Making It Fun in the Philippines

It's almost Christmas, right? I could remember how Typhoon Phantone hit on CHRISTMAS DAY last 2019 and Odette caused a lot of Visayans and some people in Mindanao a cheerless Christmas. Yet, you've got Kakampinks who are now whining about INFLATION. The tweets go as far as to say that many of the things beyond the control of President Bobong Marcos could've been avoided under former vice president Atty. Leni Loud Robredo. The tweets go with the prices of GROCERY ITEMS. Did they even bother to think that groceries in malls sell higher due to factors like HIGHER COST OF RENTAL? I think not since this crowd thinks that presidents control the PRICES OF GASOLINE - a WORLD MARKET problem. I wrote a blog entry where I discussed  the tendency to complain because they see lavish Christmas celebrations as a NECESSITY . If these toxic Kakampinks are uploading Leni Loud's simplicity then shame on them. I think Leni Loud does have her simple lifestyle even if she does own a few expe...

Christmas is just around the corner especially it's nearly the end of November, right? I remembered the excitement associated with Christmas because of gifts and parties. Party time meant serving a lot of delicious food. Though, with my recent health-conscious self - I've started to be careful about party food. A lot of foods during the Christmas season (for those who celebrate it) are lechon, leche flan, and a lot of high cholesterol foods tend to be served. On occasion, these foods aren't bad. I tend to have lechon on occasion such as parties though I started avoiding pork as much as possible for health reasons. Pork is rather high in cholesterol and it's much more difficult to prepare than beef or chicken. Besides, there are some healthy alternatives such as turkey bacon, and chicken hotdogs. It seems to be the norm in the Philippines to have the fiesta mentality . I remembered spending the first 13 years of my life living downtown. It was so annoying to have neighbo...

  Last year, it was a COVID-19-ridden Christmas . Did Christmas really temporarily stop COVID-19? It didn't. Instead, the "most wonderful time of the year" was ruined by COVID-19. Yet, some Filipinos still insist in their stupidity such as the "wonderful world" of last minute Christmas shopping. Since it's the beginning of the "-ber" months - it's very easy to think of Christmas is on the air. However, as long as there's COVID-19 and there's NO HERD IMMUNITY YET - don't celebrate just yet. In fact, some people will NOT be able to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones as hospitals are getting stuffed. Yet, some people don't want to get vaccinated or others still want to rally believing that the rallies (daw) didn't lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States of America (USA). Well, isn't it that the USA TOPPED COVID-19 infections WORLDWIDE ? Now, it's time to think of how the United Kingdom (UK) did...

It's Christmas Eve and COVID-19 is still here! COVID-19 isn't taking a day or two off just because it's December 24-25 and that it'd resume its operations on December 26 and take a break from December 31 to January 1, 2021, next year. Unfortunately, some Filipinos just NEVER learn away from the common, irritating bad habits during Christmas . I wonder if last-minute Christmas shopping is upheld as a Filipino tradition  or if many Filipinos have even taken it as a proud Christmas tradition. It's December 24 and checking the GPS - I'm amazed at how BAD traffic still is and its COVID-19 season. This just shows how many Filipinos STILL refuse to re-think their Christmas traditions at the cost of law-abiding Filipinos. I'm still thinking about how some of my peers have already prepared their simpler Noche Buenas. It's because mass gatherings are still heavily discouraged. True, businesses have opened but employees may have to settle for pinaskohans over Chri...

Do you remember the song of the late Yoyoy Villame called "Dayang Daya"? It was a parody of the otherwise not Indian song (actually it's a Muslim song) which was said to come from either Saudi Arabia or Indonesia. Some say it was from Zamboanga or it was a Filipino song. Either way, it's an entertaining song that made a good parody. The song "Dayang Daya" talked about the Indian guys who loan the five-six lending. It means for every five pesos you borrow - you end up paying them six pesos. In short, the interest rates are so high. Even worse, these five-six lenders usually aren't registered. But why do so many Filipinos get trapped in the Indian debt trap especially during the holidays? It's because not budgeting for Christmas and New Year is MORE FUN in the Philippines . Why do you think Christmas shopping is very stressful in the Philippines? It's because most people are still waiting for their 13th-month pay in December  instead of learning to...

