filipinos...cell phones....malls????

Question

i went back to the philippines last august 2006. i noticed that most people complain about how hard it is to live there because everything is expensive and it 's hard to get a job. if it's really hard to live there, then why do most people have cell phones? even street vendors have cell phone. malls are everywhere and it's always like christmas season because there's always a lot of people shopping. i don't understand!

Answer 1

Unfortunately, the most important thing in the Philippines is the bloody telephone. Years ago it used to be the brick game and it was even possible to go into a bank and have to wait for the teller to finish the stupid game before you were served.

Now it's a cheap phone which is only really used for texting since that only costs one peso.

Imagine 40,000,000 people (conservative estimate!), all texting at least 5 times a day, amounting, probably , to one hour of their working day (since they all do it at work,through boredom or whatever). That's 40 million man hours a day lost in productivity for this country, service standards are down, at the first beep, everything stops to answer the stupid text, and people look so bloody silly walking along pushing buttons and bumping into things since they don't look where they're walking anymore.

Imagine a smart government which puts a tax of one peso onto each text, the results:-

Half the texting would stop as it would be too expensive for most at 2 pesos a text, thus productivity at work would go back to a better, albeit, very low standard.

The government would have a daily income (from 5 texts each) of another 40 million pesos, or, more than a billion pesos a month, with which to improve the thousands of things which need improving.

Of course, this will never work since the people would rise up in revolt at the idea of helping the country by increasing productivity and contributing to government funding.

90% of these texts are so unbelievably stupid, they're mostly saying stupid things like 'where are you', I miss you', etc etc, and have nothing positive about them.

You should all grow up and realise what a bad state this country is in, and it's got NOTHING to do with the government, it's the people that can make a country work, and playing with stupid phones all day instead of working is very childish, immature and pathetic as far as I'm concerned......

Answer 2

I don't get it either... the person begging on the street even has a cellphone! Their families are starving but they buy cellphones -- wrong priorities if you ask me. I agree that the malls are filled with people but hardly anyone really shops. The only places that get real business are the restaurants (esp the fast food chains). Most people just like the aircon, are either in transit (because the bus stations happen to be there), or are waiting for the traffic to lessen before making the long trek home.

Answer 3

1st cell phones are cheap. maybe 100 dollars. but most dnt have load and use them only for games.they wait for someone to call them. there many malls becuz most work in the mall. if u really look most are just walking in the mall and not shopping. malls are a hang out where it aircontioned.the money comes from the people that works over seas. the jobs are there but dnt pay much. if they get paid 200 dollars a month that's OK for a single person. but if u have the whole family working is better

Answer 4

Remember, in The Philippines, cellular phones are "caller pays", unlike the U.S. The phones are cheap, they have video games, and the person calling you pays for the call.

They are also "cool" to be seen holding.

Yes, employment is a real problem; my girlfriend lives in China as a housekeeper to make enough to support her children due to lack of opportunity in The Philippines.

Many people just go to the malls to cool off and look at the stuff on sale and the other people there.

Answer 5

Everybody goes to the mall for the air conditioning and to socialize. They like to pretend they have plenty of money. Same with the cell phones. Pretending to have something. Yes, I noticed people sleeping on the sidewalks even have a cell phone. WTF? All those people working in the malls are putting in about 80 hours a week and not making squat for pay. The mall owners there are Chinese. If you own a mall and your labor costs are NIL then you can afford to make it look festive all the time. They too are after your DOLLARS. The thing is, those poor people with the cell phones probably stole it from some foreigner...or just talked him out of it. They didn't buy it.

Answer 6

Likewise.
Opinions of the masses has been influenced by the political propaganda of left leaning party: they still trying to indoctrinate people that the main problem of the country is poverty and the present government has to be blame, which in fact the main problem is insurgency