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Being a foreigner in the Philippines is an interesting experience. On one hand, we Filipinos believe in showering our expat guests and friends with the renowned Filipino friendliness and hospitality. On the other hand, some of us may — unintentionally, more often than not — show a little hesitation, untoward curiosity, perhaps even rudeness and antagonism to foreigners. How, then, should you prepare to deal with people’s reactions towards you when you come to the Philippines?

A good way to do this is to understand how and why Filipinos’ attitudes, impressions and expectations towards non-Filipinos have been formed.

Perhaps it can be explained by the country’s over-three-centuries history under colonial rule. Another could be the propagation of racial and ethnic stereotypes by mass media. We may also take into consideration the stories and anecdotes that our fellow countrymen have shared from their travels abroad, especially with the ever-increasing number of Filipinos who have taken part in what may be considered “the Filipino Diaspora“.

Let’s now take a peek at how other nationalities may be viewed through the eyes of a Filipino:

(Disclaimer: The descriptions cited in this article are taken from the author’s impressions and observations about the general Filipino attitude towards foreigners, and these do not necessarily reflect the author’s own opinion.)

1. Americans

Filipinos have traditionally viewed the United States as the Land of Opportunity, a place where you can live the “American Dream“: a life of wealth, comfort and luxury that most of us can only imagine. This is why Filipinos tend to put most things to do with America on a pedestal.

Americans are often viewed as liberal, generous, outspoken. You may expect to be given excellent, maybe even preferential treatment at many establishments. You might be called “Kano“, short for amerikano, but don’t be alarmed as this is just a Filipino nickname for Americans. If you are male, don’t be surprised if some locals call you “Joe” (from back when there was a significant US military presence in the Philippines — American soldiers were called G.I.s, and G.I. Joe was the catch-all term for the quintessential American soldier) as well.

You will probably encounter plenty of stares as you walk down the street, simply because your appearance is significantly different from everyone else — especially if you have the stereotypical (in Filipinos’ eyes) American looks: tall, fair-skinned, blond-haired and blue-eyed. Some of us may also act reserved when interacting with Americans; this is probably because Americans are much louder and outspoken than we are. A few of us may even be too shy to talk to you, because we are conscious of our heavily-accented English!

2. Japanese

Filipinos admire the Japanese for their excellent work ethic, politeness and innovativeness. The Japanese are also viewed as very traditional, with their own unique set of social norms and etiquette, and most Filipinos are aware of this and will try their best not to infringe on them.

Some of us younger kids were introduced to Japan through anime and other popular TV shows, and hence have also taken a great interest towards the language and culture. You will find that plenty of Filipino youth are pretty well-versed in Japanese pop culture.

Once again, our colonial past may influence some of the Filipinos’ (especially the older generation) slightly negative attitude towards Japan — World War II is still regarded as one of the darkest points in Philippine history.

3. Spanish / Hispanic / Latino:

You will probably find that you have plenty in common with Filipinos besides the surnames! It is likely that you will be treated as a kumpadre (compadre), almost like kin, by your Filipino friends, because of the many similarities in language and culture. Hispanics are viewed as emotional and temperamental — which can be easily understood by Filipinos as we are also a largely emotional and temperamental people.

The popularity of Latin American dramas also adds to this impression; you may find that many of our teleseryes are closely modeled after the famous telenovelas, and Thalia (Marimar) is still a well-known icon!

You may sense a little bit of distrust from the older generation of Filipinos, and this might be explained by the “nasyonalista” sentiment — a vestige of our colonial history and past under Spanish rule. Some of the older folks, however, do take pride in still being able to speak Spanish, and it is also worth mentioning that many of the younger generation have taken a new-found interest in the language and the obvious Hispanic influence on our culture.

4. Chinese

The Philippines has had plenty of ties with China, going as far back to our pre-colonial, pre-Christianization period. The ethnic Chinese population in the Philippines is quite substantial, and many of positions of power, especially in the business world, are held by Chinese.

