Culture
Boracay has an extensive community life. Civic organizations as the
Kiwanis and Rotary Club meet once a week and undertake many public activities.
The Boracay Foundation, Inc. organizes also many activities.
Business Hours
Most businesses are open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM weekdays and 8:00 AM
till noon Saturdays.
Banks are open from 9:00 AM till 3:00 PM Mondays through Fridays. When
banking in the Philippines, it is advisable to have your passport with
you for identification.
The post offices are open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM weekdays only. Local
postage is PhP 4.00 for a standard letter and PhP 16.00 for letters
to America and Europe. Stamps for postcards are frequently available
from the Concierge Desk at most major hotels. The Philippines uses ZIP
codes, please include them in addressing local mail.
NOTE: The Standard lunch hour is noon to 1:00 PM. Most businesses and
government offices are closed.
Language
English is one of the official languages of the Philippines and there
are no communication problems in English.They are the best English speakers
in Asia. If your mother tongue is not English, you may have some difficulties
in listening to Filipino English because of their strong accent.
Their language abilities depend on individuals and education background.Some
people speak English as if they were brought up in USA.
Newspapers & Other Media
The newspapers in the Philippines have been called the freest in the
world, as you will see for yourself, with more than 24 different morning
papers to choose from, most of them in English. There is also a wide
selection of magazines printed in English including Time, Newsweek and
Asiaweek. In Metro Manila you can buy the Asian Wall Street Journal,
The International Herald Tribune and USA Today.
In Boracay vendors walk around selling the Philippine Enquirer and
other Filipino newspapers.
Television is "on the air" from early morning to midnight,
showing American programming as well as local programming. The standard
channels are 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 13, and 23. If you need more channels, most
of the major hotels are with Cable TV bringing in TV programs from all
over the world.
There is also AM and FM radio broadcasting with the pop stations primarily
on AM in Filipino and the English language programs on FM.