thanks to this thread and the good people over at waypoints.ph .... i finally bought a Garmin Nuvi 200.

the map for metro manila so far is quite accurate ... but I find that I have to ignore the route recommendations 90% of the time

an added bonus is the Trip Computer :


now it's possible to know exactly how bad the traffic flow is. it displays your moving time and stopped time which on my last trip to makati was like 50% stop and go.
the unit is also useful to verify your speedometer/odometer accuracy .