Smart, business-minded, “kuripot” (frugal, to put a more positive spin to it—stingy, if used in a negative sense): these are a few adjectives that Filipinos might say about Chinese. The Chinese are also considered very hardworking and family-oriented.

5. Indians

The layman term for Indians (and even other South Asian nationalities) is “Bumbay”, derived from the old name of the city of Mumbai. The general impression about Indians is that they are clever and money-oriented, perhaps because of the stereotypical “5-6 lender“, who charges a nominal 20% interest to borrowers, often small-time business or store owners. They were there even before micro-financing becomes a popular buzzword in the Philippines.

Racism And Discrimination

Some of the opinions that Filipinos have towards foreigners can be off-the-mark, even bordering on racist. It’s unfortunate, but the reality is that racism can exist everywhere, and not just towards foreigners — some people even discriminate against their own countrymen!

This doesn’t mean, however, that Filipinos are inherently racist! Negative and/or wrong stereotypes are brought about by ignorance and mis-education, and this certainly holds true in a country such as the Philippines. The best way to correct this type of attitude is, without a doubt, education — and who else would be a better teacher than yourself, the expert on your own identity? So the next time someone makes a wrong assumption about you based on your nationality or ethnicity, take it in good humor, but don’t forget to correct the mistake by showing him the positive traits you are proud to have!

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Davao 4 Expats Notes: If there is one article on this website that you should read, it is this one. The Expats In The Eyes Of The Filipino is written by Katlyn Batuigas.

In general, the easiest and cheapest way of communicating within the Philippines, and between the Philippines and overseas, is through mobile phones (more popularly known here as “cellphones”). Although access to the Internet is already fairly easy and widespread, the cellphone is still the preferred mode of communication — almost everyone owns one, and SMS (or text messaging) and call rates are very low.

Using Your Phone from Your Home Country

It’s possible to bring and use your mobile phone from overseas in the Philippines, but you have to take note of a few things.

If you plan to visit the Philippines for only a short trip (i.e. a few days), it may be better to activate the roaming service from your network on your phone. Check with your provider if roaming can be enabled in the Philippines. To activate roaming, you usually have to contact your provider to enable it for your account, a few days before your departure. For some networks or accounts, activation can be done by dialing a certain number or sending an SMS. For others, it’s automatically enabled.

Also, be careful with the charges associated with roaming — call and SMS rates may be higher. Plus, many providers charge extra (either one-time, or daily) to be able to roam, racking up a much higher bill when you go back home!

Chances are, however, that if you are on this page, you are considering or have already made plans to move permanently to the Philippines. If that’s the case, it would be much easier and more practical to get a Philippine phone number. More of that later in the article.

About Open Line

Many mobile service providers overseas have your phone locked to your network — that is, you can only use your phone with the account you purchased under that network. If you want to bring your own phone to the Philippines, you have to make sure it’s unlocked, or in other words, open line. A preliminary way of checking is looking at your phone itself: if it has the network’s logo on it, chances are it’s locked. You can always check with your provider if your phone is locked to your account.

If your phone is locked to your network, it’s not a big problem. There are plenty of shops around (check the electronics/mobile phone section in shopping centers) that offer unlocking services for pretty cheap. This will also depend, however, on your mobile phone—usually, if it uses a SIM card, it should be unlockable. A word of caution: sometimes, unlocking your phone may render it useless when you go back to your home country, due to software incompatibility.

Getting a Cellphone in the Philippines

If you are moving to the Philippines, my advice is to purchase a new account and phone. Most phone models are pretty inexpensive, especially when purchased together with a (postpaid) phone plan. A unit usually costs more if you plan to get it with a prepaid (where you purchase credits or “load” before you can start using your phone) account, but the advantage is that you can use it with as many different accounts or phone numbers (with different networks), by swapping SIM cards, as you want.

