I have now updated an unbranded Samsung Galaxy S3 to Android 4.3

My globe sim card works in it suggesting that the region lock isn't active.

I used the same procedure of making sure there were ten minutes talk time used before trying the sim.

So to summarise.

If you have a flagship Samsung smartphone that was purchased after July 2013, you will see a sticker on the side if the box. It will tell you the device is region locked. So before you travel to the Philippines you will need to use at least ten minutes talk time and its advised to obtain the handset at least a week before you travel so to ensure the region lock is actually disabled.

If your handset was manufactured before July 2013 and you update to android 4.3 , then make sure at least ten minutes talk time is used, but some handsets may already have the region lock disabled. Better to be safe than sorry.

Hope this is helpful to some.