Living In The Philippines

One of the great things about living in the Philippines, especially in retirement, is that you can have as much help around the house as you wish. Domestic staff, locally often referred to as a ‘Helper’, are inexpensive. You can employ someone, live-in, from as little as US$50 a month. You will need at least two of these, often teenage girls. You must take care of them like an uncle, keep them from getting into ‘trouble’ and so on. The best advice is to leave that to the Asawa to manage and don’t try and apply western standards of employer-employee relations: it won’t work!

A driver will usually also do double duty as a gardener and even as security, so budget at least US$150 and choose wisely. This person must not only need to be able to drive safely and know his way around town, but he must also be very trustworthy. That is by far the most important quality and this is why it pays to listen to your Asawa or trusted Pinoy friends.

Other help includes a cook, lavenderia (laundry woman) and if you have children, a YaYa or nanny. Lavenderia are usually older women who live out and come in as many times a week as you need them to make sure the laundry is always done for you. Depending on the arrangement, allow another US$50 and that should cover laundry supplies as well.

A good cook can make all the difference to your enjoyment of life. Find one who has cooked for westerners before otherwise you will have nothing to eat but bland Filipino food and find a lot of breakages occurring in the kitchen. He or she needs to know how to operate your oven (you must have an oven!), microwave and other appliances, keep the refrigerator (they call it the ‘reff’) cold and not turned up to save electricity and how to store food other than leaving it out with an upturned plate covering it from the flies.

Pay well for a good cook, say up to US$200 a month.  So far you have spent US$300 a month and you have two maids, a cook, a laundress and a driver/gardener/watchman. I would add another $50 and hire a young lad to help the driver, do the lawns, sweep the paths, clean the pool, carry the shopping etc. Then add US$50 more to bring the total staff bill to US$400 and cover them all with PhilHealth. This national health insurance costs aobut US$2 a month per person and covers them and their families for a range of medical expenses. If you make contributions to SSS on their behalf every month as well, or simply put it away, then you will have staff who have a lot to lose if they displease you.

As I have already said, leave the day to day management of the staff to your Asawa. If she is not a Filipina then choose either the driver or the cook (whoever is the oldest and most mature) and work with them. Tell them what you want done and by when and leave them to direct the staff.

When it comes to hiring staff there are a number of agencies that place people however where possible have your Asawa find them from her province. Bring them to the city and look after them and they will have ‘utang na loob’ to you. (debt of honor) Try not to be too friendly or else they will take that as weakness. Be firm but fair and they will hesitate to steal or be lazy. Remember, this is the Philippines and different rules apply.

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