Whether you're DDS or not isn't the issue. In my case, I'm more of a Duterte supporter who won't hesitate to criticize the president's shortcomings. What all people need to agree that Christmas is definitely a season for foolishness. Why do you think hold-ups increase during Christmas? It's because of the Christmas bonus and/or the 13th-month payments that employees receive during the month. Please take note of the common, irritating habits that exist during the Christmas season . It's not just the noisy parties (which in turn could help spread COVID-19 this pandemic). It's also when people ask for unreasonable leniency with the "But it's Christmas!" to get away with whatever wrong they do. Nope, I'm actually calling for a more vigilant Christmas law enforcement. It's because the problem can work both ways - the pasaway population and the government when it fails to do its job . Why would there be a need for more vigilant law enfor...

It's Christmas and there's always the bad culture of overspending, right? I remembered writing some time ago decided to write about why Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) families tend to remain poor . I was thinking about how the classic scenario of the OFW is - the nagpadala (sender) and the pinagdahlan (receiver). With Christmas in mind - I was thinking how a typical OFW family that's Okay Fine Whatever would have their desire to receive imported luxury items this Christmas. Be it the newly released Playstation 5, the latest iPhone 11, Gucci or Louie Vitton bags (or you NAME IT) - they're eager to receive it from the OFW Balikbayan Box which some may consider contains what they may consider as " the spoils of conquest " from other countries. They're so eager to receive those imported luxury items as they ignore Jack Ma's basic advice on budgeting . Just think that many luxury stuff are only bought for the NAME and NOT for the quality of the product.  ...

It's the first day of December 2020 and it's 24 days before Christmas now, isn't it? I remembered writing about how COVID-19 may force Filipinos to rethink their Christmas traditions . Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be the case and there's that really BAD HABIT of breaking simple guidelines. It's a question worth asking on how can you expect quarantine measures to succeed IF you keep breaking simple guidelines . We can talk about the  common, irritating habits prevalent during the Christmas season and how they may help spread COVID-19. These are overspending, asking for pinaskohan out of the blue , having noisy parties, and asking for extreme leniency from authorities just because it's Christmas. Should I also mention the last-minute Christmas shopping  which can be connected to overspending? These incidents can certainly spread COVID-19, even more, this Christmas. I remembered the time I wrote that many Filipinos may have NO ONE but themselves to blame...

Who can remember the event when Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) invited Jover Laurio (of Pignoy Ako Blog fame) while De La Salle University (DLSU) invited Jack Ma the founder of Alibaba? Those events were in 2017. I'm amazed at how the once-revered ADMU, the dream school of many and the school I once aimed for, ended up inviting PAB's head writer Jover as a RESOURCE SPEAKER instead of Jack. Just think who would you listen to between Jover or Jack? Jack established Alibaba and Jover established PAB. If you're going to consider giving a resource speaker - why not a businessman who can hire you for a well-paying job than somebody who's obviously a paid hack? Jack has some practical words which I posted above that Filipinos should heed to. I was thinking about one of the many times I read Get Real Philippines and I still remember these comments directed at the ever blameless Fliptard . Fortunately, Aeta's Fliptards blog is now DELETED though I miss the time I would ...

Just lately, a term which I've overlooked for some time is called the hero complex. The term hero complex can be defined when a person strives to be the hero or heroine of the situation where they want to make it that they're the ones who save the day. Sometimes, the hero complex may also carry with it a selfish desire to look good at the expense of others or even one's self. This COVID-19 crisis may have also inadvertently revealed more of the typical hero complex among Pinoys. Some are doing all their lame virtue-signaling  even during the COVID-19 crisis such as in regards to the death of Baby River . Some of them are tweeting and writing whatever they could online to ruin the administration in hopes that they will look good. That's what virtue signaling is all about - displaying outrage to make yourself look good. That's what's going on with the typical Pinoy hero complex which causes obligations not to be met at all. Though, we may want to make a bit of a j...

