Calling the Philipines

Ipagpaumanhin sana ni Dusk at hindi ko pa nasusulat ang request niya. Malalim kasi ang tanong niya at English pa. What are the life lessons you know now that you wish you had known 15, 20 years ago? Masyadong makabagbag-damdaming tanong tulad nung mga nakaraan kong posts: “If you can change one thing about your life, what will it be?” at “How could God let this happen?”

So, uunahin ko na muna itong kay Anna at medyo madali-dali. Ano raw ang lowest rates to call the Philippines from NZ.

Maraming mga calling cards ang mabibili sa mga convenience stores. Usually may $10, $20 or $50. Madali naman gamitin ang mga cards na ito. Sa card nakasulat ang number na ida-dial mo at ang PIN number na dapat mong i-key in. Tapos pwede ka nang dumayal sa Pilipinas. You can call from any land line or any public phone.

Nag-search ako sa Google and I found www.callingcards.com where you can search and compare different pre-paid calling cards for the country you’re calling from and calling to. Unfortunately, tatlo lang ang lumitaw sa search. The cheapest one is Global Caller and has a rate of 21 cents per minute in 3 minute increments. Ibig sabihin nito calls less than 3 minutes kahit 10 seconds lang 63 cents (21 x 3) pa rin ang charge. Isa pa, the price is for calls to landline only. Calls to mobile phones are more expensive, pero hindi nakasabi kung by how much.

Kung ayaw mo naman bumili ng pre-paid cards, pwede kang mag sign-up with www.Ztalk.co.nz online. Libre naman ang mag-sign up. Kami, Ztalk ang gamit namin sa bahay to call the Philippines. Their rates are cheaper than Telecom's (PLDT ng NZ). The only thing is that they charge in 15 minute increments but with the first 30 seconds free. Calls to the Philippines cost $4.99 per 15 minutes. If you try to call someone and that person is not around to talk to you (o kaya wrong number), you can hang up within 30 seconds and you won’t be charged for the call. Otherwise, you pay a flat rate of $4.99 per 15 minutes. Para sa amin okay ito kasi conscious ka sa time. Kapag lumampas ka ng 15 minutes, paabutin mo na ng 30 minutes para sulit ang bayad. Mas okay kung may stop-watch ka para ma-monitor mo ang oras. Ang calls nga pala to a mobile phone in the Philippines with Ztalk is 45 cents per minute and does not follow the 15 minute increment rule.

Kung ikaw at ang tatawagan mo ay may PC na may speakers at microphone, at pareho kayong may internet access, i-install mo na lang ang Yahoo Messenger. With that pwede na kayong mag-usap, mag-chat, at pwede niyo pang makita ang isa’t isa using a webcam for free. Just be aware that the quality is not as good as regular phones especially if you’re only using a dial-up connection. (Napuputol paminsan-minsan). Also for those in NZ, depending on your ISP, internet access can be unlimited. You can be connected as long as you want with no extra charge. In the Philippines, however, it may be different where they may be charged on the length of the connection. So hindi pa rin libre para sa kanila. Better to check with them first, kawawa naman sila kung lumaki masyado ang bills nila.