According to your needs, either a postpaid or prepaid account would be more suitable for you. If you intend to use your mobile phone for more formal or business / professional purposes, getting a postpaid account would be better. That way, you can stay connected 24/7 without any worries of running out of credits. Paying bills have in the recent years become much more convenient than before: in addition to authorized banks and payment centers, some providers have also enabled online bill payment.

For prepaid accounts, you can purchase credits for as low as PHP 15, and you can find “load” stations practically everywhere—in shopping centers, the airport, on sidewalks, and your closest neighborhood sari-sari (variety) store! You can even ask someone else to give you credits, called “pasa-load” (pasa = pass). If you are overseas, there are some websites where you can purchase prepaid cards so that you can load credits to your loved ones back in the Philippines, by providing them the PIN number of the purchased card.

If you are a newly-arrived expat, your best bet would be to get a prepaid account, since you will need some credit history before you can sign up for a postpaid plan.

There are three major mobile service providers in the Philippines: Globe Telecom, Smart, and Sun Cellular (other providers such as Touch Mobile and Talk ‘N Text are subsidiaries of Globe and Smart, respectively). Although I find that the rates and services provided by each provider are largely similar, one provider may have some specific perks that can be more attractive to you. Moreover, it’s not uncommon for people to have accounts with more than one provider, so they can take full advantage of these perks.

The good thing about mobile phone plans in the Philippines is that you aren’t charged for any incoming messages. For example, even if your prepaid account has no more credits, you can still receive as many text messages and calls as usual, free of charge! However, your account will probably expire within several weeks of not reloading credits.

For international rates, sending text messages to a number overseas seems to be quite standard at PHP 15/text. Call rates tend to vary, depending on the country being called. Some countries will have cheaper rates, and those tend to be ones where a sizeable population of OFWs can be found e.g. USA, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong.

More on using cellphones

The Philippines has been dubbed the “Text Capital of the World“, with millions of text messages sent and received every day. That said, the preferred way of communicating between mobile phone users is through texting. People send texts not only to family and friends — I’ve even inquired and received updates about job applications through text!

I’ve noticed that calls are used more often for more formal purposes, such as conducting business or discussions with colleagues and superiors. For non-urgent matters, however, most people go by sending text messages.

Voicemail is also quite infrequently used in the Philippines. That is, if someone isn’t able to pick up a call, a text message instead of voice message is usually left.

Money On The Phone

Your mobile phone can also function as an “e-wallet“, where you can make transactions and purchases (online, or at plenty of establishments nationwide) with “e-money” that you deposit in your account.

GSM phones are still widely used, since plenty of users rely on their mobile phones primarily for communicating through calls and SMS. Very few people will be carrying Blackberrys. Nevertheless, phones with 3G and wi-fi capability are gaining popularity, especially among young adults and those working in the corporate world.

Internet Connection

Davao City has plenty of free wi-fi spots, although most of them tend to be in establishments such as cafés and hotels, which may not be readily accessible if you only want a quick email check and such. The internet connectivity available through the different providers is quite reliable, however, with some offering to keep you connected all day at low rates.

No phone? Don’t fret!

There are other easy and possibly cheaper ways to keep in touch with family and friends.
Plenty of calling cards with reasonable rates for calls to the Philippines are available: look for them in your nearest Asian grocery store, or perhaps more conveniently, you can purchase them online (try www.pingo.com, www.phonecardsforsale.com).

If your loved ones have access to a reliable computer and internet connection, a good alternative is chatting through programs such as Skype, Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, which let you make free computer-to-computer calls as long as both parties have a microphone. Video chatting, an excellent way of keeping in touch over long distances, is even free, and the only investment you have to make is a good webcam which can come relatively cheap. Skype even lets you call landlines and mobile phones from your computer at very low rates, with a subscription or by purchasing credits online.

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Using Cellphones To Communicate To The Philippines is written by Katlyn Batuigas.