the marketplace. I did not proceed with the purchase since they were more expensive than Ikea. I really needed to buy some pots, so I looked around FB marketplace. Sent a few inquiries to some sellers that I had mutual friends with. I figured if things went awry I could ask help from my friends hehe. 

Now I have a suki gardening supply shop. It's Josuajoy Cora's-Garden Landscaping Services. They are located in Barangay Moonwalk. What I like about them is they communicate fast and send photos of what's available. Last month I bought some pots and soil. They were all delivered in the same day and in good condition. 

Today I ordered some plants, pots and loam soil for my Mom. I'm really happy I found this supplier. They're just in the next barangay to us. Hope we'll be able to visit them also in person soon.

*Good thing the credit card company reversed the charge when I reported to them.

Josuajoy Cora's Garden Landscaping Services (map/Facebook)

Moonwalk Access Road, Paranaque

1709 Metro Manila

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

SM City Sucat Parking Advisory

SM City Sucat has advised new rules on settling parki fees. Please see the advise below.

The new procedure will start on June 1,2022.

Get Your Poso Negro Cleaned for Free!

Hello mga Kapitbahay! Good news! Maynilad has been offering free septic tank desludging services in BF Homes and Sun Valley right now. You can check the schedule here or call Maynilad at 1626.

The crew knocked on our gate early this morning and offered the free service. We immediately said yes since we had a traumatic experience from our first rented home. They had a hard time removing the septic tank cover so they just bore a hole. The desludging procedure took only about 5 minutes. We had some cement available so the crew covered up the hole as well. They recommended to change the lid so it will be easier to clean in the future. 

Make sure to have your septic tank cleaned every 5 years. We're really glad that Maynilad still provides this service for free. Thank you Maynilad! 

Cafe in Paranaque: But First, Coffee

We just discovered that "But First, Coffee" is founded by a Paranaqueno! We found out from a feature on the OG YouTube channel that Anna Magalona started her business at home with just PhP6,000. We immediately checked if it was available via Grab and found a branch just near our home. 

Woke up early this morning so we could try out their coffee. We got the following -

Spanish Latte and Vietnamese Style (hot)

Vietnamese Style (iced)

These two are the bestsellers of the cafe. You can also purchase coffee in 1 liter bottles. It should be fairly easy to find a branch since they now have 29 branches. Most are in Luzon and one in Iloilo City. The branch in Paranaque City is located in Saudi Arabia St., Better Living Subdvision in Barangay Don Bosco.

But First, Coffee (map)

87-D Saudi Arabia St.

Better Living Subd.,

Brgy. Don Bosco,

Paranaque City 

Cafe in Paranaque: Presko Coffee

We discovered Presko Coffee through Grab. Found it because we were looking for coffee and breakfast. We tried it and have since been ordering whenever we crave for good breakfast. After voting today we planned to get breakfast via drive-thru. The lines were long so we thought we'd check out Presko Coffee and get take-away. 

We got lucky and Sweetie was able to park. The interiors of the cafe was so pretty we decided to dine in. We were also curious to see the menu and how they would serve the food. I ordered my usual waffles and bacon (I gave my scrambled egg to Sweetie) - 

Sweetie got a BLT (he loves sandwiches) -

And the son got waffles and hungarian sausage -

We also got coffee. I had a hot Spanish latte, Sweetie ordered Irish coffee and the son got iced Spanish latte. We love their coffee! 

We've been taking precautions that's why we haven't been dining out. We loved the cafe though so we'll likely go back to dine-in again. A great find in our `hood! 

Presko Coffee (map)

Paranaque Candidates 2022

With everyone focused on the national elections, we haven't really seen anyone actively campaigning locally. Well, probably because our house is tucked inside a subdivision. We didn't even receive any leaflets to review candidate credentials. 

We thought it will be useful to provide a list and links to the candidate profiles. Here it is:

CANDIDATES FOR CONGRESS (source)

Paranaque District 1 

1 Montano, Pete (independent) - FB page, former general, supporting BBM

2 Moral, Jayson (Aksyon) - he is more known as "Kagawad Godbless", FB page here

3 Olivarez, Edwin (PDPLaban) - he is the current mayor of Paranaque, Wikipedia here and FB page showing his track record as mayor. Supporting Sara Duterte.

Paranaque District 2

1 Maganduda, Atty. Josef (independent) - lawyer and he is espousing for "progresibong Paranaque", FB page here

2 Ding Soriano (LDP) - Paranaque City Administrator, FB page is here. From his posts, it looks like he supports VP Leni. 

3 Gus Tambunting (NUP) - councilor (1988-2007), vice mayor (2007-2013), congressman (2013-2019), Wikipedia and FB page. He was a businessman prior to becoming a politician.

CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR (source)

1 Aguilar, Rolando (ind) - read his platform on his FB page

2 Mores, Jherrie (PDDS) - read his CV and platform on his FB page

3 Olivarez, Eric (PDPLaban) - incumbent congressman, former councilor, read his CV and projects on his FB page

4 Uy, Drew (independent) - read his CV and platform on his FB page

5 Zaide, Jun (KBL) - incumbent Barangay Captain in Baclaran, his FB page is here

CANDIDATES FOR VICE MAYOR (source)

1 De Asis, Tess (PDDS) - incumbent councilor, read about her projects here

2 Favis, Coach Binky (PDPLaban) - incumbent councilor, PBA coach, read about him on his FB page

3 Villafuerte, Joan (LP) - her CV and platform on her FB page

List of candidates for councilor can be found here.

Check your precinct and voter profile here. Also check if your precinct is in the same location. Some precincts have be re-located due to social distancing. 

Vote wisely!

Drive-Thru Vaccination and Booster in Paranaque

Our senior citizen Mom just had her booster shot today at the Nayong Pilipino Foundation drive-thru vaccination site. Registered on the website, https://vax.captivate.ph/, a few days ago and received the confirmation via email and SMS yesterday that we were scheduled for today. Before registering it's best to have on hand your ID and vaccination card (proof). You are also required to have a unique email address and mobile number. 

As advised by others, it's best to arrive early for your appointment. Our appointment was scheduled for 8:30am. We arrived at 7:45am and was immediately accommodated. There weren't that many cars lined up when we arrived. Be ready with your QR code, ID and the email/SMS confirmation. It's better if you download a copy (or print) the QR code and make sure that you have the email on hand in case they ask for the patient ID (it's in the email usually). No need to print the DOH form included in the email since they provide this when you present the requirements. 

Since only Moderna was available, only my Mom was able to get her booster shot. I was required by my doctor to get Pfizer. The staff were so nice and caring, they even showed that the content of the injection was gone. We finished the whole process in 45 minutes (including the 15 minute rest time after the jab). 

If you have senior citizens or persons with comorbidities in your household, it's best to get vaccinated and get your booster shot through the drive-thru vaccination site. All you need to do is register at https://vax.captivate.ph/.

2022 Binibining Paranaque is Miss Sun Valley!

Last February 12, 2022, the Paranaque Tourism Office hosted the coronation night of Binibining Paranaque. It was hosted on the eve of Paranaque's cityhood anniversary. The festivity was streamed online through FB and you can watch show via their page.

Crowned 2022 Binibining Paranaque is from Barangay Sun Valley, Danica Elys Serrano. Congratulations Danica!

Ingat lagi mga kapitbahay!

Paranaque City Alert Level 2 Guidelines

The national government has reduced the alert level to 2 and this will be enforced from February 1 to 15, 2022. Below are the guidelines provided by the Paranaque City - Public Information Office -

For more information, please visit the Paranaque PIO FB page.

Ingat mga kapitbahay!

UPLB-DTRI Fresh Milk Now Available in Paranaque!

I super love drinking fresh milk from Los Banos. It was the only milk my parents could make me drink after I outgrew formula. They always bought it for me whenever they had a chance to visit Los Banos. It's been years since I last had it, so I was really happy to see it being promoted. And now it's even more reachable because there's a distributor in Paranaque! 

You can now purchase UPLB fresh milk, flavored milk, yogurt, cheese and pastillas de leche through the distributor. All you need to do is contact the distributor, Justine "Gelo" Gile at 0919-9546718, to pre-order. Complete instructions and available products are below -

*BTW mga kapitbahay, we're in no way connected to the distributor. Just thought we'd share this good news in case, like me, you want some UPLB fresh milk!

Stay safe everyone!

Paranaque COVID-19 Vaccination for Children

Young ones, ages 5 to 11 can get their vaccination at the Ospital ng Paranaque. Schedule is available on this website: https://paranaquecity.ph/bakunaparasayoschedule/

Please bring the following requirements:

1. Birth certificate of the child

2. Government issued ID or school ID of the child

3. Signed consent form of the parent/s or guardian. Sample consent form is available at http://paranaquecity.ph/bakunaparasayofiles

For questions, you may reach out to support.bakunaparasayo@paranaquecity.ph

RT-PCR Home Services in Paranaque

Hello mga kapitbahay! Hope you are all way and doing good! If you feel sick, the CDC has advised that we should treat any symptom as COVID-19 (read more here).  

It is best to stay home if you feel sick. Here's a list of RT-PCR test home service providers:

AIDE (via app)

Alcheon Medical

Angkas in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross

Hi Precision Diagnostics

Lab at Home PH

Juan Medical

Manila Diagnostic Center

Medicus Diagnostic Center (this is in Dona Soledad)

One Life Medical and Laboratory Services

Swab Hub PH - they also have a drive-thru service at SM Bicutan near Coco Tea

Zennya Health

Watsons also sells antigen test kits. You can check it here (bottom of the page).

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!