Call the Philippines from the United States

Calling the Philippines from the United States requires a few extra digits, but aside from that the process is basically the same as making any other call. Like for any international call, you need to know the international call prefix for the originating country and the country code for the nation you're calling. When calling the Philippines, it’s important to remember that they're in a different time zone, and they are roughly 12 hours ahead of the U.S. Making international calls can be quite pricey, however, so be sure to talk to your phone provider beforehand to find out what kind of rates you get with your long distance plan. Depending on your provider and your plan, your call could cost as little as $0.02 a minute, or it could cost upwards of $1 per minute to call.

Steps

Calling a Landline

  1. Dial 011. Pick up your phone receiver and listen for the dial tone before you dial, or turn on your mobile phone and launch the phone app. You first dial 011 because this is the international call prefix or international access code for the United States.
    • Any time you want to call a number abroad from the U.S., you dial this number first to indicate that you're making an international call.
    • Every country as its own international call prefix that must be dialled before such a call can be made.[1]
  2. Dial 63. This is the country code for the Philippines.[2] Every country also has its own country code that must be dialled before you can call into the country from abroad. No matter where in the world you're calling from, the country code will always be the same for a particular nation.
  3. Dial the city code. Area and city codes are used to divide large geographical areas into smaller ones for the purpose of organizing phone calls. The Philippines has many area codes that are assigned to different regions of the country. Philippine area codes for landlines are one, two, or four digits. If you're unsure of the area code for the region you're calling, you can do an area code lookup. The area codes for some of the major cities are:[3]
    • 2 for Manila
    • 32 for Cebu
    • 34 for Bacolod
    • 74 for Baguio
    • 82 for Davao
  4. Dial the local number. This is the number in the Philippines that will put you directly in touch with the person or organization that you're trying to call. In the Philippines, landline numbers are often seven digits, but they can be between five and nine digits.[2]
    • Area codes are often included as part of the local number, so make sure you don’t dial the area code twice.
    • When making calls within the Philippines, sometimes a 0 gets added to the beginning of the number.[2] However, this 0 must be removed before calling the Philippines from the U.S., so if the number you're calling starts with a 0, don’t dial it.

Calling a Cellular Phone

  1. Dial +63 on a mobile phone. Mobile phones usually have the + sign built into the zero, and this replaces the international call prefix.[4] However, if you are calling a mobile phone in the Philippines from a landline, or can't find the + shortcut on your mobile, dial 011 63.
    • If you can’t find the + symbol on your phone, you can also try ** instead as the shortcut for the international call prefix.[5]
    • Be aware that international calls to mobile phones are usually more expensive than calls to landlines.[6]
  2. Dial the mobile code. In the Philippines, mobile phones have special three-digit codes that are used in place of area codes. The different mobile carriers use different codes, but they always start with 9.
    • Do not dial the area code as well as the mobile code.
  3. Dial the local number. Local mobile numbers in the Philippines are always seven digits long (plus the three you dial for the mobile code).[2]
    • Press Talk to initiate the call on a cellular phone. Otherwise, just wait for the phone to ring if you're calling from a landline.

Calling Non-Traditional Ways

  1. Use Skype. Skype is an internet-based phone application that allows subscribers to make free calls to other subscribers all over the world. The application can also be used to call telephones internationally, but you have to pay with either a monthly subscription or pay as you go credits.
    • To make a Skype-to-Skype call to someone in the Philippines, select the person from your contacts list and then press the video camera icon for a video chat or the telephone icon for an audio-only call.
    • To add contacts to your list, select Contacts from the top tool bar, then select Add Contact > Search Skype Dictionary. Then, type in the name or Skype name of the person you want to add.
    • To sign up to make calls directly to telephones using Skype, go to their international calling site to subscribe or purchase credits.
    • Skype also has an app you can download on your mobile device to make calls. To install this app, go to the App Store, Google Play, or the store where you can search and download apps for your device.
  2. Try Google Hangouts. With Google Hangouts, you can make video calls to contacts around the world for free, and you can even add other contacts in on the call.
    • To video chat with a contact, log in to Gmail and click the person icon at the bottom left side of the screen to show your contacts.
    • Either select the contact you want to chat with and press the video camera icon to initiate a Hangout call, or click the magnifying glass to search for new contacts.
    • Google Hangouts also has a mobile app, which can be installed from the application store on your device.
  3. Call using Google Voice. Google voice allows you to make local calls to mobile phones and landlines within the U.S. and Canada for free, and it allows you to make international calls to telephones for a fee. To call the Philippines, go to Google Voice and sign in using your Gmail login information.
    • To add credits to your account to make international calls, click the + icon beside Credits to enter your billing information.
    • From there, you can select Make Calls From an Android if you want to install the Hangouts Dialer app to route Google Voice calls through your Android phone, or you can log in to Gmail to make calls through the computer.
    • To call through Gmail, click the phone icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. Input the number you want to call, and click Call.
    • Because you're calling a regular phone in the Philippines, you still dial the number the same way as from a landline or mobile.

Tips

  • If you're having trouble making your call, dial 00 to speak with an international operator.
  • Depending on your telephone provider, it may be cheaper to make your call after business hours, as some carriers charge less for calls placed later in the evening or earlier in the morning.[7]
  • If you don’t have a long distance plan or need to call from a payphone, you can also purchase a prepaid calling card for the Philippines. This often requires dialling a local access number first, and then inputting the code associated with your card before dialling the phone number.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.howtocallabroad.com/qa/basics.html
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 https://www.uniontelecard.com/calling-guides/philippines/
  3. ↑ http://news.zaptel.com/2008/09/05/old59/
  4. ↑ http://blog.vonage.com/philippines/how-to-call-philippines-from-the-u-s/
  5. ↑ http://www.countrycallingcodes.com/faq/place-mobile.php
  6. ↑ http://www.countrycallingcodes.com/mobile/mobile-codes.php?callfrom=United+States&callto=Philippines
  7. ↑ https://www.bell.ca/Home_phone/Long_distance_rates
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