  I remembered the Get Real Philippines article " Filipinos are too emotional for their own good ". Last March, I also wrote an article where I mentioned that many Filipinos may have NO ONE to blame but themselves . Then you've got follow-ups and outrage of leftist-minded Filipinos who post one rant after the other where they choose to blame the government and would even politicize the issue . The Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) hit so landlords have every reason not to ask for rent. However, ECQ was moved to GCQ because economic activity is already needed to PAY OFF COVID-19 related debts . That means under GCQ businesses are now allowed to operate first under skeletal capacity since August 2020. It also meant that tenants who refuse to pay rent after some time can be KICKED OUT already. Landlords today can now execute their right or better yet their UTMOST DUTY to kick out tenants who are leeching them dry. Businesses are starting to re-open so why aren't these ...

It's the -ber months already and is it me or is Christmas MUCH LONGER in the Philippines than any place in the world? I mean, Christmas season should only be for December but why are we playing Christmas songs when it's not yet December? The recent COVID-19 crisis has really caused a lot of standstills. True, economic activities are slowly returning but most restaurants today are still more open for takeout than dine-in. Others are still working at a skeletal workforce. True, taxes are slowly getting collected again (which is GOOD) but the COVID-19 infection is still there. With the -ber months kicking in then Christmas comes into the head. But it's also time to rethink the "Filipino way" of celebrating Christmas. Thankfully, it's not Christmas every day in the Philippines . We need to really review a lot of common, irritating habits during the Christmas season . Overspending (such as having lavish parties even when can't afford), asking for pinaskohan fro...

Well, happy new year or is it? I would say that saying "Happy new year!" to people can either be a compliment or a putdown. Why would it be both a compliment or a putdown? It's because some people still have money or got more money after the new year. Some people may be richer due to high revenues and due to keeping the Christmas bonuses and 13th monthly pay wisely. However, saying "Happy new year!" would be a putdown or insult if you've wasted all your money on the Christmas and New Year celebrations . Worse, if you ended up spending more than one saves because of stuff like  firecracker-related injuries . There's nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas and New Year. The problem is when one treats celebrations like recreational drugs . If you want to celebrate then celebrate within your means . It reminds me of how some people go home to their families, spend time together, have a simple celebration, cook fancy food, and the like. However, many Fil...

I have made some observations about the Christmas season here in the Philippines. I could notice that there are many people who love Christmas for the wrong reasons. What reasons are there to love Christmas in the Philippines? Let's consider some reasons that make people like the holiday so much. You could consider that people just love receiving pinaskohans that they'd rather beg for it than wait for others to give it . When Christmas is near then it means one may be getting their 13th-month pay and Christmas bonuses . Then I observe how people can't wait for Christmas so they can go caroling to receive money rather than get a decent job. Worse, you can attribute it to the fiesta mentality that many Filipinos have . I really think about why I tend to dislike December a lot as an adult. I have nothing against celebrating Christmas or having a Christmas party though. Some people celebrate their Christmas parties with much decency and well-conduct. However, some Filipinos ...

Christmas and New Year would possibly excite children more than adults, right? I don't condemn celebrations themselves but the question is were they budgeted and planned for? I remembered I wrote the post talking about post-Christmas and post-New Year woes . One of the things I highlighted in that post was about not having money. Why is there no money? It's because there's no budget, right? You can think of the beginning of December. Why all the late or even last-minute Christmas shopping? Why the Christmas shopping craze on CHRISTMAS EVE? If you're planning to celebrate Christmas Eve then shouldn't everything be PREPARED for Christmas Eve? Some people would rather wait for their 13th-month pay  rather than learn to budget whole-year round. What do you expect from people who would rather have a lavish eat-out on payday rather than learn to budget it for necessities? I many not like Rappler (due to Maria Ressa) but they're actually speaking truth revealing tha...